Biz Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Hello everyone: I am considering the purchase of a new Infinity Sun Peak hot tub. Once of the concerns I have though, is the amount of electricity it takes to run it during the winter. We live in the Northeast, so winters generally average in the 20's during the day, and single numbers during the evening. Our KW cost is 13 cents per KW. Are there any Infinity Sun Peak owners out there from the Northeast? If so, can you provide us with your electric usage during the winter in your area? Most tub dealers say that it costs about a $1.00 a day in our area to run there brand hot tub and wanted to compare that to what people have experienced with their Sun Peak tub this past winter. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kengorman Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I am considering the purchase of a new Infinity Sun Peak hot tub. Good choice! Costco started running a sale on them again for $2999 delivered. Search for my name on this board and you'll find a lot of posts about Infinity tubs in general. Be prepared for the Infinity-bashing crowd - it's somewhat of a religious war on this board. Once of the concerns I have though, is the amount of electricity it takes to run it during the winter. We live in the Northeast, so winters generally average in the 20's during the day, and single numbers during the evening. Our KW cost is 13 cents per KW. That is a very valid concern. I, too, live in the Northeast (i.e. suburban Philadelphia) and our kW cost is about 0.15 / kwH during non-peak months and goes up a few pennies per kwH during the summer. I purchased an Infinity Spa. The one I purchased was the Santa Cruz that shares many things in common with the Sun Peak. I'll point out the similaries and differences. The Santa Cruz is 91x91 and holds 450 gallons. The Sun Peak is 78x84 and holds 350 gallons. Because the Santa Cruz holds approximately 30% more water, it's electric usage should be higher than the Sun Peak because it has to heat more water. Both the Santa Cruz and the Sun Peak share the same GE Regal Beloit 6hp (peak) motors. They both have the same Balboa control pack with the 5.5kW heater. The only added component my spa has is a continuously running 1/15hp Emerson circulation pump. This pump will marginally add to my electric usage versus the Sun Peak. Both spas share the same insulation design. There is 2lb spray on foam on the underside of the shell and a radiant heat foil barrier around the perimeter (similar to Reflectiv). They both share the same maintenance free cabinet. Are there any Infinity Sun Peak owners out there from the Northeast? If so, can you provide us with your electric usage during the winter in your area? Most tub dealers say that it costs about a $1.00 a day in our area to run there brand hot tub and wanted to compare that to what people have experienced with their Sun Peak tub this past winter. I've been monitoring my electric usage and I've provided all the raw data below. It's hard to do a valid comparison year over year because our electric usage changes. Regardless, it is still worth while to compare the numbers. I received and installed the spa around Labor Day Weekend 2007. My next months bill showed an 81% increase over a similar bill from the prior year. This represented an increase of $186 dollars for that month! Initially, I was unfamiliar with the spa controls and had set the spa to 24-hour filtration. The filtration pump ran 24/7 along with the circulation pump. Also, I had the tub in "Standard" mode, which kept the temperature at its set-point all the time. Finally, the increase in electric usage was also due to the initial filling and heating of the tub. To give you an idea of how much electricity the low-speed filtration pump consumes, I had my temperature set to 101 degrees. The low speed filtration pump ran 24/7 and the heat generated from the pump heated the interior of the cabinet helping to heat the water. The water temperature rose from its set-point of 101 all the way up to 105 before I realized how I had it set. I then set the filtration cycle to 4 hours. After that first month, the electric bills became much more bearable. The next five months showed increases over the prior year of $39, $39, $51, $70, and $59 - an average increase of $51/month. I drained, refilled, and re-heated the spa in January. There are many other factors that contribute to electric usage. These include: how often you use the tub, what the filter cycle is, what mode is the tub in (economy, standard, or sleep), the set-point temp of the water, etc. My wife and I use the tub approximately 3 times a week, the filter cycle is set for 4-hours, the tub is in economy mode, and we have the set-point at 101. Economy mode raises the water temperature to the set-point only during the filter cycles. The filter cycles starts every 12 hours. My tub filters the water from 7am-11am and then again from 7pm-11pm. During those times, the water temp is at the set-point. A little explanation of the data below. The last column shows the increase in cost over the previous year in blue font with the percentage increase underneath it in a red font. The 'Differ' column shows the difference in kwH usage over the previous year in a green font. Hope this helps. Ken Date Cost kWH Differ 2/22/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 226.5 0 0 $58.63 2/22/2008 GAS SERVICE 194.17 0 0 2/22/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 420.67 1509 410 37.307% 1/24/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 276.7 0 0 $70.32 1/24/2008 GAS SERVICE 205.76 0 0 1/24/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 