What the A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** costs to run
The A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** is certified by ENERGY STAR at 1,341 kWh a year, more expensive than most models in its category to run among electric water heaters currently certified.
That $252 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 A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** compares to other electric water heaters
The category average is 1,105 kWh/yr; this model runs 21.4% above it, ranking 493 of 596 electric water heaters tracked here for running cost. 596 certified electric water heaters, one average, about $44/year of daylight between it and this model; the full methodology has the rest.
Neighbouring models
Right next to the A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** on that list: SANCO2 GS5-45HPC-D HP + ECO-119GLBK ($251/yr, 1,333 kWh/yr) runs slightly less, while A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66TTP 1** ($252/yr, 1,341 kWh/yr) runs slightly more.
Within the A. O. Smith lineup
Ranked 42 of A. O. Smith's 61 certified electric water heaters, this sits between the HPS10-50H45DV 2** ($156/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the HPV10-80H01DV 2** ($311/yr, its priciest).
A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** over 11 years
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical electric water heater's service life at 11 years; run the A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** that long and it costs about $2,773 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Is it worth replacing?
Running above the category average, $252/year is exactly the kind of number that makes a newer, more efficient model pay for itself faster.
Worth comparing a few current certified models before deciding.
If you're keeping it
A electric water heater like the A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** 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
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. Ranked 493 of 596, the A. O. Smith HPACO-45 1**+AXST-66 1** sits in the middle of the electric water heater category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math.