Midea MERM17B0ASL: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the Midea MERM17B0ASL at 246 kWh/yr, one of the cheaper models in its category to run for its category.
That $46 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 36.3% less, ranking 1,074 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 $26/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 Midea MERM17B0ASL: Midea MERM17B0ABB ($46/yr, 246 kWh/yr), then Midea MERM17B0AWW ($46/yr, 246 kWh/yr).
Within the Midea lineup
Ranked 43 of Midea's 162 certified refrigerators, this sits between the MRW14B2ABB ($23/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the MRF29D9B** ($147/yr, its priciest).
Midea MERM17B0ASL over 13 years
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical refrigerator's service life at 13 years; run the Midea MERM17B0ASL that long and it costs about $601 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $46/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
$46/year to run is the predictable cost of the Midea MERM17B0ASL; a protection plan covers the unpredictable one, a repair bill.
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 246 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.