Cafe CAE28DMT Running Cost (Refrigerator)
Running cost for the Cafe CAE28DMT
At 699 kWh/yr, the Cafe CAE28DMT's ENERGY STAR certification puts it one of the more expensive models in its category to run against every other certified refrigerator.
That $131 is priced at 18.8¢/kWh, the average of all 51 state rates this site tracks. Your own state's rate is one click away.
Efficient, or not, for a refrigerator
The category average is 386 kWh/yr; this model runs 81.1% above it, ranking 4,454 of 4,704 refrigerators tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 4,704 refrigerators ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $59/year gap from this model at the national rate. Full sourcing is in the sourcing notes.
Right next to it on the list
A rank or two either side of the Cafe CAE28DMT: GE Profile PXD22HYY ($131/yr, 698 kWh/yr), then GE Profile PAD28BYT ($131/yr, 699 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Ranked 14 of Cafe's 35 certified refrigerators, this sits between the CCP06BPP ($52/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the CVE28DP4NH ($142/yr, its priciest).
Cost over its typical lifespan
Over the 13-year service life NAHB reports for this category, running the Cafe CAE28DMT costs roughly $1,708 in electricity, separate from the purchase price.
Shopping for a new one
The Cafe CAE28DMT runs above its category average. If the refrigerator you actually own is older still, likely well past ENERGY STAR's efficiency baseline when it was made, a current certified model could cost meaningfully less than this model's $131/year every year.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
A refrigerator like the Cafe CAE28DMT is a real household expense whether or not it needs replacing yet; a protection plan is one way to budget for a repair rather than a full replacement.
Where this number comes from
The full Refrigerator category page shows all 4,704 refrigerators ranked by cost; the state-rate guide covers the half of this number that isn't the appliance. The 699 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.