Running cost for the upstreman FR17B
The upstreman FR17B is certified by ENERGY STAR at 208 kWh a year, one of the cheaper models in its category to run among refrigerators currently certified.
That $39 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 46.1% less, ranking 462 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 $33/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 upstreman FR17B: upstreman FR17A ($39/yr, 208 kWh/yr), then upstreman FR17C ($39/yr, 208 kWh/yr).
Comparing upstreman's own models
Ranked 18 of upstreman's 115 certified refrigerators, this sits between the FR17-Blue ($39/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the FD182-# ($86/yr, its priciest).
upstreman FR17B over 13 years
13 years is NAHB's typical service life for this category; at $39/year, the upstreman FR17B adds up to about $508 in electricity over that span.
Shopping for a new one
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $39/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
The upstreman FR17B already costs $39/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
Nothing here is estimated from a nameplate wattage; the 208 kWh/yr is ENERGY STAR's own certified figure for this model. Ranked 462 of 4,704, the upstreman FR17B sits in the middle of the refrigerator category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math.