Model
Thermador T42BT120NS
Rank #891 means 890 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 60th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 60% of those models.
What does the Thermador T42BT120NS cost to run per year?
The Thermador T42BT120NS holds rank #891 of 1,000 on running cost, at about $117 a year, a genuinely pricey result for the class. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $129/yr to run, a saving of roughly $12 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it edges out 60% of the class, a modestly above-average showing. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 23.1 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 Samsung RF24BB6600** at $117/yr runs a little cheaper and the Lg LF27BCH54* at $117/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 Thermador T42BT120NS's $117/yr adds up to roughly $1404 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Thermador T42BT120NS 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 $117/yr, here is what the Thermador T42BT120NS adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Thermador T42BT120NS costs about $1170. That is roughly $120 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $1290 over the same ten years.
How the Thermador T42BT120NS compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $117/yr, it runs about $53 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $109 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $129/yr, the Thermador T42BT120NS uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 23.1 cu ft, the Thermador T42BT120NS 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 Thermador T42BT120NS cheap to run?
Its $117/yr running cost, rank #891 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 Thermador T42BT120NS cost per month?
About $9.76 a month, which is the $117 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: 631 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $117 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Thermador T42BT120NS for its size?
60th 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
Source
ES_31649_T42BT120NS_022220241841854_9664148View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Thermador and T42BT120NS 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.