Hot Tubs and Electricity Costs for Dummies

hot tub

Depending on where you live and your personal lifestyle, you may consider owning a hot tub or spa a little luxury or a near necessity, though most people would fall on the "luxury" end of that particular spectrum. In addition to the cost of buying and installing the tub, you also need to factor in the running costs, one of which is the cost of electricity. If you want to know that cost, you probably shouldn't be looking at eHow.com: if you do, you would find Bibiana da Silva and her ignorant Hunker.com post, "How Much Energy Do Hot Tubs Take?"

Bibiana Googled the question and found a couple of answers at local power companies (Otter Tail Power? really?). According to da Silva's research, the systems of a hot tub that draw power are the pump and the heater. Of those two, Bibiana says,

• "...a 120-volt water heater uses 1,500 watts (W). A 240-volt heater uses 6,000 W."
• "Circulation pumps use the same amount of energy as a 120-volt water heater. When calculating your hot tub's electricity use, use 1,500 W as an estimate."

She's probably right about those figures; at least as far as our research can determine. Where da Silva gets her answer all goofy is here:

"Estimate how many hours per month you use the hot tub and multiply that number by the number of kilowatts the hot tub uses."

Bibiana's problem? It's really quite simple: anyone who has ever owned a hot tub knows that the pump and the heater don't just run while you're sitting there enjoying the bubbles. The heater cycles on and off to keep the water temperature within a preset range, and the circulating pump runs periodically to keep the water from becoming stagnant and to prevent cold spots for developing in the tub.
According to da Silva, a hot tub costs $25 per year to run at a cost of 11¢ per KWH. According to energy companies, however, our Dumbass of the Day's estimate was off by about half.

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