POLAR ELITE POLUF21: running cost
ENERGY STAR certifies the POLAR ELITE POLUF21 at 273 kWh/yr, one of the cheaper models in its category to run for its category.
That $51 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 29.3% less, ranking 1,500 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 $21/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 POLAR ELITE POLUF21: L2 LRU21B6A** ($51/yr, 273 kWh/yr), then POLAR ELITE POLUF21WS ($51/yr, 273 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Of the 2 ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators POLAR ELITE makes, the POLUF21 is the cheapest to run, about the same, within a dollar a year, less than POLAR ELITE's priciest, the POLUF21WS.
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 POLAR ELITE POLUF21 that long and it costs about $667 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Is it worth replacing?
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $51/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
A refrigerator like the POLAR ELITE POLUF21 is a real household expense whether or not it needs replacing yet; a protection plan is one way to budget for a repair rather than a full replacement.
Where this number comes from
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. 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.