The Startling Truth About Hot Tub Energy Consumption! (Is Yours Draining Your Wallet?)

[@HotTubOwnerHQ]

Get the floating thermal cover on Amazon I mention in the video - amzn.to/46vdZnE

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

I'm seeing a *LOT* of confusion about power/energy here. It doesn't help that Jeff says "Kilohertz" when he means "Kilowatts". So long post ahead: 1. Hertz (and Kilohertz) are a measure of frequency. Tuning an AM radio to 620 Kilohertz to listen to the basketball game for example. Or that your fancy new gaming computer monitor supports 240 Hertz operation. Or that the US electric grid is 60 Hertz while Europe uses 50 Hertz. This has nothing to do with power usage at all. 2. Watts (and Kilowatts) are a measure of *POWER*. A 60 Watt incandescent light bulb uses 60 Watts of power (and outputs most of it as heat, which is why a 9 Watt LED light bulb puts out as much light as a 60 Watt incandescent bulb - it's using 15% the power to produce an equal amount of light because it is much more efficient and outputs far less as "waste heat.") A 1.5 Kilowatt portable heater uses 1.5 Kilowatts (1500 Watts) of power to generate heat. Because "efficiency" of an item is "how little is wasted as unwanted heat" an electric resistive heater is generally considered "100% efficient" since it's *ALL* "waste heat." Another common measure of power is horsepower (1 Kilowatt = 1.34 horsepower - so that 1984 Corvette's 205 horsepower is roughly equivalent to 152 Kilowatts.) 2A: Other common electrical terms are Volts and Amps. A 9 Volt battery, a 120 Volt socket, a 240 Volt connection, etc. To use the old "electricity a water" analogy, this is the width of the pipe. Amps are the speed of the water. Your USB port may put out half an Amp of power at 5 Volts; your laptop may need 4 Amps of power at 24 Volts; your household outlets are 120 Volts that can supply up to 15 Amps; your electric oven plugs into a 240 Volt socket that can supply up to 50 Amps. To get Watts, just multiply Volts times Amps. So you can find out that your laptop, even though it's using a 24 Volt supply, draws more power than that incandescent light bulb - 96 Watts versus 60 Watts. Which also means you can determine that that 60 Watt bulb is drawing half an Amp (60 Watts divided by 120 Volts = 1/2 Amp.) - Big note - US standard household power is "240 Volt split-phase". The power arrives at your house by two wires that are both "hot" wires that produce 240V between them; with a third "neutral" wire tapped off the middle that allows neutral-to-either-hot to produce 120 Volts. That's why your breaker box has "alternating busbars" - every other breaker position is fed by one of the 240V "hot" sides. You get 120V by tapping in to one of those hots plus neutral. You get 240V by having a "double height breaker" that taps into both of the 240V "hot" sides. 2B: US household power is not 110V, not 115V, not 220V, not 230V. 120V/240V. Yes, back decades ago, 110, 115, or 120 were all somewhat common in US power, when it was less well controlled. Nowadays it's firmly 120V. Yes, appliances still say they work with "100V-120V" or "200V-240V" for various reasons. (Commercial three-phase power, Japan's unique actually-100V parts of the country, and to accommodate voltage sag.) But stop saying/writing 110V. It's not accurate for North America. 3. Watt-hours (and Kilowatt-hours) are a measure of *ENERGY*. Energy used, as in "if I ran my 60 Watt light bulb continuously for one hour, it would consume 60 Watt-hours of energy." A battery has a capacity of energy it stores. A gallon of gasoline stores 33.6 Kilowatt-hours of chemical energy. This is how home electricity usage is measured/billed. "Last month, I used 900 Kilowatt-hours of electricity, which my utility billed me at 20 cents per Kilowatt-hour, for a total bill of $180." In general, devices are more efficient if they are higher-power. A 240 Volt 30 Amp table saw makes more efficient use of its electricity than a 120 Volt, 15 Amp table saw. (AKA: It is capable of drawing four times as much power, but it can accomplish more than four times the work - cut through thicker wood more than four times faster.) Charging an electric car on a 240 Volt 50 Amp home charging station wastes less energy as heat than charging it on a 120 Volt 12 Amp portable charging cable. A "Plug and Play" hot tub plugs in to a standard 120 Volt, 15 Amp socket. That is 1800 Watts of maximum power draw, 1.8 Kilowatts. It has to split that energy between the heater and the pump Some of them, if you put the pump on high to have the stronger jets cannot run the heater at the same time. A "high power" hot tub that is wired into a 240 Volt circuit at higher amperage can run a pump more powerful than the Plug and Play hot tub's *WHILE* having tons of extra power available to still run the heater. While in theory, "energy needed to heat a volume of water" should be the same no matter the power of the heater (because heaters are "100% efficient") it would just take longer on a Plug and Play - in reality, the longer time it takes the Plug and Play to add that energy means other losses make it less efficient. It has to run the pump for longer during the heating cycle; some heat is lost to the outside during the heating process, etc. But in "keeping the temperature" they should be roughly the same. Modern hot tubs are so well insulated, it doesn't take much energy to keep them up to temp, so if it has to run a 120V heater for 10 minutes per hour versus a 240V heater 3 minutes power hour doesn't really matter.

