Spa Owners - How Do You Maintain and Run Your Spa with Good Energy Efficiency?

geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 09:52

Hi all,

Recently bought our first house and it came with a Spa (which we weren't fussed about). We have got up to date with the water maintenance and learning how to manage the water chemicals etc from a local spa shop.

My question is, how do you manage the heating and electricity use? Looking at our usage online it is kicking in to heat itself every 2 hours or so. Our usage is pretty much the same every hour and even overnight you can see the spike - https://imgur.com/a/NVrEp33

There is no usage during the day as we have gotten solar installed in the last week and the house runs off that most of the day.

So, question is, how do you have your Spa running so you can use it without having to worry about heating it before you get in? Not sure on my model options, but could you run it during certain hours (like during the day) and not heat overnight? Just during the day so it uses the solar generation. It isn't like we are getting in at 7am and wanting a spa, it is always an evening thing.

Do you run things different for Summer vs Winter? Do you turn it off completely during winter?

I know any solar excess I'll get my feed in which is only like 12c. The power meter is awaiting reconfig to allow feeding.

Any tips would be great!

Home & Garden Spa

Comments

  • MS Paint on 25/02/2021 - 09:58
    +1

    During the summer months we run ours to maintain a consistent temperature. Because the days and most nights are warm it doesn't lose much heat. And is pretty cheap to let the electric heat pump do its thing.

    I see you are in Gippsland so it will experience some very cold nights in the winter and be expensive to run either way. After a few years the novelty wore off and we don't use ours in winter as there is no real cheap way to keep it running. And there is nothing worse than getting out of a hot spa on a cold winters night.

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 10:03
      +1

      Hi MS Paint,

      I see you are in Gippsland so it will experience some very cold nights in the winter and be expensive to run either way.

      Yeah I am in Warragul specifically and that last few mornings have been cold for sure! I go for a walk in the morning about 4:30am and it is about 5 degrees that last two mornings. I know it'll get worse in the winter for sure!

      I have the cover on it whenever we aren't using it, I don't leave the cover off overnight at all.

      And there is nothing worse than getting out of a hot spa on a cold winters night

      Yeah, I am thinking the same.

      So by the sounds of it, run it during the summer normally and then in winter maybe turn it off? Do you still maintain yours or do you drain it in the winter?

      • MS Paint on 25/02/2021 - 10:57

        Drain in between May - September

  • abb on 25/02/2021 - 10:29
    +2

    Use it three times then drain the water and sell it.

    • Smulder on 25/02/2021 - 11:23
      +1

      That's what we did, 6 months after moving in… except we gave the thing away.

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 12:33

      But I have already used it 3 times? So now what? hahahaha.

      Don't plan on selling it or getting rid of it.

  • c64 on 25/02/2021 - 10:45

    you winter electrical bill is going to be a doozer

  • Quantumcat on 25/02/2021 - 11:23

    Do you have a cover over it all the time to keep the heat in?

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 12:32

      Yes I do. Never leave it off.

  • Smulder on 25/02/2021 - 11:24
    +1

    Turn off the heater, use it as a plunge pool.

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 12:33

      Yes a family member recommended that for some of the summer.

  • nedski on 25/02/2021 - 11:54

    We have used our spa less in the summer because its hot. But it is quite nice to use in the Winter.

    Havent really noticed much difference in our power bills TBH. We keep the cover on and keep it consistent at 36 degrees.

    The only pain is managing the water treatment. We usually get about 3 months before we have to turf the water, however we didnt do the treatment for 2 weeks and the water got cloudy and had to dump it sooner than 3 months.

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 12:35

      We keep the cover on and keep it consistent at 36 degrees.

      Great, I do the same thing.

      The only pain is managing the water treatment. We usually get about 3 months before we have to turf the water, however we didnt do the treatment for 2 weeks and the water got cloudy and had to dump it sooner than 3 months.

      I have been keeping on top of this every week. Every Sunday afternoon. So that isn't a problem.

  • Karlotta - Margarita on 25/02/2021 - 12:44

    Have a look at the control panel on your spa. I have an old bullfrog spa and the control panel has two heating modes and a timer. Standard where it heats up as needed and economy where it runs a two-hour cycle twice a day. I've programmed the economy mode to run when my solar panels is usually active. Not a great saving but every little bit helps.

    Otherwise, keep the cover on when you are not using it. We turn ours off between the autumn school holidays and the spring school holidays as it rarely gets used then.

  • lunchbox99 on 25/02/2021 - 15:06
    -2

    Warm bath with friends…. gross.

    https://youtu.be/patnL50WlQ0

    • geekcohen on 25/02/2021 - 15:21
      -1

      Who said I was using the spa with friends? Generally a time to relax with my wife.

      • lunchbox99 on 25/02/2021 - 15:52

        Spas are widely regarded as disgusting cesspits. Trying filling up your bathtub. Hop in it each day and occasionally throw some chlorine in to kill the gross crap. See how long you wanna keep doing that, lol.

        • ChocStrawberries on 25/02/2021 - 16:49
          +2

          Only comparable if your bathtub has filters, UV/ozone cleaners, etc.

  • JIMB0 on 26/02/2021 - 08:32

    Unless you're using it a lot it works out much cheaper to use the one at the public swimming pool. Don't have to maintain it either.

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