LOCHINVAR GUC-30 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 this LOCHINVAR GUC-30 4** against the registry, it uses 188 therms of natural gas a year at the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. That is 3 therms above the class median of 185 therms for 288 gas tank models.
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
- 62 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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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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Every model on file with the Department of Energy, by heater type.
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Gas-fired storage tanks, every size and draw pattern on file.
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Every LOCHINVAR model on file
What this brand files, by heater type.
UEF 0.59 · Grade G Price it on your ZIP
The registry lists this LOCHINVAR GUC-30 4** with a UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, of 0.59. This site combined that UEF with the daily hot-water draw of the medium draw pattern to compute 188 therms of natural gas a year. The registry does not publish that annual figure itself. The source is the DOE CCD, retrieved 2026-09-19. Among the 288 models registered as a gas tank at the medium draw pattern, this unit ranks 186th lowest for energy use. It sits 3 therms above the class median of 185 therms, which places it in the second-highest quarter of its class. How the annual cost is calculated is described on the methodology page.
The medium draw pattern represents a typical three- or four-person household. This unit has a first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, of 62 gallons, with a rated volume of 29 gallons. A household's peak-hour demand is what those two ratings should be compared with. The 188 therms figure applies only to the test's daily draw. A household that uses more or less hot water than that draw will use a different amount of gas, and this data does not measure how any single home behaves. Readers who want to compare fuel, space and size can use the water heater selector. Those replacing this unit can find a same-class replacement by model number.
The running cost is not stated on this page because it depends on the state average residential gas price, which differs by reader. Any cost is 188 therms multiplied by your own rate. The 3 therms gap to the class median of 185 therms therefore changes in cost as your rate changes. The cost calculator on your own ZIP applies your state average for you. 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. This page therefore gives no estimate of purchase or installation cost. The energy figure reflects the registry entry as retrieved on 2026-09-19.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19