shayno Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amber044 Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. My sundance tub has standard and economy, I use economy most of the time in order to save on $$ on the electric bill.. There is a difference as far has how often the heater works..... it works for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shayno Posted February 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. My sundance tub has standard and economy, I use economy most of the time in order to save on $$ on the electric bill.. There is a difference as far has how often the heater works..... it works for us Thanks appreciate that. I noted in my manual that it will maintain temp to within 20 degrees of set temp. Being new to this, I was concerned that any saving in hydro by going to Econ mode would be offset by having to reheat water back to set temp. That being said, if temp drop is only 4-5 degrees per day, might not take much to bring it back. Do you know if it affects your circulation / filtration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drip Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Economy mode on a spa refers to the times that the tub will heat. In economy it will only heat during a filter cycle. Standard mode means it will heat whenever there is a heat call. I don't have a spa but most people I run into working on them keep it in standard. I would think that if you use it regularly standard would be best and if you go on vacation economy and a lowered temp would be best. I suspect that there is some saving to useing economy though. It does not affect filtration. If you are new spas one thing that will prevent a LOT of problems is maintaining a proper ph....that can't be stressed enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soakerman Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Economy mode on a spa refers to the times that the tub will heat. In economy it will only heat during a filter cycle. Standard mode means it will heat whenever there is a heat call. I don't have a spa but most people I run into working on them keep it in standard. I would think that if you use it regularly standard would be best and if you go on vacation economy and a lowered temp would be best. I suspect that there is some saving to useing economy though. It does not affect filtration. If you are new spas one thing that will prevent a LOT of problems is maintaining a proper ph....that can't be stressed enough I use the economy mode alot and turn it to standard about a hour prior to use with great sucess. If I go on vacation I have a sleep mode that protects from freezing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Economy mode on a spa refers to the times that the tub will heat. In economy it will only heat during a filter cycle. Standard mode means it will heat whenever there is a heat call. I don't have a spa but most people I run into working on them keep it in standard. I would think that if you use it regularly standard would be best and if you go on vacation economy and a lowered temp would be best. I suspect that there is some saving to useing economy though. It does not affect filtration. If you are new spas one thing that will prevent a LOT of problems is maintaining a proper ph....that can't be stressed enough I use the economy mode alot and turn it to standard about a hour prior to use with great sucess. If I go on vacation I have a sleep mode that protects from freezing. We have standard, economy and sleep mode in our tub. This is how each works for us. Standard: Maintains set temp Economy Comes on to heat only during filter cycles. We have a 24 hour circ pump, but with economy still have to set a filter cycle. We set this cycle to start about 3 hours before our tub use each night (then it does it again 12 hours later) this allows the tub to be up to temp when we use it. We only lose about 3-4 degrees between the 12 hour periods. Sleep mode: allows the tub to drop 20 degrees below the set temp, will not pull the temp back up to set temp untill taken out of sleep mode. Each company seems to have a different configuration for their boards. The economy mode seems to save between 3-6 dollars a month for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeybobby Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. The economy mode will also save wear and tear on the pump.... If it is set in standard mode it will kick on and off quite a few times in the run of a day. In the economy mode it only turns on and off twice in the run of a day. When I first turned my tub on and left it in standard it kicked on at least once every 20 min.. It is right outside my bedroom and I would lay there getting more and more annoyed at how much it is kicking on... Economy is deff the way to go.. Even if it doesnt save you much at the end of the month it will save you lots of wear and tear on the motor and the relays on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. The economy mode will also save wear and tear on the pump.... If it is set in standard mode it will kick on and off quite a few times in the run of a day. In the economy mode it only turns on and off twice in the run of a day. When I first turned my tub on and left it in standard it kicked on at least once every 20 min.. It is right outside my bedroom and I would lay there getting more and more annoyed at how much it is kicking on... Economy is deff the way to go.. Even if it doesnt save you much at the end of the month it will save you lots of wear and tear on the motor and the relays on the board. Very true if you are running heat from a dual duty pump, ours heats off the circ pump, the setting of the filter cycle in mine is just to purge the system and to work the economy mode since the circ pump filters 24/7. It was weird to try to figure out at first.....why set a filter cycle when we have a circ, but all makes sense now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeybobby Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Recently purchased an Artesian Spa that allows for Economy Mode between 9pm in the evening and 4pm in the afternoon. Normal Mode operate during the balance of the hours. Can anyone help me with what Econ mode does and whether anyone finds this to provide any cost savings electrically? We utilize our tub about 4 times per week and maintain approx. 