High Cost of Keeping Hot Tub Ready To Go

[KLS]

I don't know Dick's dealer or spa brand, but this is what I also was told by my dealer, Clearwater Pool and Spa in Rochester, New York, and I'm running a Beachcomber spa. I just leave my spa at 100F all the time, with the filter pump cycling 2x daily, and it's working fine, not costing me much for a couple of reasons: it's insulated on all five sides of the shell (plus the cover is pretty good), and the spa is located on the south side of the house, so it gets all available sun, helping to maintain the temperature. This spa is so good at retaining heat that I've even turned off the filter pump and seen only a 2 or 3 degree temperature drop over a week in above freezing temperatures. So keeping it at 100F really is easier on the machine and doesn't cost much for the convenience.

[Mys Terry]

You haven't supplied any verifiable information. You made up a bunch of nonsense, and nobody is buying what you are selling. In other words, either put up, or do your reputation a favor and shut up.

[Mys Terry]

Just for openers, the fantasy quote given by Dick says that outdoors is a "controlled environment". He could start by explaining that one! What a whopper!

[KLS]

[stuff cut just to keep the relevant sentence] Most outside spas

[my stuff cut entirely]

Let's have a reading comprehension review. In fact, I'll retype Dick's sentence: Most outside spas provide the ideal controlled environment. He did NOT say "outdoors is a 'controlled environment.'" The sentence in question clearly states that outdoor hot tubs are equipped to control their environments, and you probably know that they do this by using superior insulation material in product design intended to maximize environmental stability.

[Mys Terry]

You cut too much. He started out quoting something from an imaginary power company that is out of context and then tried to connect it to hot tubs. I'm SURE the power company was not talking about hot tubs. They were talking about the fact that if you let a building go completely cold, you not only have to reheat the air, but you have to reheat the walls, floors, bricks, toilets, and other mass. Not remotely equivelent to a hot tub. The mass in a hot tub is almost entirely the water.

[I.dont.read.email]

Hey Bryan

I got a question for you. I have never had or even used a hot tub, so this question lingers in my head.

You got the hot tub outdoors. Winter or Summer you use it. To use it, you got to go outdoors to get in, which means removing the cover (which I am sure takes some time). You crawl into it and it's nice and warm. OK..... So far this all makes sense..... Except for one thing.... You obviously take your clothes off, and I would take a guess that you wear some swimming gear at least during the day when neighbors can see you.

Here comes the confusing part. (especially in winter) You have to walk outdoors practically naked. The outdoor temperature is below zero. That alone sounds more than I'd want to deal with. Then when you get out of that thing, you are soaking wet, and standing in sub-zero weather almost naked. Even if it only takes 3 seconds to get into the house, that sounds horrible.... And that dont take into account how and when you put the cover back on that thing.

Why would ANYONE put one of these things OUTDOORS in a climate that gets cold in winter? The tub itself might be wonderful, but getting in and out of it in winter sounds horrible.

[KLS]

You're right, and here's what one power company, BC Hydro, says about the cost to heat a spa:

Right on the first page, last sentence, it says that a well insulated spa with a good cover costs little extra to keep heated at the higher temperature. This .pdf dates from May 2005, so it's fairly recent.

[Dick]

You are so full of crap I don't know why I waste my time trying to educate you. On the outside chance that you aren't a troll who wants to just argue for the sake of argument, here is the web page that you were too lazy to look up. I am assuming you know how to access a web page. Maybe not.

.

[Mys Terry]

Duck,

I don't care who you claim told you what. They are simply wrong.

Just because someone works at a spa dealership, doesn't mean they know anything about physics. It may even increase the odds that they don't. They probably don't fully understand how an electric motor works, either. The issue here comes down to physics. Sales people generally just parrot things they think they heard somewhere, or that the boss told them.

Best of luck to you.

[Mys Terry]

Thank you.

[Goedjn]

It doesn't matter what it is that you're keeping warm. Air, Bricks, water, Ectoplasm. It always takes more energy to keep it warm than it does to let it cool to ambient, and then warm it back up. Depending on other factors, (mostly insulation) it may not take

*MUCH* more, but it always takes more.

[BobK207]

Look Dick, I've got 30 years + experience as a mechincal engineer........energy calcs are part of the biz. Plus I've got 10 years + owning a spa.

Do whatever you want to do with your spa, it's a free country

but lowering the temp of any heated "space" will result in energy savings

As for the "a quote from one of the largest spa dealers" "It is recommended to maintain your water temperature on a consistent daily basis during the winter."

think what their motivation is.......they want maximum comfort & usage so you have good things to say about spa ownership, so they will have you touting their product.

cheers Bob

[Bryan]

The worst part is the wet swim trunks; they do get cold fast. Walking 15 feet to the tub with dry swim trunks is no problem at all. The hot tub cover is on a hinge so it's also no problem at all. Where I live the temperature range is low 30's and up for winter nights, so you'll have to ask someone else about the subzero scenario.

Personally I don't get into the tub very often during daylight hours. For me it's more of a nighttime activity; sitting under the stars listening to the breeze blowing through the trees and just relaxing in a hot tub is very enjoyable.

The outdoor hot tub concept is one you'll have to experience for yourself to understand; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't.

[KLS]

Right, I don't deny that. My point is that the difference in cost is not a whole lot, and I don't have to wait for my spa to get up to temperature if I get inspired at some crazy hour to get into it (an issue in my cold climate, in particular).

[Mys Terry]

Actually, winter is more enjoyable than summer. I have been in indoor hottubs, and they were uniformly awful.

The cold really isn't a factor until it gets down around 5F. I go out and open the tub ahead of time. Then it's a few seconds in the cold with the reward at the end of slipping into that wonderful bubbling hot water. After being in there for 20 minutes or so, you are heated up enough that you don't really feel the cold when you get out. We have a big hill off to one side, and my wife and her friends like to periodically jump out of the tub and roll down the hill in the snow naked. It's a riot, especially when one of them goes off course and ends up stuck under a shrub.

[KLS]

For many people, it is indeed horrible, but not for me and certain of my friends in western New York, where I really enjoy using the spa in

20F temps with snow coming down. I was smart enough to put the spa not too far away from the back door (about 15 ft.), so I can sprint outside, plug in the party light strings (to fool the motion detector light into staying off), lift off the spa cover, drape my towel over a nearby deck chair, and leap into the warm water. I stay in my spa an average of an hour at a time, and by the end, I'm pretty thoroughly warmed up so by the time I need to get out, my internal core temperature is radiant enough that I don't feel the outside air temp or the snow too severely.

It's really about the contrast, especially with fresh snow on the ground, the perfect time to get out of the spa after warming up thoroughly and then lying down on some clean fresh cold snow for the rush (not recommended for people with heart conditions) and then leaping back into the spa. This is what Scandinavians do, all the time!

I hate using my spa in the summer. What's the point? There's no temperature contrast, no thrill, no quickening of the senses.

[Mys Terry]

You are correct. It will not save "much" money. However, if I know I'm not going to use the spa for a week or more, I turn the thermostat to it's lowest setting. That's not much of a bother, and it does save a little energy. Turning the tub up and down on a daily schedule would not be worth the effort involved. The economy mode is really most useful for those who only use their tub once or twice a week or even less. I know people who use their tub only a few times a month. Others use it more than once a day.

[Bryan]

Come to think of it, we don't have any snow where I live, but when we visit the ski resort for vacation, the kids love to roll around in the snow after warming up in the tub.

[Gntry]