What Goes into an Energy-Efficient Hot Tub?
There are a lot of things to consider when deciding to purchase a hot tub. What colour to choose, what size, what layout, etc. However, something that people often forget is that your hot tub does not stop costing you money after you initially purchase it. Your hot tub will have monthly operating costs to do things like heating the water, running jets and filtering the water.
Oftentimes buying the least expensive hot tub will cost you the most money due to energy consumption and maintenance down the line. Reducing every consumption by purchasing quality hot tubs made with quality materials will save you thousands of dollars over the course of your hot tub’s life. Here are a few things to look for when purchasing a new hot tub.
Insulation
There are many different ways to insulate a hot tub. The two most common approaches to insulating hot tubs are full foam insulation and perimeter insulation. At first glance, full foam insulation might seem like the superior technique, but upon closer inspection, perimeter insulation is actually the more efficient way to insulate a hot tub.
Full foam insulation fills the entire cabinet up with foam insulation, while perimeter insulation puts a layer of high-density foam around the perimeter of the hot tub.
Full foam insulation has more foam on the hot tub and cabinet, but the law of diminishing returns tells us that eventually more foam is just more foam, it is not adding any insulation value to the hot tub.
By only putting the foam insulation on the perimeter of the hot tub, it creates a heated area for the pumps, heaters, motherboards and other important equipment to stay warm while they work to keep the hot tub hot and clean. This helps the equipment work more efficiently and waste less energy on staying warm.
Choosing the right insulation style can potentially save you 10% or about 250kWh annually on your electricity bill.
Cover
Choosing the right cover for your hot tub can greatly reduce the cost to operate your hot tub. A cover should seal tightly around all the edges of your hot tub, especially down the middle where your cover flips in half. Oftentimes, due to the cover coming in two pieces so it can fold in half, there is a gap in the seal between the two sides. Having some form of insulation there is crucial to making sure you don’t have heat loss from your cover.
Covers are made of foam, so it is also very important to make sure that your cover is not absorbing too much moisture from your hot tub. When hot tub covers absorb water, it significantly reduces their insulation capabilities. Make sure that the cover’s foam is wrapped so that it cannot absorb moisture.
Choosing the right hot tub cover can potentially save you 10% or about 250kWh annually on your electricity bill.
Pumps
Pumps filter your water and move water to activate your jets when you are in your hot tub. Pumps can use a significant amount of energy to move water and can therefore be very costly for your energy usage. Investing in a hot tub with energy-efficient pumps can significantly decrease your energy costs. Regular pumps can have up to 3.5 times a higher amperage draw than high-efficiency pumps, making them much more expensive to have in your hot tub.
Choosing the right hot tub pumps can potentially save you 15% or about 275kWh annually on your electricity bill.
Although investing in high-quality products such as good insulation, covers and pumps can be more costly for your initial purchase, it can help you save thousands of dollars on your future energy bills. When starting the process of purchasing a hot tub, remember to keep those three features in mind.