482.46 1834 395 27.450% 12/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 229.61 0 0 $50.78 12/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 185.65 0 0 12/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 415.26 1516 274 22.061% 11/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 187.71 0 0 $38.52 11/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 76.61 0 0 11/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 264.32 1233 203 19.709% 10/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 228.42 0 0 $39.12 10/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 10/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 256.96 1508 191 14.503% 9/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 376.82 0 0 $182.51 9/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 29.87 0 0 9/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 406.69 2260 1014 81.380% 8/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 372.77 0 0 8/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 8/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 401.31 2236 7/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 333.37 0 0 7/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 7/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 365.91 2003 6/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 253.54 0 0 6/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 6/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 286.08 1531 5/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 129.08 0 0 5/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 41.88 0 0 5/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 170.96 837 4/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 139.44 0 0 4/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 96.65 0 0 4/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 236.09 907 3/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 142.41 0 0 3/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 156.87 0 0 3/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 299.28 927 2/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 167.87 0 0 2/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 243.36 0 0 2/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 411.23 1099 1/24/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 206.38 0 0 1/24/2007 GAS SERVICE 152.64 0 0 1/24/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 359.02 1439 12/20/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 178.83 0 0 12/20/2006 GAS SERVICE 110.69 0 0 12/20/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 289.52 1242 11/17/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 149.19 0 0 11/17/2006 GAS SERVICE 52.24 0 0 11/17/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 201.43 1030 10/19/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 189.3 0 0 10/19/2006 GAS SERVICE 31.64 0 0 10/19/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 220.94 1317 9/21/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 194.31 0 0 9/21/2006 GAS SERVICE 27.29 0 0 9/21/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 221.6 1246 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Posted April 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks Ken, for the information. I have talked with other hot tub owners in our area. Most of them indicate that their monthly electric bill runs about $200-$220.00 in the winter with their hot tub. Their homes are very similiar to ours. Our monthly electric bills run about $150 without a hot tub so it seems like we should expect an increase in our winter bills of $50-$60. I would assume that bills in the summer would be much less. Vermont winters as you know though, are colder than Phili, however like you mentioned, your hot tub is slighty bigger than ours. I seem to read alot about how poorly the Sun Peak is insulated, so that is why I am concerned. However, like you mentioned, there are so many different factors involved with electric usage, it is very hard to measure. I also taked with a friend last night. They just received a bill of $250.00 last month. However, they discovered like you, they had their circulation pump running 24/7. They have since changed it to a much lower setting and are assuming their bill next month will be much lower. We have decided to go with the Sun Peak. In your opinion, are you happy with the quality of your Infininty Tub? Also, do you know what the cost is to hook up the necessary electric line for this type of tub? Thanks again for your help I am considering the purchase of a new Infinity Sun Peak hot tub. Good choice! Costco started running a sale on them again for $2999 delivered. Search for my name on this board and you'll find a lot of posts about Infinity tubs in general. Be prepared for the Infinity-bashing crowd - it's somewhat of a religious war on this board. Once of the concerns I have though, is the amount of electricity it takes to run it during the winter. We live in the Northeast, so winters generally average in the 20's during the day, and single numbers during the evening. Our KW cost is 13 cents per KW. That is a very valid concern. I, too, live in the Northeast (i.e. suburban Philadelphia) and our kW cost is about 0.15 / kwH during non-peak months and goes up a few pennies per kwH during the summer. I purchased an Infinity Spa. The one I purchased was the Santa Cruz that shares many things in common with the Sun Peak. I'll point out the similaries and differences. The Santa Cruz is 91x91 and holds 450 gallons. The Sun Peak is 78x84 and holds 350 gallons. Because the Santa Cruz holds approximately 30% more water, it's electric usage should be higher