High electric bills

[Elmo]

Just curious.......I've only had my tub since July and live near Chicago (Brrrrrrr!) but I never expected my electric bill to increase over double what it was last year for december.  I keep my 2008 Sundance optima at 101* and soak at least 4-5 times/week for 30-45 minutes.  Does this seem like a normal increase?  I had to do a water change ..... could that be the reason?  

I don't think its the new meter or wires that the electric company had to install prior to the tub installation because my bills at the end of summer and fall hardly increased (maybe $10-$20).

Thanks!

[Brewman]

It's difficult for anyone to say for sure without knowing what you used for power last year.

 What was your KWHs used this Dec. vs last Dec?  
 
Are your electric rates higher now than they were last Dec?  

Is the outside temperature the same?  It's much colder in my city this year than last year.  Costs more to keep the water warm when it's colder outside.  Costs more to run the furnace fan, etc......

Yes, water changes can impact your power consumption.  It takes power to heat up 500 gallons of water- especially if your tap water is as cold in the winter as ours is.
 
Your spa heater consumes about 5000 watts every hour it runs- or 5KW hours.  If you pay $0.10/kwh your heater costs about $0.50/hour to run.  If it took 8 hours to heat that water, then you paid about $4 or more just to heat that new water.  I just pulled $0.10/kwh rate out of the air- some people pay a lot more than that.  That's about what we pay including sales tax and other "fees" that aren't included in the base rate.

Add in more watts for the pumps running, especially when you use the spa.

[Kialda]

Just curious.......I've only had my tub since July and live near Chicago (Brrrrrrr!) but I never expected my electric bill to increase over double what it was last year for december.  I keep my 2008 Sundance optima at 101* and soak at least 4-5 times/week for 30-45 minutes.  Does this seem like a normal increase?  I had to do a water change ..... could that be the reason?  

I don't think its the new meter or wires that the electric company had to install prior to the tub installation because my bills at the end of summer and fall hardly increased (maybe $10-$20).

Thanks!

 

To make things a little easier, Brewman made some great points, But when you say your electric bill doubled, Did it go from 30$ to 60$ or did your bill go from 200 to 400$..

[Cdn HockeyPuck]

Other things to consider...

Other electrical equipment you might have purchased that you didn't have the year before, plasma or lcd tv, home theater system, second fridge...

[Bonibelle]

and my favorite..all those towels that need to be washed and dried because of the tub use.
In my house, one soak for the four of us can produce a washer load of towels (not to mention the one we use on the floor for when we drip into the house). So that's 9 towels

In the summer, I hang my towels on the line, but this time of year the dryer gets used a lot!

[Brewman]

All the above posts illustrate why it's most useful to know how much power  was consumed this December vs last December.  Dollars are less useful.  
KWH per month is what power you use.

It's like calculating the mpg of your car.  Knowing how much it cost to fill the gas tank isn't useful, but knowing how much gas you used is.  Same with your electric bill.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

I'm sure it's just the bachelor in me...but I've always been confussed by this.

Take showering. When you get out of the shower, aren't you about as clean as you'll EVER be? So then, how is it that the towels you use to dry off get dirty and need such frequent washing??

Does one really need to wash the towel after EACH use of the spa?

and my favorite..all those towels that need to be washed and dried because of the tub use.
In my house, one soak for the four of us can produce a washer load of towels (not to mention the one we use on the floor for when we drip into the house). So that's 9 towels

In the summer, I hang my towels on the line, but this time of year the dryer gets used a lot!

[Renee]

I'm with you Dr Spa.  We all have our own towels, and we hang them up on hooks in the bathroom after we sit in the hot tub, to be used the next time.    Then I will wash them with a load of towels on the weekend or every other weekend, depending on how much we used them.

Our electric bill is high this winter too.  But I know the rates went up quite a bit, due to all the lines that had to be repaired and replaced in our state after the Dec 2007 ice storm.   Seems everything is going up...except our paychecks!!!!  

We have an old pepsi bottle machine....if we unplug it to save money, will it be hard on the motor to sit unplugged?  Or is it better to keep it plugged in?  Just trying to figure out little ways to save some money...

