Repair: Let's say your refrigerator uses $20 of energy per month, which is $240 a year, Spencer says. A new Energy Star refrigerator will cost $10 a month, or $120 a year, to run.

If your refrigerator is giving you trouble—your water dispenser has slowed to a trickle, your icemaker keeps jamming, or worse, you open the door and get hit by a warm breeze—you’re probably ...

“Most fridge repair costs today are between $150 and $600,” he says. “With a $600 fix on a five-year old refrigerator you’d probably buy a new one.