than the Sun Peak because it has to heat more water. Both the Santa Cruz and the Sun Peak share the same GE Regal Beloit 6hp (peak) motors. They both have the same Balboa control pack with the 5.5kW heater. The only added component my spa has is a continuously running 1/15hp Emerson circulation pump. This pump will marginally add to my electric usage versus the Sun Peak. Both spas share the same insulation design. There is 2lb spray on foam on the underside of the shell and a radiant heat foil barrier around the perimeter (similar to Reflectiv). They both share the same maintenance free cabinet. Are there any Infinity Sun Peak owners out there from the Northeast? If so, can you provide us with your electric usage during the winter in your area? Most tub dealers say that it costs about a $1.00 a day in our area to run there brand hot tub and wanted to compare that to what people have experienced with their Sun Peak tub this past winter. I've been monitoring my electric usage and I've provided all the raw data below. It's hard to do a valid comparison year over year because our electric usage changes. Regardless, it is still worth while to compare the numbers. I received and installed the spa around Labor Day Weekend 2007. My next months bill showed an 81% increase over a similar bill from the prior year. This represented an increase of $186 dollars for that month! Initially, I was unfamiliar with the spa controls and had set the spa to 24-hour filtration. The filtration pump ran 24/7 along with the circulation pump. Also, I had the tub in "Standard" mode, which kept the temperature at its set-point all the time. Finally, the increase in electric usage was also due to the initial filling and heating of the tub. To give you an idea of how much electricity the low-speed filtration pump consumes, I had my temperature set to 101 degrees. The low speed filtration pump ran 24/7 and the heat generated from the pump heated the interior of the cabinet helping to heat the water. The water temperature rose from its set-point of 101 all the way up to 105 before I realized how I had it set. I then set the filtration cycle to 4 hours. After that first month, the electric bills became much more bearable. The next five months showed increases over the prior year of $39, $39, $51, $70, and $59 - an average increase of $51/month. I drained, refilled, and re-heated the spa in January. There are many other factors that contribute to electric usage. These include: how often you use the tub, what the filter cycle is, what mode is the tub in (economy, standard, or sleep), the set-point temp of the water, etc. My wife and I use the tub approximately 3 times a week, the filter cycle is set for 4-hours, the tub is in economy mode, and we have the set-point at 101. Economy mode raises the water temperature to the set-point only during the filter cycles. The filter cycles starts every 12 hours. My tub filters the water from 7am-11am and then again from 7pm-11pm. During those times, the water temp is at the set-point. A little explanation of the data below. The last column shows the increase in cost over the previous year in blue font with the percentage increase underneath it in a red font. The 'Differ' column shows the difference in kwH usage over the previous year in a green font. Hope this helps. Ken Date Cost kWH Differ 2/22/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 226.5 0 0 $58.63 2/22/2008 GAS SERVICE 194.17 0 0 2/22/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 420.67 1509 410 37.307% 1/24/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 276.7 0 0 $70.32 1/24/2008 GAS SERVICE 205.76 0 0 1/24/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 482.46 1834 395 27.450% 12/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 229.61 0 0 $50.78 12/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 185.65 0 0 12/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 415.26 1516 274 22.061% 11/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 187.71 0 0 $38.52 11/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 76.61 0 0 11/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 264.32 1233 203 19.709% 10/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 228.42 0 0 $39.12 10/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 10/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 256.96 1508 191 14.503% 9/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 376.82 0 0 $182.51 9/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 29.87 0 0 9/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 406.69 2260 1014 81.380% 8/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 372.77 0 0 8/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 8/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 401.31 2236 7/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 333.37 0 0 7/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 7/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 365.91 2003 6/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 253.54 0 0 6/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 6/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 286.08 1531 5/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 129.08 0 0 5/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 41.88 0 0 5/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 170.96 837 4/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 139.44 0 0 4/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 96.65 0 0 4/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 236.09 907 3/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 142.41 0 0 3/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 