Running cost for the Magic Chef MCAR240SE2
ENERGY STAR certifies the Magic Chef MCAR240SE2 at 238 kWh/yr, one of the cheaper models in its category to run for its category.
That $45 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 38.3% less, ranking 976 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 $28/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 Magic Chef MCAR240SE2: LG LRONC1404* ($45/yr, 238 kWh/yr), then XO XOU2470WGS* ($45/yr, 238 kWh/yr).
Comparing Magic Chef's own models
Ranked 47 of Magic Chef's 121 certified refrigerators, this sits between the MCR16CHB ($39/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the MCBM920W1 ($70/yr, its priciest).
Magic Chef MCAR240SE2 over 13 years
Over the 13-year service life NAHB reports for this category, running the Magic Chef MCAR240SE2 costs roughly $582 in electricity, separate from the purchase price.
Is it worth replacing?
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $45/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators before buying.
If you're keeping it
The Magic Chef MCAR240SE2 already costs $45/year to run; a repair bill on top of that is the kind of expense a protection plan exists to smooth out.
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 238 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.