Model
Midea MRF18B4***
Rank #709 means 708 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 72nd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 72% of those models.
What does the Midea MRF18B4*** cost to run per year?
The Midea MRF18B4*** costs about $86 a year to run, more than most of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track; it ranks #709. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $96/yr to run, a saving of roughly $10 a year. Size-adjusted, this model beats 72% of refrigerator models we track on efficiency, better than most of its class. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 18.4 cu ft (the class spans 1.2 to 31.7), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Koolmore KM-RERFD**-18C at $86/yr runs a little cheaper and the Omnimax 3750-077 at $86/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A refrigerator typically stays in service for somewhere around 12 years; over that span, the Midea MRF18B4***'s $86/yr adds up to roughly $1032 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Aviva ARBM184FSE2.
By the numbers
The Midea MRF18B4*** normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $86/yr, here is what the Midea MRF18B4*** adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Midea MRF18B4*** costs about $860. That is roughly $100 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $960 over the same ten years.
How the Midea MRF18B4*** compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $86/yr, it runs about $22 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $78 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $96/yr, the Midea MRF18B4*** uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 18.4 cu ft, the Midea MRF18B4*** is a large refrigerator for its class, which spans 1.2 to 31.7 cu ft with a median of 12.6 cu ft, and larger refrigerator models generally cost more to run than smaller ones in the same class, simply because there is more to keep cold, spin, heat, or light.
- Interior volume. More cubic feet of cold air to maintain generally means a bigger compressor and a higher running-cost figure, even among efficient models.
- Counter depth vs standard depth. Standard-depth models generally offer more interior volume per unit of width than counter-depth models, a tradeoff between built-in looks and cubic feet.
- Compressor technology. How a compressor cycles, full on/off versus a variable-speed inverter design, is one of the biggest hidden differences behind two fridges with similar cubic feet but different running costs.
- Placement and ventilation. Ventilation clearance around the back and top matters more than most owners expect; a fridge starved of airflow runs its compressor longer to hold the same temperature.
Common questions
Is the Midea MRF18B4*** cheap to run?
Its $86/yr running cost, rank #709 of 1,000, is above what most refrigerator models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Midea MRF18B4*** cost per month?
About $7.19 a month, which is the $86 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 465 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $86 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Midea MRF18B4*** for its size?
72nd percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 711 | Koolmore KM-RERFD**-18C18.4 cu ft | $86 |
| 710 | Crosley CFDMH1834AW18.4 cu ft | $86 |
| 709 | Aviva ARBM184FSE218.4 cu ft | $86 |
| 708 | Forte F9BFRESIC450PR8.4 cu ft | $86 |
| 707 | Ge GIE19JSN****19.2 cu ft | $86 |
Source
ES_1030337_MRF18B4***_07182024132815_80219014View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Midea and MRF18B4*** are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.