156.87 0 0 3/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 299.28 927 2/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 167.87 0 0 2/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 243.36 0 0 2/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 411.23 1099 1/24/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 206.38 0 0 1/24/2007 GAS SERVICE 152.64 0 0 1/24/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 359.02 1439 12/20/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 178.83 0 0 12/20/2006 GAS SERVICE 110.69 0 0 12/20/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 289.52 1242 11/17/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 149.19 0 0 11/17/2006 GAS SERVICE 52.24 0 0 11/17/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 201.43 1030 10/19/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 189.3 0 0 10/19/2006 GAS SERVICE 31.64 0 0 10/19/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 220.94 1317 9/21/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 194.31 0 0 9/21/2006 GAS SERVICE 27.29 0 0 9/21/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 221.6 1246 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I also taked with a friend last night. They just received a bill of $250.00 last month. However, they discovered like you, they had their circulation pump running 24/7. They have since changed it to a much lower setting and are assuming their bill next month will be much lower. Most of the energy used by the circ pump in any spa initially stays in the spa as heat going into the water and into the cabinet. The key is keeping that heat in. Turning down/off the circ pump will lower your bill very marginally in a well insulated spa because you'll retain that circ pump heat. Of course the poorer the spa's insulation the more reducing that circ pump will effect your bill but it isn't the main culprit here so that is a bandaid. Its like lowering the heat in your house because a window is open and you don't want that heat to escape. If you do chose this spa you really need to add insulation to it since that is one of its weak points. I would not suggest waiting to get a couple bills before doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kengorman Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I seem to read alot about how poorly the Sun Peak is insulated, so that is why I am concerned. However, like you mentioned, there are so many different factors involved with electric usage, it is very hard to measure. I would agree that the Sun Peak could be better insulated. I did add insulation to my tub after the 2nd months bill. The bill I received for October 2007 was only $39 more than the bill I received for October 2006, but I added insulation anyway. The post I had (with pictures) of my insulation job can be found here.. Any conclusions drawn about the insulation helping out electric consumption are suspect. Note that my pre-insulation usage delta is less than my post-insulation delta. I would agree that the added insulation could help, I'm just not convinced how much. Other things could be done to help overall electric usage, including the use of a thermally insulated floating spa blanket, a better insulated spa cover, etc. Please note that the Arctic Spa (is arguably) one of most energy efficient spas and it has been suggested that much of that efficiency comes from their use of a very high quality spa cover. I also taked with a friend last night. They just received a bill of $250.00 last month. However, they discovered like you, they had their circulation pump running 24/7. They have since changed it to a much lower setting and are assuming their bill next month will be much lower. For clarification, the circ pump is supposed to run 24/7 and is not (at least on my spa) user settable. The 2-speed pump 1 comes on low-speed during filtration cycles and the filtration cycles are user settable. My filtration cycle was inadvertently set to 24/7, hence pump 1 was running 24/7 on low-speed. We have decided to go with the Sun Peak. In your opinion, are you happy with the quality of your Infininty Tub? I'm very happy with the quality of the tub. The fit and finish are every bit as good as the dealer spas I compared it to. The more I learned about the tub and the more investigation I did, the happier I got. When there was a service issue, I was impressed with how responsive Infinity's service department was and was impressed by how quickly my problem was resolved. I was even more impressed when I got a follow-up call several weeks later to see if everything was still ok. I am fully confident that Infinity stands behind their warranty. Please note that I purchased my Infinity Spa, not through Costco, but over the internet. I didn't have the Costco protection guarantee with the option of returning the spa should I not be happy with it. I did a lot of up-front research and felt confident that any issues would be resolved to my satisfaction. When I did have an issue (on-board circuit fuse blew), it was handled quickly and with little fuss. Also, do you know what the cost is to hook up the necessary electric line for this type of tub? This is variable based upon a lot of factors. I did all the electric wiring myself - I'm a DIY'er, and really enjoy the satisfaction of doing a job myself and the sense of accomplishment. With that being said, the raw cost of materials for my hook-up was (if memory serves) around $500-$600. This included 80 feet of #6 AWG copper for each of the 4 conductors @ $0.89/ft); a 60-amp circuit breaker for my main panel, a 60-amp disconnect panel (mounted within line-of-sight of the tub), a 6-foot section of flexible water-proof tubing (Flex-tite), miscellaneous fittings, conduit. I would estimate a reasonable estimate for a qualified electrician to do the work would be about double the material price. Please note that my hook-up is 60-amp, allowing me to run both pumps and the heater simultaneously. My 60-amp hookup requires #6 AWG which is more expensive than smaller gauge #8 AWG. Thanks again for your help Your welcome. Please post back any progress and good luck in your purchase. