Running cost for the TCL H18W4KW-CA
At 937.5 kWh/yr, the TCL H18W4KW-CA's ENERGY STAR certification puts it one of the more expensive models in its category to run against every other certified room air conditioner.
That $176 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.
How the TCL H18W4KW-CA compares to other room air conditioners
The category average is 603 kWh/yr; this model runs 55.5% above it, ranking 407 of 447 room air conditioners tracked here for running cost. 447 certified room air conditioners, one average, about $63/year of daylight between it and this model; the full methodology has the rest.
Neighbouring models
Right next to the TCL H18W4KW-CA on that list: TCL H18W4KW ($176/yr, 937.5 kWh/yr) runs slightly less, while TCL T18WQ2S ($176/yr, 937.5 kWh/yr) runs slightly more.
Same brand, different models
Ranked 55 of TCL's 59 certified room air conditioners, this sits between the T05WV9M ($51/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the T24WQ2S ($266/yr, its priciest).
What this adds up to over time
10 years is NAHB's typical service life for this category; at $176/year, the TCL H18W4KW-CA adds up to about $1,763 in electricity over that span.
Is it worth replacing?
The TCL H18W4KW-CA runs above its category average. If the room air conditioner 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 $176/year every year.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified room air conditioners before buying.
If you're keeping it
A room air conditioner like the TCL H18W4KW-CA is a real household expense whether or not it needs replacing yet; a protection plan is one way to budget for a repair rather than a full replacement.
How this was checked
Ranked 407 of 447, the TCL H18W4KW-CA sits in the middle of the room air conditioner category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math. The 937.5 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.