PalmerHerm Posted December 14, 2010 Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 hello, I am new to this site and not sure if I am doing anything right..lol? I found the site tring to figure why my electric bill has doubled since installing my 04 CalSpa...I have read some posts on here saying avr. operating costs are aroung 30$/mo.. Most of these posts where for outdoor hot tubs, where mine is in my basement that stays 68-72 degrees. The best figure I have so far is it cost about 70-100$/mo.?? This seems unrealistically high.. would insulating help even though it is indoors?? Is there something wrong?? my electric bill is now over 300$/mo!!! unexceptable... Thank you all for any advice you may have to offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armyguy Posted December 14, 2010 Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 hello, I am new to this site and not sure if I am doing anything right..lol? I found the site tring to figure why my electric bill has doubled since installing my 04 CalSpa...I have read some posts on here saying avr. operating costs are aroung 30$/mo.. Most of these posts where for outdoor hot tubs, where mine is in my basement that stays 68-72 degrees. The best figure I have so far is it cost about 70-100$/mo.?? This seems unrealistically high.. would insulating help even though it is indoors?? Is there something wrong?? my electric bill is now over 300$/mo!!! unexceptable... Thank you all for any advice you may have to offer That seems a little ridiculous. I know some of the older spas or different makers are a little higher than others, but $100.00/mo is unreal. The $30/mo or less is usually from the higher quality spas (Hot Spring,D1,etc.). Maybe some of the more knowledgeable members will chime in. If my new 2010 HS Vanguard is even over 30/mo I will be a little upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmerHerm Posted December 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 I agree that it seems unreal... it is somewhat of a estimate, I have only lived in this house for 10 months now and my electric was about 140$/mo during summer. Now that it is winter, obviously the elec. bill will increase, I have 2 elec. baseboard heaters in 2 of the 3rd floor bedrooms that I am unable to tell how many watts they use, but since installing my hot tub 2 months ago my bill has jumped to 320$+.. even if the baseboard heaters( whitch stay at 65 degrees or less) used 3/4 of that increase, that still leaves 135$/mo between the hot tub and the increased use of the gas furnace blower. So that is where my estimate comes from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart A Posted December 14, 2010 Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 Not sure how your spa is insulated. But a few questions Do you have a cover? How many pumps does it have? How powerful are the pumps? How often do you use it with the pumps on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmerHerm Posted December 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 Not sure how your spa is insulated. But a few questions Do you have a cover? How many pumps does it have? How powerful are the pumps? How often do you use it with the pumps on? Yes,it is a 5in. cover that tapers down to 3in on the edge..it only has 1 variable speed pump..not sure how powerful they are..I use it everydaqy for about an hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 14, 2010 Report Share Posted December 14, 2010 Not sure how your spa is insulated. But a few questions Do you have a cover? How many pumps does it have? How powerful are the pumps? How often do you use it with the pumps on? Yes,it is a 5in. cover that tapers down to 3in on the edge..it only has 1 variable speed pump..not sure how powerful they are..I use it everydaqy for about an hour Every day for about an hour, plus the original heat up cost about a month or two ago, cooler winter, lights on earlier. I suspect that you are a bit high on your monthly cost. While Cal is not know for being a very effecient brand I would think a more realistic cost for the first 2 months would be closer to 100-150. But the only way for you to know for sure is to meter the tub for an extended period, 4-6 months. Ask around or purchase your own meter and see truely how many KWH your tub is using. Make sure your filter cycles are set to the minumum required to keep your water clean. Make sure all air controls are turned off while your tub is idling. Make sure your cover is sitting tight to the tub lip. Then see where you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey_in_NY Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Those numbers seem very high to me, especially as it's in a relatively warm basement with no wind. You could try turning the tub completely off for a full week (give it a good dose of sanitizer beforehand) and seeing how many KW of electric your household uses. Then turn it back on, heat it up, and again see how many KW are used over the next exact week. Just make sure it's heated fully before starting your measurement. I accept this is not the most scientific approach, but you should be within a few % points of exactly what this tub is costing in electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmerHerm Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my post..I will take all the info you all have givin me into consideration. I tried switching it to economy mode today, so will see..I also discontinued the use of my electric heaters for the next 4 weeks to see where my bill is at afterward..if it remains around the 300$ mark...anyone want a calspa??lol....thanks again everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottubdan Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my post..I will take all the info you all have givin me into consideration. I tried switching it to economy mode today, so will see..I also discontinued the use of my electric heaters for the next 4 weeks to see where my bill is at afterward..if it remains around the 300$ mark...anyone want a calspa??lol....thanks again everyone To know cost of operation, need to know cost per KWh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmerHerm Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 well... this is quite interesting to me and again may be unbelievably to some.. I have had my tub on economy for about 2 days now.. which for my calspa means heater only runs during filter cycle(I assume it's same for most manufactures but not sure) and my temp stays at 101 degrees with a set temp of 100?? I only have a twice a day filter cycle set at 4pm and 4am so...to me seems that would be the only time the heater is running in economy mode. Which is strange to me as well, cause I kept the tub at 100-102 before in standard mode and the heater ran every couple hrs..( More than twice the min. filter cycle). Makes absolutly no sense to me?? is this a calspa error?? is economy really "economic"?? must be since the heater runs 1/2 as much..but why does the water stay warmer than?? strange as hell from Michigan,Herm...Thanks again for any info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmerHerm Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 ohhh..hottubdan...this is also kinda strange to me..I am a contractor and was in industrial cons. for yrs, and build power plants, but have never seen a power bill like the one I get in MI...my rate /KWH= energy charge of $0.07076 @ 2,225KWH....daily customer charge of $0.08427 @ 2,225KWH....Power supply service of $0.1003 @ 2,225KWH...MI Energy Efficiency charge of 0.00210 @ 2,225KWH... Power supply cost of $0.0103 @2,225KWH....sales tax 4%which + for me..351.32 for 28 days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottWilliamson Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I have a CalSpa. I set the temp at 100 degrees and run it 6 hours a day for filtering. I use the spa once or twice a week. My electric bill is now $100 more than it used to be. The spa added about 400 Kh per month, which of course puts me way above my baseline in the higher tier. I was scammed. I was told, even in Southern California, my bill should go up no more than $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djousma Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Not sure where my original post went, did the mod's delete it? Are you sure you dont have electrical problems? do the lights in your house dim when pump/heater kick on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Not sure where my original post went, did the mod's delete it? I didn't and the last post I see from you was in October on the 4th when you made two posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I did. You started out saying you didn't really have a clue what the problem might be, but to check certain things. You didn't have a clue, and most of what you suggested was in no way a possibility. And, as such, and without knowing the ability of the OP, they were potentially dangerous things for some lay-person to attempt. Electricity....it differs from playdoh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njmurvin Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I have a CalSpa. I set the temp at 100 degrees and run it 6 hours a day for filtering. I use the spa once or twice a week. My electric bill is now $100 more than it used to be. The spa added about 400 Kh per month, which of course puts me way above my baseline in the higher tier. I was scammed. I was told, even in Southern California, my bill should go up no more than $30. Interesting. I'm also in Southern California and I saw a similar bump in my bill. I'm already in tier 5 because I have a granny flat on the property where my 92 yr old mother lives and she has the furnace or AC on 24/7. My average rate in that tier is $.31/KWh. I lowered the run time on my Marquis Everyday to 2hrs twice a day and put it in Economy mode so it doesn't wake up and take the water temp every half hour. It only heats during filtration cycles which seems to be keeping the temp just fine. My bill went down about $30 after the change (from $360 to $330) but there are so many other factors... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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