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GDM

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  1. I am in Southern CA as well, and my rate is $.30. I am 200%+ over my baseline. Jmendoza, I installed the solar kit and will give you the verdict in a few days. Do you live near Palos Verdes?
  2. This is where I found the system... http://www.solarhottub.com/. Luckily, the guy who owns the website lives down the street from me so he came over and showed me how it will work. He is going to help me set it up on Saturday. I will take pictures and report on the performance.
  3. I am making the plunge into solar heating for the PE2. Next weekend I am going to install the system, and if our estimate that the heater is 75% or more of the electrical usage, my kWh usage should drop dramatically. The system is going to pull water from the outlet intended to drain the spa, it will be pumped by a 5 gpm RV pump, the water will then get heated by 2 20 foot solar panels and get put back int the tub through the waterfall. If it works as it is supposed to, the solar panels will heat the water as high as 125 degrees in one day (although I will probably set the solar thermostat at 110 so that after the sun is down and the tub cools it should drop to the perfect temp). I am going to turn the spa heater down to 80 so that it never turns on. Assuming this drops my electric bill, I will leave the breaker on and let the circulation pump continue to go. If the bill is too high, I will install an in-line UV filter in the solar infrastructure and turn off the breaker completely. One way or another, this tub will no longer cost me $150/month. (btw, the cost of the system was $950)
  4. I'll be curious to hear if the new spa pack lowers the energy consumption. From everything I have read, 10kwh is about normal for spa energy conumption in a day.
  5. Did the tech say it is problem with your specific spa pack, or the spa pack in all of the PII's (i.e bad design)?
  6. So I found a possible solar solution to the electric bill problem. There is a guy with a product that will heat the water and filter it, all powered by solar power. Luckily, he lives down the street from me (I found his website via google, but I got lucky and he lives close). He is going to come over on Saturday and show me how it works. The cost is ~$1,000. If it works I plan to turn off the breaker for the tub and only turn the spa power on when we want the jets. I will let you know how it works. Here is the website.... http://www.solarhottub.com/
  7. How do I get a meter for the spa? I called SCE, but they won't hook up a meter for just the spa.
  8. Joe- would it be possible to post pictures? I am interested in doing the same thing, but am unsure as to how it should look when I am done.
  9. I live in Los Angeles, so I would expect the mild weather to help my cause. Even in the summer when the outside temp is 100+, the energy bill was still over $100 more than the pre-spa days. I sent my bill to Hydrospas and they said .$31 for an electric rate is way higher than most. I am planning to add insulation and hope for the best.
  10. I bought a Platinum II and have the exact same problem with the power consumption. I was using ~400kwh before the spa, and with the addition of the spa I am now ~900 kwh. What this means is that the spa is using more electricity than the entire house. This problem is amplified by the fact that the electric rates increase exponentially as you go over your baseline usage. My bill was ~$70 and is now ~$210. I called the manufacturer and it turns out that this is the amount of energy they expect it to use, but when you live in the Ozarks, electricity is not expensive. I am still looking for ways to cut down on the consumption (adding insulation, solar, etc.), but am coming up empty. If anybody has any ideas.....
  11. Would it be possible to post pictures, or send me an e-mail? I have a Platinum II, and the energy bill is killing me. I live in So CA so we already have high electricty rates, but my bill tripled with the new spa. I desperately need to cut down on the power usage or the hot tub will turn into a $4k paper weight. I don't remember seeing any bubble wrap in the cabinet, only blown on styrofoam (on the underbelly of the shell). Thank you!!!!
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