A. O. SMITH GCRH-40 4**
0.59 UEF DOE CCD · 2026-09-19Grade G: 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 checking the A. O. SMITH GCRH-40 4**, this gas tank heater uses 188 therms of natural gas a year. That figure belongs to the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. That is 3 therms above the 185 therms median for the 288 gas tank models registered at that draw pattern.
Energy use per year
188 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 above the median of 185 therms for the 288 models registered in the same heater type and draw pattern; it ranks 186 of 288, lowest energy first.
Solid line: this model (188 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
- 0.59 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
- 65 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- Rated Storage Volume the tank size in gallons
- 38 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
What it costs to install
$1,351–$2,012 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 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 0.59 · Grade G Price it on your ZIP
This site calculated the 188 therms figure. The registry does not publish it. It combines the registry's UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, with the daily hot-water draw in DOE's test for the medium pattern. This model's UEF is 0.59. The inputs come from the DOE CCD, retrieved 2026-09-19. The figure depends on the test's daily draw, so it holds only for use at that level. A home that draws more or less hot water each day will use a different amount of gas. The steps behind the number are set out in how the annual energy and cost figures are calculated.
The A. O. SMITH GCRH-40 4** ranks 186th for lowest energy use among the 288 gas tank models at the medium draw pattern. That places it in the second-highest quarter of its class for energy use. The medium pattern stands for a typical household's use on a busy morning. Its first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, is 65 gallons. The tank's rated volume is 38 gallons. A household that needs more than 65 gallons in its busiest hour is not covered by that rating. To compare it with other models in the same class, use the same-class replacement search by model number.
The running cost is not stated in this text. It depends on your state's average residential gas price. The page computes it from your ZIP code, using the 188 therms figure at the medium draw pattern. Enter your ZIP in the water heater running cost calculator for your ZIP code to see it. The 3 therms gap to the class median becomes a cost difference only at your own gas rate. That cost difference is therefore not given here either. The installed-cost range appears in its own block on this page, with its source and date. It is a modeled range, not a quote.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19