A. O. Smith HPTU-50N 1 Running Cost (Electric Water Heater)
What the A. O. Smith HPTU-50N 1 costs to run
The A. O. Smith HPTU-50N 1 is certified by ENERGY STAR at 902 kWh a year, cheaper than most models in its category to run among electric water heaters currently certified.
That $170 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 electric water heater
Against the category average of 1,105 kWh/yr, this model uses 18.4% less, ranking 161 of 596 electric water heaters tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 596 electric water heaters ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $38/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 A. O. Smith HPTU-50N 1: A. O. Smith HPTU-50DR 1 ($170/yr, 902 kWh/yr), then American HPA10240H045DV 2 ($170/yr, 902 kWh/yr).
Comparing A. O. Smith's own models
Ranked 14 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).
Cost over its typical lifespan
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 HPTU-50N 1 that long and it costs about $1,865 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Is it worth replacing?
Efficient as certified electric water heaters go, $170/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
Whether or not the A. O. Smith HPTU-50N 1 ever needs replacing, a repair is the more common failure for a electric water heater, one a protection plan budgets for ahead of time.
Where this number comes from
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. At rank 161 of 596 for running cost, see the electric water heater category page for the rest of the field, or the guide to how much your state matters.