Model
Tcl H8W4MW
Rank #51 means 50 of the 404 room air conditioner models we track cost less to run each year; the 85th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 85% of those models.
What does the Tcl H8W4MW cost to run per year?
Rank #51 of 404 puts the Tcl H8W4MW among the cheapest room air conditioner models we track to keep running, at roughly $74 a year. It uses 38% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $120/yr to run, a saving of roughly $46 a year. Few room air conditioner models we track beat it on size-adjusted efficiency; it edges out 85% of the class once capacity is normalized. At a CEER of 15, its combined energy efficiency ratio is the single figure that best explains how it earns its running-cost number.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Tcl H8W4KW-CA at $74/yr runs a little cheaper and the Tcl T08WQ2S at $74/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A room air conditioner typically stays in service for somewhere around 10 years; over that span, the Tcl H8W4MW's $74/yr adds up to roughly $740 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Black+Decker BD08NWES.
By the numbers
The Tcl H8W4MW normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $74/yr, here is what the Tcl H8W4MW adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Tcl H8W4MW costs about $740. That is roughly $460 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $1200 over the same ten years.
How the Tcl H8W4MW compares
The room air conditioner class we track runs from $51 to $389 a year. At $74/yr, it runs about $25 a year cheaper than the class median of $99, and it is about $23 a year more than the cheapest room air conditioner to run at $51. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $120/yr, the Tcl H8W4MW uses 38% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 8000 BTU/hr, the Tcl H8W4MW is a small room air conditioner for its class, which spans 5000 to 34100 BTU/hr with a median of 10100 BTU/hr, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is. The CEER of 15 on this model, above the class median of 15, measures combined energy efficiency ratio; it is the number to compare directly against another model's CEER if capacity is similar.
- Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio (CEER). Two units with the same BTU rating can post very different running costs, and CEER is the figure that explains most of that gap.
- BTU cooling capacity. BTU rating scales with room size, and it is usually the first driver of an air conditioner's running cost, ahead of its CEER figure.
- Thermostat and mode usage. How the unit is actually operated, thermostat cycling versus a fixed setting, moves real electricity use more than the rated BTU or CEER figure alone.
Common questions
Is the Tcl H8W4MW cheap to run?
Yes. Its $74/yr running cost puts it at rank #51 of 404, below what most room air conditioner models we track cost to run.
How much does the Tcl H8W4MW cost per month?
About $6.19 a month, which is the $74 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 400 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $74 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Tcl H8W4MW for its size?
85th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Tcl H8W4KW-CA8000 BTU/hr | $74 |
| 100 | Tcl H8W4KW8000 BTU/hr | $74 |
| 99 | Rovsun TIWC-08CRD18000 BTU/hr | $74 |
| 98 | Rovsun RVTIW-08CRD18000 BTU/hr | $74 |
| 97 | Richmond RMV08A10A8000 BTU/hr | $74 |
Source
ES_1126578_H8W4MW_12052023105345_5636102View certified room air conditioner listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Tcl and H8W4MW are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.