Original > Hot Tub Forum
High electricity usage
Tman122:
--- Quote from: Firsttimehottub on January 14, 2020, 08:40:33 am ---
--- Quote from: ratchett on January 14, 2020, 07:21:33 am ---Yeah, that doesn't sound right. I'm in a warmer climate. But my new 200 gallon 3-seater has only increased my electric bill about $10 USD per month this winter, so basically nothing haha
If it were me, I would be calling an electrician to review the wiring. And then I'd get a FLiR thermal imaging camera and start looking for any "hot spots" - naturally the tub is going to get hot - but I'd be looking for an electrical short generating heat.
I'm by no means an expert on hot tubs, but I do work with electrical components enough to know it sounds like you might have a short (or loose connection) which is using up electricity and converting it to heat.
The only other thing I'm thinking is that your cover is not properly seated and you're losing heat through an improperly sealed cover. But I don't see how this could be the case.
In either case I replied just so I can follow along, I'm curious to know what this turns out to be.
--- End quote ---
Thanks, will keep you updated. Do you think the short might be in the hot tub or the wiring, if anywhere? Will see what our little meter reading test says and that might narrow it down a bit.
--- End quote ---
It's not a short, Your GFCI would trip if even the slightest short was in the system.
Tman122:
It is not uncommon for a good sized tub with a ton of use (during the first year your use can be easily triple your normal use) to cost a ton more than expected. A tub costing 40-50 even 60 bucks a month on average is normal. Even if your dealer said 20-30 bucks a month. You may see a month cost 20 bucks when use is down and temps are up. But you may see a month cost 50 bucks if use is up and temps are down.
Firsttimehottub:
Just an update as we have now tested the electricity meter readings with and without the hot tub turned on.
Monday AM - reading 12039 - hot tub on all day, normal electricity use in house, used hot tub in evening for 45 minutes
Tuesday AM - reading 12066 - usage of 27KwH for the previous 24 hours, hot tub them turned off
Wednesday AM - reading 12071 - usage of 5KwH for the previous 24 hours with normal household usage but hot tub off
On our current electricity tariff the usage with hot tub on equates to around £3.86 for the day, compared to 71p for the day with it off, so we're about £3 a day extra. It's about 22 KwH extra per day.
Does that sound like a lot/ too much/ about right?
bud16415:
--- Quote from: Firsttimehottub on January 15, 2020, 04:10:50 am ---Just an update as we have now tested the electricity meter readings with and without the hot tub turned on.
Monday AM - reading 12039 - hot tub on all day, normal electricity use in house, used hot tub in evening for 45 minutes
Tuesday AM - reading 12066 - usage of 27KwH for the previous 24 hours, hot tub them turned off
Wednesday AM - reading 12071 - usage of 5KwH for the previous 24 hours with normal household usage but hot tub off
On our current electricity tariff the usage with hot tub on equates to around £3.86 for the day, compared to 71p for the day with it off, so we're about £3 a day extra. It's about 22 KwH extra per day.
Does that sound like a lot/ too much/ about right?
--- End quote ---
That’s about $4 per day USD if my math is correct.
We live in the USA up on the great lakes and have a 6 person Caldera tub and some artic like weather Where we live the cost is about $.15 per kWh so assuming 27k as you measured that’s 27 x .15 = $4.05 here as well 4.05 x 30 = $121.50 / month. Our monthly bill in the winter is around $140 for a 1500 sq foot home gas heat and gas hot water with a 240v electric hot tub.
So if I had to guess your £3 is about correct. I know when a tub is new you are in it more and likely have it open more with messing with the water and stuff. Summer usage is different also as you will likely run it at a lower temp and the outside temp is warmer. Mine sits on a wood deck like yours and I don’t see that as a problem.
So the question is on a yearly basis I’m paying about $2 a day for power and well less than $1 day for water and supplies and hoping the tub lasts 20 years or 7300 days we paid $12k for the tub so that’s $1.64 per day. So all in I’m guessing my tub costs me about $5 per day for having a spa treatment just outside my door for the rest of my life. Then there are two of us that enjoy it so lets call it $2.50 per person.
The health benefits are hard to measure my guess is the good outweighs the bad in the long run. Especially when you look at all the things we spend $3 per day on.
terps19:
I live in an all electric house in the North East USA. Electric heat, electric appliances, electric water heater etc.
We just got our tub 1 month ago. The temps have averaged (during the day) 39 degrees F. However, some of the nights have been pretty cold for us around 10 degrees F.
Our usage the month prior when the temps were again around 38-39 degrees F was 1508 kwh for the month.
Our electric usage for the month we got the hot tub was about 28% more as we are looking at around 2000 kwh in January. However one of those days was the initial heat up that we used 120 kwh that day alone (we average about 60 KWH per day with the hot tub) and another 120 KWH day when I flipped the breaker when I was taking the cover off and forgot to turn it back on until the next day. But I would imagine something else used a lot of that KW that day.
I am in the hot tub everyday for about 30-40 mins. Weekends I am in it twice a day usually. Sometimes my kids will use it as well outside of my use. So looks like this past month we are using about $2.25 more per day in electric usage.
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