Running cost for the ELEMENT ERT18CSE*
The ELEMENT ERT18CSE* is certified by ENERGY STAR at 369 kWh a year, about average for its category to run among refrigerators currently certified.
That $69 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
Against the category average of 386 kWh/yr, this model uses 4.4% less, ranking 2,682 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 $3/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 ELEMENT ERT18CSE*: Conservator GRMH185A* ($69/yr, 369 kWh/yr), then ELEMENT ERT18CSEB ($69/yr, 369 kWh/yr).
Within the ELEMENT lineup
Ranked 23 of ELEMENT's 34 certified refrigerators, this sits between the EUF14CE** ($38/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the ERBM19CBS-CA ($103/yr, its priciest).
Cost over its typical lifespan
13 years is NAHB's typical service life for this category; at $69/year, the ELEMENT ERT18CSE* adds up to about $902 in electricity over that span.
Shopping for a new one
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $69/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
Worth comparing a few current certified models before deciding.
If you're keeping it
At $69/year just to run, a refrigerator is worth protecting against an unplanned repair bill on top of that.
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 369 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.