A. O. SMITH FMDV-30 2**
0.61 UEF DOE CCD · 2026-09-19Grade F: where this UEF sits among the 288 models in its class, lowest (G) to highest (A). A position, not an official label. How the grade is set
A gas tank, medium draw pattern (a typical three- or four-person household, about 55 gallons on a busy morning).
If you are verifying the A. O. SMITH FMDV-30 2**: it uses 182 therms of natural gas a year at the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. That is 3 therms below the 185 therms class median for 288 gas tank models.
Energy use per year
182 therms 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 natural gas rate where you live.
That is below the median of 185 therms for the 288 models registered in the same heater type and draw pattern; it ranks 73 of 288, lowest energy first.
Solid line: this model (182 therms). Dashed line: the class median.
Min 148 therms Median 185 therms Max 194 therms
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
- 0.61 DOE CCD · 2026-09-19 Compared only with other models registered as a gas 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
- 60 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- Rated Storage Volume the tank size in gallons
- 29 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
What it costs to install
Not published: Installed cost range
This model's rated tank size lies outside the range NLR REMDB's cost model was fitted on, and the range is not stretched past it.
The annual energy figure on this page does not depend on this range and is unaffected.
Safety 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 30-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 gas tank water heaters
Gas-fired storage tanks, every size and draw pattern on file.
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Every A. O. SMITH model on file
What this brand files, by heater type.
UEF 0.61 · Grade F Price it on your ZIP
The registry lists a UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, of 0.61 for the A. O. SMITH FMDV-30 2**. The registry does not publish annual energy use; this site computes it. The 182 therms figure comes from that UEF and the DOE test's daily hot-water draw for the medium draw pattern. The data source is DOE CCD, retrieved 2026-09-19. Among the 288 models registered as a gas tank at this draw pattern, this unit has the 73rd lowest energy use of 288, in the second-lowest quarter of its class. Its use is 3 therms below the class median of 185 therms. The steps behind the calculation are set out in how the annual cost is calculated.
The 182 therms figure describes the medium draw pattern only, which is a typical household on a busy morning. A home that draws more or less hot water than the federal test will use a different amount of gas, and the data here gives no value for other draws. The first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, is 60 gallons. The rated volume is 29 gallons. The figure suits households whose use is close to the medium draw pattern and does not describe households with a different draw. Readers comparing by fuel, space or size can use the selector by fuel, space and size. This page does not say whether the unit meets any particular household's demand.
The running cost is not stated here because it depends on your state's average residential gas price. Multiply 182 therms by the price per therm for your state, or enter your ZIP in the cost calculator on your own ZIP, which does this for you. The result holds only at the medium draw pattern. The gap of 3 therms from the class median of 185 therms changes the annual cost by that many therms multiplied by your rate. An installed price range is not published for this model: its ratings lie outside the range the cost database's model was fitted on, and the range is not stretched past it. To compare a same-class alternative on the same basis, look up a same-class replacement by model number.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19