Model
Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A
Rank #695 means 694 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 65th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 65% of those models.
What does the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A cost to run per year?
The Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A costs about $85 a year to run, more than most of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track; it ranks #695. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $95/yr to run, a saving of roughly $10 a year. Size-adjusted, this model beats 65% 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 17.3 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 Fisher & Paykel RF178WRNUX1 at $85/yr runs a little cheaper and the Summit FDRD17PL at $85/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 Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A's $85/yr adds up to roughly $1020 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Summit FDRD17PL, Summit LRF4D18PL, Unique UNQ-FR17LTP AC LG, Vitara VQFR1720ESE.
By the numbers
The Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A 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 $85/yr, here is what the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A costs about $850. That is roughly $100 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $950 over the same ten years.
How the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $85/yr, it runs about $21 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $77 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $95/yr, the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17.3 cu ft, the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A is a mid-size refrigerator for its class, which spans 1.2 to 31.7 cu ft with a median of 12.6 cu ft, putting it squarely in the middle of the class on the size lever that drives most of the cost.
- 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 Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A cheap to run?
Its $85/yr running cost, rank #695 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 Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A cost per month?
About $7.07 a month, which is the $85 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: 457 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $85 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Farberware FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A for its size?
65th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 694 | Fisher & Paykel RF178WRNUX118.2 cu ft | $85 |
| 693 | Ikea IRT138FD*0*18.3 cu ft | $84 |
| 692 | Truarctic TARBM1731SS17.2 cu ft | $84 |
| 691 | Hisense RB17N3ESE17.2 cu ft | $84 |
| 690 | Hisense RB170P3ESEH17.2 cu ft | $84 |
Source
FW-MRF179US-TU-I6AView certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Farberware and FW-MRF179US-TU-I6A 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.