A. O. SMITH EELBU-50 1**
0.92 UEF DOE CCD · 2026-09-19Grade G: where this UEF sits among the 426 models in its class, lowest (G) to highest (A). A position, not an official label. How the grade is set
An electric tank, medium draw pattern (a typical three- or four-person household, about 55 gallons on a busy morning).
The A. O. SMITH EELBU-50 1**, an electric tank water heater, uses 3,531 kWh annually at the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. This model serves a typical three- or four-person household, and that use equals its class median of 3,531 kWh among 426 comparable models, ranking 213th lowest energy use of 426.
Energy use per year
3,531 kWh a year
Computed by this site from the registry's UEF and the federal test's daily hot-water draw for this draw pattern. What it costs depends on the electricity rate where you live.
That is equal to the median of 3,531 kWh for the 426 models registered in the same heater type and draw pattern; it ranks 213 of 426, lowest energy first.
Solid line: this model (3,531 kWh). Dashed line: the class median.
Min 773 kWh Median 3,531 kWh Max 3,569 kWh
What it costs to run where you live
What the registry files
- UEF (Uniform Energy Factor) how much hot water you get for each unit of energy the heater uses
- 0.92 DOE CCD · 2026-09-19 Compared only with other models registered as an electric tank at the medium draw pattern.
- Draw Pattern the standard daily usage profile DOE tests the unit against
- Medium DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- First Hour Rating how many gallons of hot water the unit can deliver in one hour, starting from a full tank
- 55 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- Rated Storage Volume the tank size in gallons
- 44 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
What it costs to install
$1,707–$2,003 installed
Not a quote — a modeled range of what installers have charged for this class of unit; your price will vary with labor rates, access, and local code requirements.
Escalation indexes: equipment (BLS PPI) latest available: August 2026; labor (BLS ECI) latest available: April 2026 to June 2026.
NLR REMDB (BLS PPI/ECI escalated) · 2026-04-01Safety record
No CPSC recall names this model.
Checked against the CPSC recall database. CPSC does not publish a model-level match for this product category, so this list is curated by hand from the manufacturer's recall filings.
CPSC · 2026-09-24What these figures mean
How this compares
The closest models in the same class — same fuel, type and draw pattern.
Keep going
How every figure on this page is calculated
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Find what replaces your water heater
Enter the model number off your old unit and see what is on file today, with the yearly cost difference.
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Find a water heater that fits
Three questions — fuel, hot water need, install space — narrow every model on file to the ones that fit.
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What a water heater costs to run
Prices a unit's efficiency against your own utility's filed tariff for your ZIP code.
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Is a 40-gallon water heater enough?
Answered from what models in this size actually file.
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Water heaters
Every model on file with the Department of Energy, by heater type.
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All electric resistance tank water heaters
Electric tanks that file a UEF below 2.0 — heated by elements, not a heat pump.
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Every A. O. SMITH model on file
What this brand files, by heater type.
UEF 0.92 · Grade G Price it on your ZIP
This annual energy figure comes from the model's UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, of 0.92. It is tested at the medium draw pattern, for a typical three- or four-person household. At that draw, this A. O. SMITH EELBU-50 1** is estimated to use 3,531 kWh of electricity a year. This site computes that figure from the registry's UEF and the federal test's daily hot-water draw, not a number the registry states directly. The methodology explained here covers how that calculation is made. Among 426 electric tank models at the medium draw pattern, this unit's annual use sits 0 kWh from the class median of 3,531 kWh. It ranks 213th lowest energy use of 426, in the second-lowest quarter of its class for energy use.
The first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, is 55 gallons for this model. Its rated volume is 44 gallons. That output is sized to the medium draw pattern this energy figure assumes, matching moderate morning demand rather than a larger or smaller household. A household whose daily hot-water draw is heavier or lighter than this pattern would see a different result. The registry does not publish a figure for other draw patterns on this page. Readers comparing several models for the same job can use the selector by fuel, space and size. They can also find a same-class replacement by model number to check whether its rated volume and first hour rating fit their own household.
The page does not state a running cost, because that number depends on the reader's own utility electricity tariff, which varies by location. Instead, the site calculates a cost figure from the reader's ZIP code. It uses the 3,531 kWh annual electricity use shown above for this A. O. SMITH EELBU-50 1** at the medium draw pattern. Readers can get that figure from the cost calculator on the reader's own ZIP. It applies local electricity rates to this unit's annual energy use, rather than a national average. An installed price range appears in its own block elsewhere on the page, sourced and dated separately from this discussion.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19