Running cost for the Magic Chef MCAR32BE
At 259 kWh/yr, the Magic Chef MCAR32BE's ENERGY STAR certification puts it one of the cheaper models in its category to run against every other certified refrigerator.
That $49 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 32.9% less, ranking 1,260 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 $24/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 MCAR32BE: Magic Chef MCAR320WE ($49/yr, 259 kWh/yr), then Magic Chef MCAR32PSE ($49/yr, 259 kWh/yr).
Within the Magic Chef lineup
Ranked 60 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).
What this adds up to over time
Over the 13-year service life NAHB reports for this category, running the Magic Chef MCAR32BE costs roughly $633 in electricity, separate from the purchase price.
Weighing a replacement
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $49/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 $49/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 259 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.