Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ: running cost
The Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ is certified by ENERGY STAR at 733 kWh a year, one of the more expensive models in its category to run among refrigerators currently certified.
That $138 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
The category average is 386 kWh/yr; this model runs 89.9% above it, ranking 4,584 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 $65/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 Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ: Whirlpool WRMF3636SW ($138/yr, 733 kWh/yr), then Whirlpool WRMF3736SV ($138/yr, 733 kWh/yr).
Same brand, different models
Ranked 150 of Whirlpool's 156 certified refrigerators, this sits between the AMA27S1E ($40/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the WRF995FIF*** ($142/yr, its priciest).
Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ over 13 years
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical refrigerator's service life at 13 years; run the Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ that long and it costs about $1,791 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Shopping for a new one
The Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ runs above its category average. If the refrigerator you actually own is older still, likely well past ENERGY STAR's efficiency baseline when it was made, a current certified model could cost meaningfully less than this model's $138/year every year.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators before buying.
If you're keeping it
The Whirlpool WRMF3636SZ already costs $138/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
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. At rank 4,584 of 4,704 for running cost, see the refrigerator category page for the rest of the field, or the guide to how much your state matters.