[@iosswiftguy]

I'm a new owner of a 2023 Bullfrog A6 with 220v 5kw heater and circulation pump. R15 Bullfrog cover. Strapped down with 4 wind straps due to frequent winter winds. Tub installed on my deck in northern Colorado front range foot hills at 7400 elevation. Tub kept at 100°F then bumped to 102°F during almost daily use of 15-30 minutes. First three months electric increase from prior same months the year before (with comparable average daily temperatures): + $66 Nov + $95 Dec + $67 Jan I'm averaging about +20 kWh per day increase to my electric bill so far. That's way more than I expected and nowhere close to the average per day listed on on manufacturer energy efficiency guide. $50-60/month for Chemical/products if you count $15 frog ease chlorine, shock/maintenance, enzyme, filter, test strips, ph increaser, alkalinity increaser. $120-200 for a water delivery but I haven't hit 4 months yet...

[@justinthefarm]

I’m an electrical engineer / P.E. and I want point out that your statement concerning efficiency between the higher wattage and lower wattage spa heater is incorrect. Power consumption over a period of time (kWh)= Voltage X amps X hours or KW X hours; however, It appears that the larger spas are much more efficient because they are made with better insulation materials.

[@losbartos5946]

Was wondering about that :)

[@ryanrisbridger2063]

I think the energy consumption will be the same between the smaller and larger heater. The difference is the time it takes to reach the set point. 7x4kwh = 28kw and 24 x 1kwh = 24kw of electricity

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

It depends on a bunch of different factors. Resistive heating is generally "100% efficient" - in that 100% of the electricity is converted to heat. But if it takes longer to heat, some will be lost to the air during the heating process, thus meaning it will take more total energy to get it up to temp. That 4 kW heater may get it done in 6 hours (24 kWh of energy,) while that 1 kW heater may take 26-28 hours (26-28 kWh of energy.) The pump running during heating also takes power. So the pump running longer takes even more energy.

[@MaxAcceleration]

At 4:43 I think you mean kilowatts (measurement of electrical power), not kilohertz (measure of frequency). You also consistently say the 240 hot tub is "far more energy efficient" than the smaller 120 plug and plays. That's not true. It just takes longer to heat with a lower kilowatt heater. You can either heat a 240 hot tub in 8 hours at 4kw = 32kwh or heat it slower using 120 at 32 hours at 1kwh = 32kwh. 32kwh either way. I'd expect that from a casual person, but not from someone with a channel and website dedicated to hot tubs. Come on man'. :)

[@vesivoe]

Still the same myth... It can't be more energy efficient keeping it hot all the time. More comfortable? Sure, but not more energy efficient. The thing is - you use the same energy to heat it by 1 degree. No matter how cold or hot it is. However, the huge factor is the difference between the water temperature and the surrounding. The bigger it is, the faster you lose the heat from the water. Just imagine a cup of boiling water. How fast it loses 10 degrees from the boiling point and how fast when it's 10 degrees above room temperature... Now, when you have a great insulation and use it daily, there wouldn't be a big difference. When you use it just on weekends in winter, it will be a significant difference if you turned off the heater after Sunday soak and turned back on on Saturday morning (or bit sooner if it wouldn't heat the water in time). That's physics and yes, I tried and measured that the last winter.

[@hockeymikey]

Bingo. I never mess with it though, it gets below freezing where I'm at so turning off the heater spells trouble.

[@MaxAcceleration]

@@hockeymikey The principle is the same, just don't leave it high all the time if you're not going to use it for a good amount of time - like a week in his example. The amount you lower it would probably be equal to the amount you are willing to wait for it to warm before jumping in. For me, my normal is 100 but when I exit it runs at 91 until the following weekend. That definitely saves energy. It heats back up quickly when I go to use it since I have it wired to 240 so no worries.