103 degree temp. thx. The economy mode will also save wear and tear on the pump.... If it is set in standard mode it will kick on and off quite a few times in the run of a day. In the economy mode it only turns on and off twice in the run of a day. When I first turned my tub on and left it in standard it kicked on at least once every 20 min.. It is right outside my bedroom and I would lay there getting more and more annoyed at how much it is kicking on... Economy is deff the way to go.. Even if it doesnt save you much at the end of the month it will save you lots of wear and tear on the motor and the relays on the board. Very true if you are running heat from a dual duty pump, ours heats off the circ pump, the setting of the filter cycle in mine is just to purge the system and to work the economy mode since the circ pump filters 24/7. It was weird to try to figure out at first.....why set a filter cycle when we have a circ, but all makes sense now. I know what you mean.... I still cant figure that one out actually..... I have a circ pump that doesn't heat the water... It also doesnt control the ozone. I just dont use it. It shares a filter with pump 2 also... pffffft but Im not going to get into that again.. I already cried about it in enough posts already... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Very true if you are running heat from a dual duty pump, ours heats off the circ pump, the setting of the filter cycle in mine is just to purge the system and to work the economy mode since the circ pump filters 24/7. It was weird to try to figure out at first.....why set a filter cycle when we have a circ, but all makes sense now. If you have a circ pump that handles the heating and ozone circuits as well then I don't see the need for additionally filtering from the main pump. If someone wants to add maybe 1 hour total per day form the main pump there is little harm but anything more is totally unnecessary IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Very true if you are running heat from a dual duty pump, ours heats off the circ pump, the setting of the filter cycle in mine is just to purge the system and to work the economy mode since the circ pump filters 24/7. It was weird to try to figure out at first.....why set a filter cycle when we have a circ, but all makes sense now. If you have a circ pump that handles the heating and ozone circuits as well then I don't see the need for additionally filtering from the main pump. If someone wants to add maybe 1 hour total per day form the main pump there is little harm but anything more is totally unnecessary IMO. The main pump does not do the filtering on my spa, it just comes on to purge the system, you can set it for 0 hours, or switch the dip switches so it will never come on, but we like our lines purged daily and we use it for the economy mode, with it set to "filter" (the pump comes on to purge then shuts off) it tells the board to turn the heater back on during the set "filter" cycle. It was a bit confusing when we first got it, but it completly makes sense now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 The main pump does not do the filtering on my spa, it just comes on to purge the system, you can set it for 0 hours, or switch the dip switches so it will never come on, but we like our lines purged daily and we use it for the economy mode, with it set to "filter" (the pump comes on to purge then shuts off) it tells the board to turn the heater back on during the set "filter" cycle. It was a bit confusing when we first got it, but it completly makes sense now. If you mean purge as to just come on for a couple minutes to clean out the line then sure, that's great. I thought you were adding a few extra hours of filtering with the main pump even though you've got the circ pump filtering 24/7. Some do add a few hours with that main pump and to me it’s a waste of energy since you have the circ under normal use conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shayno Posted February 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Thanks for all the info. Being the spa was installed just before the snow in S. Ontario came, I'm trying to play with all the different options but trying to keep our energy consumption as low as possible. First 2 months energy bill came in at $45/mth which is about what I was hoping to pay but if I can reduce that and extend the life of the pumps at the same time, then it is an extra bonus. Still not sure about the filter cycle thing and I know our tub allows for different configurations. That will be the next thing to read up on. Thanks again for your help. Great website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dilauro Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I also have been thinking about the major difference and effects on electrical costs using Standard vs Economy mode I have a Masterspa Legacy Envison Tub (350gal 1 pump) My electrical costs have been sky high (Live in CT = 17 cents per KwH) Month Cost KwH Nov $306 1749 Hot tub installed 11/16/07 Dec $502 2904 $206 Increase Jan $512 3016 Again over $200 / month Talking with the electrical company, there calculator comes up with: 50 amp = apprx 1500 watts, 1.5-3hp, 720 months = $180, motor running 24 hours a day. Actual heating of the water would cost only $15 month. Now, they could not define what MOTOR is. So, I need help in defining these terms (if there is any difference) Motor Pump Heater To me, the motor is on 24 hours a day, thats just the power to the tub. The pump would be when the filter cycles kick in or any other time the low jets are on. And the heater is when it is necessary to bring the temperature up to the preset desired temperature. I have been set at Standard Mode and 102 degrees Today, I am switching to Economy Mode, same temp. I am using the FC default of 2 hours Should I see a difference in the electrical costs? Reading many different posts on this site, I am getting the feeling that the answer will be, maybe, just a little. Many people seem to prefer staying in Standard mode. I have a call into my dealer and into Masterspa. I can not believe I should be paying $200 extra a month for this tub. There are others living near me with old tubs that are paying $45 month with Standard Mode and 102-103 degrees. I was also told I could not add any insulation because that would void my warranty and a heat blanket on top of the water would not help that much. We love our tub, but boy $200 month x 12 months is pretty expensive. Any insights, suggestions, pointers would be appreciated. But I guess I really want to understand what the motor being on xx hours a day really means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shayno Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Cant help you a whole lot with the electric terminology but I can say that I also installed my tub in early Novemenber. We have 485 gallon tub with a climate simular to what you have in CT. I used exactly 1050 KWH more between Nov-Dec/06 and Nov-Dec/07 having the tub running. As I mentioned earlier, we maintain 103 degrees and I had it running in Standard Mode the whole time. I have now switched to Econ mode but I'll have to wait until my next bill in March to see if there is any effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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