ELEMENT ERT74MEW Running Cost (Refrigerator)
ELEMENT ERT74MEW: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the ELEMENT ERT74MEW at 345 kWh/yr, cheaper than most models in its category to run for its category.
That $65 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 10.6% less, ranking 2,340 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 $8/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 ERT74MEW: ELEMENT ERT74MES ($65/yr, 345 kWh/yr), then Elica EC36SRN20IPR ($65/yr, 345 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Ranked 15 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
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical refrigerator's service life at 13 years; run the ELEMENT ERT74MEW that long and it costs about $843 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $65/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
$65/year to run is the predictable cost of the ELEMENT ERT74MEW; a protection plan covers the unpredictable one, a repair bill.
Where this number comes from
Nothing here is estimated from a nameplate wattage; the 345 kWh/yr is ENERGY STAR's own certified figure for this model. 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.