Running cost for the TCL T08WV9SB
At 375 kWh/yr, the TCL T08WV9SB's ENERGY STAR certification puts it one of the cheaper models in its category to run against every other certified room air conditioner.
That $71 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.
Efficient, or not, for a room air conditioner
Against the category average of 603 kWh/yr, this model uses 37.8% less, ranking 47 of 447 room air conditioners tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 447 room air conditioners ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $43/year gap from this model at the national rate. Full sourcing is in the sourcing notes.
Right next to it on the list
A rank or two either side of the TCL T08WV9SB: TCL T08WV9S ($71/yr, 375 kWh/yr), then TCL W8WC72 ($71/yr, 375 kWh/yr).
Within the TCL lineup
Ranked 19 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 $71/year, the TCL T08WV9SB adds up to about $705 in electricity over that span.
Weighing a replacement
Efficient as certified room air conditioners go, $71/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified room air conditioners before buying.
If you're keeping it
The TCL T08WV9SB already costs $71/year to run; a repair bill on top of that is the kind of expense a protection plan exists to smooth out.
Where this number comes from
Ranked 47 of 447, the TCL T08WV9SB 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 375 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.