Electricity cost for Hot Springs - Ouch!

[p951]

Yeah.  I'm not too worried about the monthly electricity increase.  With the spa, all of its options + the gazebo and electrician, I shelled out about $15,000 Cash.  So an extra $30 a month won't change the way I live, I was curious to get some input regarding my situation though.  From the advice given, I will wait another year so I can compare my bill to last year's amounts.  Thank you all for the input.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

As crazy as it may seem, our 60 LCD added about 10.00 a month to our electric, took a bit to figure out where the extra was coming from. You mentioned you have a new LCD TV. We now turn ours off at night with surge protector so no power is going to it, even when its "off" since they are never truely off.

[ndabunka]

Another note regarding TV's.  The LCD sets are significantly more efficient that an equivalent Plasma set.  In fact some Plasma's are 3 times less efficient than the LCD's so those of you who are considering the options should realize that as in the spa world, the HDTV world has similar equivalences (pay less up front for that 52-inch plasma but more in the long run in elec costs)

[Bonibelle]

Nda, are the LCD's better for gaming too?  I know my kids pause games on the screen and even TV shows with the DVR...and I thought that Plasma risk burn in..is that still true?

[cburk0677]

Hi, yes LCD's are better for gaming. The newest LCD 1080p sets really have no downsides.

1. Use less electricity than plasma.
2. No burn in issues.
3. Are able to display deep black color equivalent to the best plasma.
4. Motion blur is almost non existent especially with the 120hz refresh rates.
5. Weigh less than comparable plasma. 52" lcd weighs less than 60lbs.
6. At 1080p resolution you can use your lcd tv as a giant computer monitor for playing computer games.

Now onto the main theme of this thread: Electrical Costs

I own a Hotspring Vanguard and live in Indiana. I keep my hottub at 96 degrees during the winter when not being used. I only used the tub 2-3 times per week in the winter. An hour or so before I plan on using the spa I go out turn it up to 101. Then turn it back down to 96 when I'm done. I think overall this does save me a small amount of electricity.

Also I changed out every light in the house inside and out with CFL's. I am a crazy about shutting off lights when noone is in the room. My electric bill in the winter has never been higher than $85. Granted I have a gas furnace and gas water heater. I recommend changing out the most commonly used lightbulbs in your house with CFL's. Every little bit helps.  Also you should shut down your computer when not in use and get one of the power saving surge protectors for your TV and stereo. I've even seen surge protectors that come with remote controls to turn the strip on and off. This works great for hooking up all of your TV/Audo equipment.

[Gomboman]

Very good advise cburk0677. You sound a lot like me. I've also changed out all our old incandescent light bulbs. Just curious, how many kWhr's do you estimate your spa is consuming during the winter? With that electric bill it doesn't sound like your spa is using very much electricity.

[Vanguard]

Also I changed out every light in the house inside and out with CFL's.

Just curious, how do you throw away your CFL's when they burn out?  I have tried using the CFL's in my can lights and they keep burning out - quicker than my incadescent - and nobody seems to know what I should do with them since they are full of mercury.

[cburk0677]

In Indianapolis there are toxic waste drop off sites that are open a couple times a month where you take burnt out CFL's, paint, oil, etc.  I recommend googling CFL disposal and your city name to find where these sites are located.

I haven't really estimated how many kwh my tub uses per month. Electric rates are around 9 cents per kwh so I am lucky to have low rates.

I really do think the CFL's are worth the money. I've only had one burn out earlier than expected. I usually buy the GE brand at lowe's.

[sandi]

Just an FYI - You can take CFLs to any Home Depot in the US for recycling.

[ndabunka]

Nda, are the LCD's better for gaming too?  I know my kids pause games on the screen and even TV shows with the DVR...and I thought that Plasma risk burn in..is that still true?

LCD's are generally pretty good for gaming.  Pausing on-screen images is no issue for LCD's and is also less of an issue on the newer Plasma's than on the older ones.  Essentially, unless you leave a single image on a plasma for weeks &/or months on end, you will typically not see any burn-in on the plasma's either now-a-days.  In other words, not an issue.

However, even the newer LCD's (which falsely claim 1,000,000 contrast ratios) don't have the ability to show shading detail in darker scenes so they aren't nearly as good as Plasma's for higher-end Home Theater applications.