[soak-king]

I'm sure it's just the bachelor in me...but I've always been confussed by this.

Take showering. When you get out of the shower, aren't you about as clean as you'll EVER be? So then, [glow]how is it that the towels you use to dry off get dirty and need such frequent washing??[/glow]

Does one really need to wash the towel after EACH use of the spa?

I actually saw something about this on TV awhile back (can't remember what channel) - The towels start smelling and showing dirt from the flakes of skin you rub off yourself while drying off.  Still, I would say you can get 3-4 uses from a towel before needing to wash them under normal circumstances.  

[Elmo]

Thanks or  all the comments. Sorry I didn't include the pertinent info in my original post.

-Current month total usage - 2239 kWh ($254.83)-----average daily temp - 24
-Last year total usage - 949 kWh ($94.87) ------------average daily temp - 28

The rates did increase but it's not the actual cost ($$) that I'm questioning, it's the usage (kWh).  We did get a 52 inch LCD TV last month, but that's the only change. I expected an usage increase from the tub but but it just seems awfully high.  

Does an LCD TV use a lot of electricity...I have no idea???

Thanks!

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Does an LCD TV use a lot of electricity...I have no idea???

In general, YES. they tend to use almost the same amount of electricity when turned off, as they do when turned on.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I have learned to shut the power strip off to the TV now, it was adding apx $10.00 a month to our bill.

On months we do water changes in the winter it makes a big difference in that bill. The water going into the tub is about 34 degrees, I have 540 gallons to heat so its costly. When we have it in economy mode, in sub zero weather, we are only losing 2-3 degrees in a 12 hour period, so I do not think the heat would be coming on much. Our big difference this year from last is that we went from a 3 pump tub to a 5 pump tub,(same brand and insulation) so when we use it it takes a lot more to turn those extra motors and we use the tub almost nightly.

Colder average temps this year has caused an increase, not just because of different things running more, but more time is being spent inside also.

[Bonibelle]

The towel thing...my kids refuse to reuse a towel after a shower...and I have a very sensitive nose. You would be amazed at the stuff that lurks in that towel if it  stays wet even for a few hours. I guess if they went right into the dryer, it would be fine... :-/
So..it's just a personal thing, but we like fresh towels.   And yeah, in the winter I use lots of electric drying my towels

Hey I found something that might be really useful for everyone worried about vampire electric.
http://www.belkin.com/conserve/ The only advantage that I see in this device over just a power strip is that my kids might actually turn it off when they leave our TV room if the remote is next to the light switches.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

The towel thing...my kids refuse to reuse a towel after a shower...

Simple solution. either reuse the towel, or go outside and air dry  

AND DON'T TRACK WATER DOWN THE HALL

[ndabunka]

Thanks or  all the comments. Sorry I didn't include the pertinent info in my original post.

-Current month total usage - 2239 kWh ($254.83)-----average daily temp - 24
-Last year total usage - 949 kWh ($94.87) ------------average daily temp - 28

The rates did increase but it's not the actual cost ($$) that I'm questioning, it's the usage (kWh).  We did get a 52 inch LCD TV last month, but that's the only change. I expected an usage increase from the tub but but it just seems awfully high.  

Does an LCD TV use a lot of electricity...I have no idea???

Flat panel TV's can use more electricity but the Plasma version of them uses about TWICE as much energy as the LCD version does.

Another factor you appear to have omitted is the difference in temperatures from that same period last year as this year.  Many areas got hit harder/colder last month than the same month last year so at least a percentage (20% may well be attributed to that difference).

One other energy HOG are the little portable electric heaters that people use.  People think that "since they are small, they CAN'T use that much energy, right"....WRONG!  Those small heaters are some of the LEAST efficient ways to heat an area.  People buy them and then (sometime) simply forget them and then they realize that their power bill is SO much higher.  Don't believe me?  Go watch your meter and have an "assistant" plug on of them in and turn it up to high.... POW!  that meter will start to spinning FAST!