Summer Time Mode On Hot Springs

[ht2020]

Just got a new Hot Springs Vanguard and am enjoying using it mainly in the evenings in the backyard. I noticed that it has a summer time mode and was wondering what the main usage of that would be. The explanation in the menu is that it totally shuts down the heating and the circulation pumps for 8 hours a day (eg: 7am to 3PM). At 3PM it would restart and would hopefully reach my preferred temp of 102F by evening time again. My question is would I use this setting to save energy? Or is this a method of having a cooler tub for use in the middle of the day? Or both? My understanding was that the circulation pump was very important in maintaining a clean tub and that it should be going 24/7. If it shuts down 8 hours a day would this compromise the cleanliness of the tub? Last point, I understand that obviously less energy is used during the 8 hours that heaters and pumps are off, but then the spa needs to get the water back to 102F by evening (doesn't this waste as much energy as was saved by shutting it off for 8 hours?) I live in Los Angeles where late spring and summer temps are in the 80-90F range most of the time; I like to use the tub at 102F.

[Hot Spring Ace]

The one thing good about these circ pumps on your spa is something like 80% of the energy to run it goes back into the water. Its very efficient energy wise for this reason and yes you want to run it 24/7. However, in some applications thats a problem for a few months a year, especially in places like Las Vegas and Phoenix where its brutally hot for extended peiods. If you have the water set to 101º for instance, when it reaches temp the heater turns off but the circ pump is still running and adding a small bit of heat to the water but if its the middle of summer and well into triple digits outside the spa starts creeping up in temp and might get to something like 106, 108, 110º or more. Its only during the extended super hot times that its needed and even though it can get hot where you are I doubt you'd need to use it typically. If you run into this happening just prop the cover open with a tennis ball or something for a couple days so it can release some heat but if its super hot for weeks or months at a time the summer timer works good by keeping the circ pump off during the hottest time of the day to avoid that temp from creeping too high.