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spamom Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 i am new and also considering a costco sun peak... What made you get the santa cruz?? And from what dealer did you buy it from? Did they set up the tub also?? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kengorman Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 i am new and also considering a costco sun peak... I think you'll be happy. What made you get the santa cruz?? I had done a lot of research and was comparing various spas. I went to several local dealers, scoured the internet, saw the floor model at the local Costco, investigated pre-owned spas through local classifieds and craigslist and even looked at e-bay. My local costco at the time was selling the Platinum Elite II by Hydro Spa and they were selling a special on-line only for the Infinity Sun Peak.. I tried to do a valid comparison by noting the types of motors/pumps, jets, acrylic, plastics, build quality, etc. I had a hard time justifying the costs of the dealer supplied spas after comparing to internet and costco type spas. I did purchase the spa knowing that an internet or online purchase is not for everyone and my recourse, should something not be as expected, was limited. The Infinity Santa Cruz was sold by the ebay store-front GotWholesaling and was manufactured by Infinity. It's features were even more impressive than the Sun Peak being sold at Costco. It was a larger tub (91x91 versus 78x84) and featured more jets. The Sun Peak from Costco boasted the same pumps/motors, featured a colored LED standard and had stainless steel jets. Both the colored LED and stainless jets were upgrades on the Santa Cruz. I paid $3100 plus $525 shipping for my tub versus $2999 (including shipping) for the Costco-sold Infinity Sun Peak. Compare this against the Sundance Chelsee who, at the time, had a list price of $10,995 and the dealer quoted me a price of $8995 delivered. In this post, I talk about my ebay strategy and how I research sellers. Please note that the ebay seller I purchased from has a feedback rating of over 99% with over 4200 sales. And from what dealer did you buy it from? I bought my tub from GotWholesaling on e-bay. They also have a web-site and they go by the business name Blue Water Spas here. Did they set up the tub also?? The delivery price included delivery to the end of the driveway. I 'negotiated' with the drivers of the truck, who, for a $100 tip, delivered and placed the spa on my paver patio. I did the installation (i.e. electric hook-up and initial startup) myself. Good luck, Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I am considering the purchase of a new Infinity Sun Peak hot tub. Good choice! Costco started running a sale on them again for $2999 delivered. Search for my name on this board and you'll find a lot of posts about Infinity tubs in general. Be prepared for the Infinity-bashing crowd - it's somewhat of a religious war on this board. Once of the concerns I have though, is the amount of electricity it takes to run it during the winter. We live in the Northeast, so winters generally average in the 20's during the day, and single numbers during the evening. Our KW cost is 13 cents per KW. That is a very valid concern. I, too, live in the Northeast (i.e. suburban Philadelphia) and our kW cost is about 0.15 / kwH during non-peak months and goes up a few pennies per kwH during the summer. I purchased an Infinity Spa. The one I purchased was the Santa Cruz that shares many things in common with the Sun Peak. I'll point out the similaries and differences. The Santa Cruz is 91x91 and holds 450 gallons. The Sun Peak is 78x84 and holds 350 gallons. Because the Santa Cruz holds approximately 30% more water, it's electric usage should be higher than the Sun Peak because it has to heat more water. Both the Santa Cruz and the Sun Peak share the same GE Regal Beloit 6hp (peak) motors. They both have the same Balboa control pack with the 5.5kW heater. The only added component my spa has is a continuously running 1/15hp Emerson circulation pump. This pump will marginally add to my electric usage versus the Sun Peak. Both spas share the same insulation design. There is 2lb spray on foam on the underside of the shell and a radiant heat foil barrier around the perimeter (similar to Reflectiv). They both share the same maintenance free cabinet. Are there any Infinity Sun Peak owners out there from the Northeast? If so, can you provide us with your electric usage during the winter in your area? Most tub dealers say that it costs about a $1.00 a day in our area to run there brand hot tub and wanted to compare that to what people have experienced with their Sun Peak tub this past winter. I've been monitoring my electric usage and I've provided all the raw data below. It's hard to do a valid comparison year over year because our electric usage changes. Regardless, it is still worth while to compare the numbers. I received and installed the spa around Labor Day Weekend 2007. My next months bill showed an 81% increase over a similar bill from the prior year. This represented an increase of $186 dollars for that month! Initially, I was unfamiliar