OK, You guys are great- Being the newbie here I hope it's ok if I ask some dumb questions. I just got my bill for Dec-Jan and it was $172.35 for the hottub only. It was for 881 kWh. The previous months were Dec=703, Nov=595, Oct=472, Sept=330 Aug=316 the lowest reading.
I LOVE it, but REALLY need to fix this problem. I bought a floating 3/4 inch closed cell foam sheet last month and thought it would cut the heat loss out the top, but I don't know if did much good. My Spa came with a 5" cover. We have a couple feet of snow on the ground here and my spa is sunken into my deck so I don't have any easily access to open the cabinet sides. I appreciate all and any ideas. I will plan to get the sides off and some real insutlation in there this summer. Any tips for now? Thanks-Cheryl
And you're in California. I hope not southern CA. I'm in NY & I use 1/2 that- and I run the occassional electric heater, and a furnace blower to boot.
First off-- holy crap on the electric rate. I'll stop whining about National Grids $.16 rate.
Good idea on the thermometer. But I'd concentrate on insulating *inside the cabinet*. Dead air space is what really insulates. Whether the air is trapped inside little styrofoam beads, or between fibers made of spun glass, or inside plastic bubbles. . . it is the *dead* air that insulates. Bags of peanuts on the outside will do some good- but they become a breeding place for all kinds of critters, 4 to 100 legged. The styrofoam panels on the outside will work if you then wrap them in plastic to keep the cool breeze from blowing between the cabinet and the insulation.
The bubble wrap foil that I mentioned earlier should make a big difference just lying on the floor inside the cabinet. Then, if your cabinet allows it- staple it up along the top only- and then put the cabinet sides on locking it in place. This will eliminate all infiltration which is your enemy.
This thread has lots of comments and a couple images- I'll take some pictures of mine when the weather is better.
http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.ph...amp;#entry41306
That seems like a no-brainer, but apparently it isn't so obvious. Turning them off will also help keep your ph & TA steady. Insulating the cabinet helps on the cold air through the jets, too. I leave my hottub at 101 and my cabinet is 92 when it is zero degrees outside. I can feel the difference in temp for a second when I turn them on, but I was in a tub last fall thet nearly shot you out of the thing if you didn't start the air before getting in.
Jim