Running cost for the RCA RFR834-B-COM
At 312 kWh/yr, the RCA RFR834-B-COM's ENERGY STAR certification puts it cheaper than most models in its category to run against every other certified refrigerator.
The $59 figure above uses the simple average of all 51 published state rates. Pick your state for the real number.
Where this ranks
That's 19.2% below the refrigerator category average of 386 kWh/yr, and ranks 1,871 of 4,704 certified refrigerators for annual running cost, 1 being cheapest. Every one of the 4,704 currently-certified refrigerators feeds that average, putting this model about $14/year under it. See how it's calculated on the how it is calculated page.
The closest alternatives by cost
Sorted by running cost among refrigerators, one step cheaper is RCA RFR832-D-WHITE ($59/yr, 312 kWh/yr), and one step pricier is RCA RFR834-C ($59/yr, 312 kWh/yr).
Within the RCA lineup
RCA makes 46 ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators; this one ranks 42 of 46 for running cost, between the brand's cheapest, the EFR180 at $30/yr, and its priciest, the RFR836-6COM at $60/yr.
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 RCA RFR834-B-COM that long and it costs about $763 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
The RCA RFR834-B-COM is already efficient for its category at $59/year. If you're shopping and comparing options, this is roughly what a well-chosen new refrigerator costs to run.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
Protecting what you have
At $59/year just to run, a refrigerator is worth protecting against an unplanned repair bill on top of that.
The data behind this page
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 312 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.