A. O. SMITH FMHR-30 4**
0.6 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).
Checking this water heater? The A. O. SMITH FMHR-30 4** uses 185 therms of natural gas a year at the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. That equals its class median of 185 therms. The difference is 0 therms, and it ranks 89th lowest of 288.
Energy use per year
185 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 equal to the median of 185 therms for the 288 models registered in the same heater type and draw pattern; it ranks 89 of 288, lowest energy first.
Solid line: this model (185 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
- 0.6 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
- 63 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 0.6 · Grade F Price it on your ZIP
The figure of 185 therms was computed by this site, not listed by the registry. It uses the registry's UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, which is 0.6 for this model. It also uses the daily hot-water draw that the federal test sets for the medium draw pattern. The source is the DOE CCD, retrieved 2026-09-19. The figure holds only for natural gas at that draw. A household that draws more or less hot water than the test draw will use a different amount.
Among the 288 models registered as a gas tank at the medium draw pattern, this one ranks 89th lowest for energy use. That places it in the second-lowest quarter of its class. Its difference from the class median of 185 therms is 0 therms, so it equals the median. Its first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, is 63 gallons. The rated volume is 29 gallons. These two ratings describe capacity, not energy use, so they do not change the rank. To compare with another unit in the same class, find a same-class replacement by model number.
The running cost is not stated here. It depends on the state average residential gas price, which differs by reader. Multiply 185 therms by your own rate, or use the cost calculator on your own ZIP. The steps behind that calculation are set out in how the annual cost is calculated. 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 that range is not stretched past its limit. Any cost figure beyond energy use is therefore not available for this page.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19