I have been reading this thread with considerable interest given my shocking electric bill. (pun intended?)
I have a 15 year old 220V Marquis model 41K8. I am told it has good insulation and it appears to be in good shape. I live on the coast of Northern CA where the average temperature is about 50 degrees. The hot tub is on a fully enclosed deck area with walls and metal roof over it. I have a good spa cover and also use a floating closed cell insulation layer.
In Oct. 2009 I replaced the pump and spa pack when the original failed.
The hot tub is set to 102 deg.
My monthly electric bills show a 300Kwh increase over last year for the months of Dec. and Jan. Using the tiered PG&E billing system, these Kwh are billed at an average whopping $0.44 per Kwh instead of the baseline rate of $0.11.
My questions are similar to others here.
1) Is something wrong here? (other than with PG&E's onerous pricing system)
2) What can I do?
3) Would a much smaller hot tub save money in the long run?
Thanks in advance!
Bill