with the spa controls and had set the spa to 24-hour filtration. The filtration pump ran 24/7 along with the circulation pump. Also, I had the tub in "Standard" mode, which kept the temperature at its set-point all the time. Finally, the increase in electric usage was also due to the initial filling and heating of the tub. To give you an idea of how much electricity the low-speed filtration pump consumes, I had my temperature set to 101 degrees. The low speed filtration pump ran 24/7 and the heat generated from the pump heated the interior of the cabinet helping to heat the water. The water temperature rose from its set-point of 101 all the way up to 105 before I realized how I had it set. I then set the filtration cycle to 4 hours. After that first month, the electric bills became much more bearable. The next five months showed increases over the prior year of $39, $39, $51, $70, and $59 - an average increase of $51/month. I drained, refilled, and re-heated the spa in January. There are many other factors that contribute to electric usage. These include: how often you use the tub, what the filter cycle is, what mode is the tub in (economy, standard, or sleep), the set-point temp of the water, etc. My wife and I use the tub approximately 3 times a week, the filter cycle is set for 4-hours, the tub is in economy mode, and we have the set-point at 101. Economy mode raises the water temperature to the set-point only during the filter cycles. The filter cycles starts every 12 hours. My tub filters the water from 7am-11am and then again from 7pm-11pm. During those times, the water temp is at the set-point. A little explanation of the data below. The last column shows the increase in cost over the previous year in blue font with the percentage increase underneath it in a red font. The 'Differ' column shows the difference in kwH usage over the previous year in a green font. Hope this helps. Ken Date Cost kWH Differ 2/22/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 226.5 0 0 $58.63 2/22/2008 GAS SERVICE 194.17 0 0 2/22/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 420.67 1509 410 37.307% 1/24/2008 ELECTRIC SERVICE 276.7 0 0 $70.32 1/24/2008 GAS SERVICE 205.76 0 0 1/24/2008 REGULAR BILL 0 482.46 1834 395 27.450% 12/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 229.61 0 0 $50.78 12/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 185.65 0 0 12/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 415.26 1516 274 22.061% 11/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 187.71 0 0 $38.52 11/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 76.61 0 0 11/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 264.32 1233 203 19.709% 10/19/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 228.42 0 0 $39.12 10/19/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 10/19/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 256.96 1508 191 14.503% 9/20/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 376.82 0 0 $182.51 9/20/2007 GAS SERVICE 29.87 0 0 9/20/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 406.69 2260 1014 81.380% 8/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 372.77 0 0 8/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 28.54 0 0 8/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 401.31 2236 7/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 333.37 0 0 7/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 7/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 365.91 2003 6/21/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 253.54 0 0 6/21/2007 GAS SERVICE 32.54 0 0 6/21/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 286.08 1531 5/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 129.08 0 0 5/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 41.88 0 0 5/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 170.96 837 4/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 139.44 0 0 4/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 96.65 0 0 4/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 236.09 907 3/23/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 142.41 0 0 3/23/2007 GAS SERVICE 156.87 0 0 3/23/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 299.28 927 2/22/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 167.87 0 0 2/22/2007 GAS SERVICE 243.36 0 0 2/22/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 411.23 1099 1/24/2007 ELECTRIC SERVICE 206.38 0 0 1/24/2007 GAS SERVICE 152.64 0 0 1/24/2007 REGULAR BILL 0 359.02 1439 12/20/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 178.83 0 0 12/20/2006 GAS SERVICE 110.69 0 0 12/20/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 289.52 1242 11/17/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 149.19 0 0 11/17/2006 GAS SERVICE 52.24 0 0 11/17/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 201.43 1030 10/19/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 189.3 0 0 10/19/2006 GAS SERVICE 31.64 0 0 10/19/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 220.94 1317 9/21/2006 ELECTRIC SERVICE 194.31 0 0 9/21/2006 GAS SERVICE 27.29 0 0 9/21/2006 REGULAR BILL 0 221.6 1246 Hi Ken: I just changed the mode on our Sunpeak to the Eonomy mode. I have our temperature set to 101 degrees. My understanding is that in this mode, the tub will only try to heat every 12 hours during filteration mode. My question is at this time of year, do you know how much the temperature will drop between heating cycles using the economy mode? Temperatures where i am right now are averaging 60s during the day and 40s at night. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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