ELEMENT ERT74MEB: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the ELEMENT ERT74MEB at 345 kWh/yr, cheaper than most models in its category to run for its category.
The $65 figure above uses the simple average of all 51 published state rates. Pick your state for the real number.
ELEMENT ERT74MEB against the category
That's 10.6% below the refrigerator category average of 386 kWh/yr, and ranks 2,338 of 4,704 certified refrigerators for annual running cost, 1 being cheapest. The category average comes from every refrigerator ENERGY STAR currently certifies (4,704 models), not an outside benchmark, about $8/year below that average at the national rate. See the methodology page.
What sits beside it in the ranking
ELEMENT ERT74MES ($65/yr, 345 kWh/yr) costs a little more to run than the ELEMENT ERT74MEB. Danby DPF074V1WDB-6 ($65/yr, 345 kWh/yr) costs a little less.
Within the ELEMENT lineup
ELEMENT makes 34 ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators; this one ranks 13 of 34 for running cost, between the brand's cheapest, the EUF14CE** at $38/yr, and its priciest, the ERBM19CBS-CA at $103/yr.
What this adds up to over time
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical refrigerator's service life at 13 years; run the ELEMENT ERT74MEB that long and it costs about $843 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
The ELEMENT ERT74MEB is already efficient for its category at $65/year. If you're shopping and comparing options, this is roughly what a well-chosen new refrigerator costs to run.
Worth comparing a few current certified models before deciding.
Protecting what you have
At $65/year just to run, a refrigerator is worth protecting against an unplanned repair bill on top of that.
Sourcing
Ranked 2,338 of 4,704, the ELEMENT ERT74MEB sits in the middle of the refrigerator category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math. The 345 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.