[@hockeymikey]

@@MaxAcceleration Yeah maybe 10 cents....

[@MaxAcceleration]

@@hockeymikeySomewhere between .10 cents and $10. But either way, it's more important to have an well insulated cover. My cover doesn't release enough heat to even melt the snow that builds up on top of it, except at the crevice where it folds. In fact, the snow actually adds extra insulation. So that should always be the #1 consideration when living in the northern states. Don't skimp on the cover.

[@dougcanning5501]

heaters are rate in kilo-watts not hertz

[@testaccount152]

correct, but I measure my power output in gigawatts

[@Skraals]

Question for you, wonder if you will answer or know the answer. I use my hottub 2 times a week around. I live in quebec, so cold temps, I tend to leave my hot tub at 90, and when I use it I bump it to 100. It's covered "very well", it's 220v 60 amps, and I tend to stay a good 4 hours inside the tub. Am I wasting money this way? Second question, my lights are finicky (11 year old hottub). They work only after 2 hours of the cover being removed. Do the lights cost alot to leave on? As in would it add that much more on extrafees? The issue I assume is the wirering that accumulates vapor and cease to function due to the humidity when the cover is left on. I normally use the tub at night so the desire to have the lights of the tub trump the yellow lights of the underside of my balcony. 😂 If you answer, thanks in advance!

[@imjackn]

Off subject, but my question is regarding how to address low hardness level in my hot tub. Is there a product I need to add?

[@whiteout628]

Yes, you need a calcium increaser

[@mannyramirez2307]

Is it normal to always close the lid on the spa cover when done or can it be left open?

[@jimwalsh6453]

ck your local electric company, in my area central Illinois. its cheaper with a plug n play for daily operation. Costs about 25 a month for a plug n play and about 50 a month for a 240 volt.

[@flintstone7404]

Very true thanks for sharing.

[@pamgrimm8850]

I used to lower mine down to 80° every time I got out. However, I followed your advice and started leaving it at 100° a couple of months ago. Coincidentally, at that same time, my gas bill spiked from $35 a month to $205 a month two months in a row! I thought at first it must’ve been due to doing a lot of laundry or accidentally leaving the water run hot too long in the kitchen sink. But now I’m thinking is that too much of a coincidence that it was at the same time that I changed my spa temp? And how do I know if my spa is electric or gas? I assumed that they are all electric! My electric bill is unchanged. And I do have solar panels, by the way.

[@iosswiftguy]

Go to the side of your home near the hot tub. Find where the shut off box is, and check your breaker. If it is a larger breaker (say 40 or 50A) you have an electric hot tub. You could also look to see if any gas lines are connected to your hot tub. Likely you have an electric hot tub. Most nowadays are.

[@pamgrimm8850]

@@iosswiftguy Well, that’s what mystified me because there are no gas lines, so how could it be gas? My electrician hooked up the electrical box which is on the wall next to my spa. But how did my bill go up so drastically? I know that is a question for the gas company and I will get them out to figure out this humongous bill. Thanks for your response.

[@mannyramirez2307]

How much energy would a spa consume extra in kwh if left open for 12 hrs without a spa cover? Assuming the water in spa is 100F and the outside is 32F?

[@coffeenclinic]

I hate to count up all the mistakes this guy makes in his analysis. Amazing!

[@travelswithMTcharlie]

I don't think you understand energy efficacy and thermal loss is generally the square of the difference in temp. You touched on the principles and you even suggest keeping your tub a couple of degrees cooler to save energy. Are you an engineer?

[@chayalves1199]

The best channel for me ❤ God bless you my friend

[@jedeloriaga1115]

How i see it...electricity keep my spa hot unnoticeable on the my bill...it spikes up when i have 5-9people goes in and takes a shower when done hehehe

[@steveth1000]

Solar panels are a must if you are getting a pool or a spa. In winter we drained our spa and filled it with fresh water plus chemicals for a start up. We then lowered the temp down as far as it went, ran the filter cycles, and didn't use it for 4 months. That kept the electricity usage down and hardly required any chemicals over that time.

[@iosswiftguy]

winter is the best time to use the tub!

[@hulkhuggett]

Can you tell us what chemicals you are using in your hot tub? I want to make sure my hair doesn't turn blue.