How Much Electricity Does a Hot Tub Use?

You’re looking at hot tubs, but you’re wisely concerned about the cost of actually owning one. Because you know there are two costs when you buy a hot tub: What you pay when you purchase it, and then what it costs to run it once you actually own it.

“What’s a hot tub going to do to my electrical bill?” is a very common question that we get at Hydropool quite often. It’s likely our second most common question, after “how much does a hot tub cost?”

Here’s the quickest answer: In general, a hot tub will cost you approximately a dollar a day on your electrical bill.

Not as much as you might have thought, right?

It’s important to note that this is an average. There are many variables, though, and everyone’s situation will be different. For example:

• If you’re in the cold winter of Saskatoon, Sask, you’ll pay more to heat your hot tub than someone who has a hot tub in Miami, Florida.
• Ambient temperature isn’t the only factor. What you pay for electricity matters as well. Alberta has more expensive electricity in Canada than Ontario, for example, while someone in Utah pays significantly less than a person in Hawaii in the United States.

In this article, we will go through:

• how to calculate your electricity costs, wherever you are
• how a hot tub is able to keep your water warm at a low cost
• and give you our best tips on how to keep your bill as low as possible

Hopefully, by the end you’ll have a solid sense of how much your electricity bill will increase once you buy a hot tub.

 

 

How Much Electricity Does a Hot Tub Use in a Month?

If you’re considering buying a hot tub, or have a hot tub, we have a calculation for you that will show you how to figure out exactly how much your hot tub will cost you each month.

Two main elements of your hot tub require energy. One is your heater and the other is your circulation pump.

Get ready, there’s a bit of math coming at you here.

STEP 1 

• To calculate how much electricity your hot tub uses in a month, you need to know the voltage of your hot tub’s water heater. You can find this information out usually be checking your manual or by asking your swim spa dealer. Most often, a 240-volt water heater will use 6,000 watts while a 120-volt heater will use 1,500. A hot tub will come with one or the other of these.  
• The circulation pump typically uses 1,500 watts of power.  

This gives you your wattage, your energy consumption or how much power you’re using. That’s half of what we need.

STEP 2

Next you need to figure out how much you’re being charged for power.

Check your electric bill. You will need to find out what your local cost per kilowatt-hour is as well as if there are different prices for peak hours throughout the day. Calculate an average cost per kilowatt hour.

Then divide the wattage of your hot tub by 1,000 to convert it to kilowatts.

Finally, estimate how many hours you think you will spend (or do spend) each month in your hot tub and multiply that number by the number of kilowatts the hot tub uses.

That will give you your total power cost.

How Did We Calculate a Dollar Day in Electricity Costs?

• If your hot tub has a 240-volt heater and a wattage of 7,500, it uses approximately 7.5kW.
• If you think you will spend 25 hours a month in your hot tub, the calculation would be 25 x 7.5 = 187.50.
• Now that you have an estimate of using 187.50-kilowatt-hours per month, multiply that by your kilowatt-hour cost. In this case, we picked 15 cents per kilowatt hour (which is approximately the cost in Mississauga, Ontario, where Hydropool is based).
• What do you get? This is what we got: You can expect your electricity bill to cost $28.75 per month or $337.50 per year. Or about a dollar a day.

How Does a Hot Tub Keep My Water Hot?

A modern hot tub works in a similar way to a hot water tank. Water is passed over a heating element and then circulated within the hot tub with a circulation pump. Once you reach a set temperature, if your hot tub is well-insulated, keeping your water warm is relatively easy and inexpensive. Hot tubs are affordable due to this principle.

How Can I Lower My Electrical Bill While Having a Hot Tub?

When shopping for a hot tub make sure that you do your research and select an energy-efficient model that will consume as little electricity as possible.

Several features contribute to energy savings that you should look out for. These include:

• Choosing a model with quality insulation (for more on insulation, read this article).
• Hydropool and a few other companies use adjustable venting that in the winter can trap and make use of residual motor heat (and in the summer, these vents are opened to allow heat to escape, which is less taxing on your motor).
• Energy-efficient hot tubs filter water quickly and use low-amperage filtration pumps. Check for what the filtration rate is on the hot tub you are considering.
• Your cover matters a lot when buying a hot tub: Look for a model with a 3-4-inch hard tapered cover. Put the cover on the hot tub as soon as you get out!
• Turning your hot tub 1-2 degrees lower will keep your hot tub hot, but you will notice a bit of difference when the bills arrive.

How Much Power Does a Hot Tub Use?

We hope this article has given you a good sense of your hot tub energy costs. We know that many people are concerned about ongoing hot tub costs. But at the same time, we know that many, many people are able to afford hot tubs because they are inexpensive to run.

A good, well-insulated hot tub will cost you about $1 a day in electricity costs, on average. There are many variables, from how cold it is where you live to how well your hot tub is made that will specifically relate to your situation, however.

If you like, one of our local retailers can help you calculate the costs for your specific area. To find one, look here.