chadwick02 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Got tub running a few months ago and love it!! But I HATE my electric bill that SKYROCKETED since I hooked up my tub. Here is a quick summary of my electricity usage: MONTH......AVE USE PER DAY.....MONTHLY USE Sept..............10.......................... 328 November..... 14............................390 December......38...........................1280 Feb............... 37.......................... 1190 Can you guess when I finally got the tub hooked up and working? Yep, you got it, it was the beginning of December. My electricity usage over tripled when I hooked up the tub. My bills went from somewhere around $50/month to $211 last month. The tub probably gets used on average 2 hours a week (I’ll estimate (2) 1-hour sessions per week). I tried turning the temp down to 90 and then up 102 when we want to use it, but that did not show any improvement in electricity usage last month. Obviously I expected my bill to increase with a new hot tub, especially during the winter when the temps here in new england average 20 or 30 degrees, but $150+ per month to operate the spa is a lot!! The tub is a 2002 Artesian Piper Glen (it is big, 500 gallon). It has a small circulation pump that operates constantly (heater core is plumbed through this). It is full foamed on 3 sides (the 4th side with pumps and controls only has a few inches of foam sprayed on the tub), and I was under the assumption that artesian was a fairly efficient brand of tub. What can I do to help my electricity consumption? Could a floating blanket or a new cover help? My existing cover is 3” thick, appears to be in pretty good condition but is heavier than the new covers at the spa shops (but it is bigger and thicker than those). I think it is the original cover that came with the tub, so I’d guess its about 6 years old. What can you guys recommend? Thanks, Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Do you have comparison electrical usages from the prior year? That would be a better indication of your estimated increase. Did you happen to install X-mas lights in December? That does seem like a huge increase. Do you use gas or electric to heat your house? The best method would be to install a meter connected to the spa. You might be able to get some help from your dealer or your electric company. Where are you located and what has been your average outside temperature during December and February? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandi Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 What can I do to help my electricity consumption? Could a floating blanket or a new cover help? WE use our spa about the same amt. that you do and keep it set at 100 degrees but live in DE near the ocean where the winter temps are a little milder than yours. Here are the things that we have done and all of them have helped (all suggestions came from folks on this forum): added extra insulation (but we knew that our spa was not well-insulated to start with, where it sounds like yours is); bought a floating blanket; keep the spa in economy rather than standard mode; our spa doesn't have a circulation pump - it filters twice a day and the filtering cycle can be set for 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours, or continuous. In economy mode, the water is only heated during the filtering cycles. We have our filtering cycle set so it is heating the water during the 2 hours in the evening when we normally use the spa so we're using it while the water is being heated anyway. Hope some of this helps. Good luck - I'd be upset by that kind of increase as well! Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadwick02 Posted April 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. I do not have any accurate electrical info for the house a year ago. I bought it less than a year ago (my first house!!), and it was uninhabited for over a year before that while it was renovated. So the best comparative info I have is from the few months before I installed the tub. I realize that the months got colder and darker (meaning more electricity use) as the winter progresses, which could explain some of the increase, but no where near 900 kwh!! haha, and no, i do not heat with electricity. THAT could explain a 900kwh increase. I heat primarily with an oil boiler and also have a wood pellet stove. During december, january and febuary daily temps probably averaged somewhere between 30 and 40 with night temps somewhere around 20 give or take 10. The tub is on a sheltered side of my house which does not receive much sunlight in the afternoon. I live in Mass. Can anyone give more input on the weight of my cover? Could a water logged cover explain the inefficiency here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaoze Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 Hi Chad, I live in Ma also, and have an Art spa - emerald - big boy (at 500 gallons as well)!! As you mentioned, I am not happy of the 'delta' of the spa KW usage. I have not calculated out the KW / spa, but do have the big bill. I've had the spa for 2 years now. As you know the electric rate jumped big time late fall (National grid/Mass Electric) and Winter has been long, unlike last year's season. All I can 'suggest' is the condition of the cover - (Artesian is heavy, but my friend has a hot springs/sundance spa and noticed his cover is HEAVIER than Artiseans!!) to check the condition. I am considering an insulation blanket as well (maybe some bubble-wrap taped together that i got from packaging!!). Let me know what you come us with (email me at usaoze@comcast.net if you want). I am headin to a hottub show at the Shriners in Wilmington now! FM Can anyone give more input on the weight of my cover? Could a water logged cover explain the inefficiency here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave nh Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 Got tub running a few months ago and love it!! But I HATE my electric bill that SKYROCKETED since I hooked up my tub. Here is a quick summary of my electricity usage: MONTH......AVE USE PER DAY.....MONTHLY USE Sept..............10.......................... 328 November..... 14............................390 December......38...........................1280 Feb............... 37.......................... 1190 Chad I live in NH on MA line, 1,000 - 1,300kwh per month in the winter does not seem out of line for electrical usage for a single family home and i think is pretty average for the winter, did you have any christmas lights up this holiday season? Blower motors for furnaces use a lot of electricity to. Like a previous poster noted, without being able to compare the houses consumtion from the previous year makes it kind of tough. My guess is your tub accounts for a third of your electrical increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 Hi Chad: Your post was interesting to read, as we too are from New England, and are looking to purchase a new Infinity Sun Peak Hot tub from Costco for $3,000.00. My concern about the purchase though is how much it will cost to run during our cold winters. We plan on putting it outdoors on our deck in the winter. I have been told to expect our usage to increase about 300 KW per month or about 10KW per day. If this is accurate, then I would be ok with that much of an increase. Currently, in the winter our average usage is about 40 KW per day, without the tub. At 13 cents per KW, our monthly bills are around $150.00. Adding the Infinity tub, I would expect our bills to increase to about 50KW per day, an additional 10KW over what we us now. That would mean an increase in our bill of about 300KW for the month or about $39.00. Does this seem accurate to you? Got tub running a few months ago and love it!! But I HATE my electric bill that SKYROCKETED since I hooked up my tub. Here is a quick summary of my electricity usage: MONTH......AVE USE PER DAY.....MONTHLY USE Sept..............10.......................... 328 November..... 14............................390 December......38...........................1280 Feb............... 37.......................... 1190 Can you guess when I finally got the tub hooked up and working? Yep, you got it, it was the beginning of December. My electricity usage over tripled when I hooked up the tub. My bills went from somewhere around $50/month to $211 last month. The tub probably gets used on average 2 hours a week (I’ll estimate (2) 1-hour sessions per week). I tried turning the temp down to 90 and then up 102 when we want to use it, but that did not show any improvement in electricity usage last month. Obviously I expected my bill to increase with a new hot tub, especially during the winter when the temps here in new england average 20 or 30 degrees, but $150+ per month to operate the spa is a lot!! The tub is a 2002 Artesian Piper Glen (it is big, 500 gallon). It has a small circulation pump that operates constantly (heater core is plumbed through this). It is full foamed on 3 sides (the 4th side with pumps and controls only has a few inches of foam sprayed on the tub), and I was under the assumption that artesian was a fairly efficient brand of tub. What can I do to help my electricity consumption? Could a floating blanket or a new cover help? My existing cover is 3” thick, appears to be in pretty good condition but is heavier than the new covers at the spa shops (but it is bigger and thicker than those). I think it is the original cover that came with the tub, so I’d guess its about 6 years old. What can you guys recommend? Thanks, Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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