Bullfrog electric usage

[Thisismyname]

Got my BF A8 in October....it's outside in metro Detroit.

Just got my January electric bill and its +$100 vs any other January Ive had. 

Nov and Dec. bills were about $40 high over norm.

The tub is the only change to the house.

Does this seem right???

I had a caldera Tahitian before but in an unheated sunroom at my old house and that hardly regisitered on my bill.

This sucks if it's gonna cost me $50-$100 a month in electric...not what I had in mind.

I have the circ pump and ozonator with temp set about 100.

[Hottubguy]

I’m in the Northeast and had record cold weather in January. Was the weather colder then normal this past month?  Did your electric rate go up from last January as around here rates have risen a lot. To me $50 a month in the coldest months is normal. Sell both Caldera and Marquis. My electric bill in January was very high as well but that was more on Mother Nature then the hot tub itself.

[Thisismyname]

We definitely had some really cold days...around 0 or a bit below at times.  But also a few days in the 40s.

I was expecting maybe +$40 but +100 was a shock. 

We have a smart meter that I can measure instant readings for our entire house, also by day, week, etc.

We were always using about 18 kWh per day on average, now I am consistently about 33 kWH per day.

Dec. of 2016 we used 639 kWh, Dec of 2017 1010 kWH

Jan 2017 was  575 kWh   and Jan of 2018 was 1081 kWh.

Even November before it really got cold we went from 459 to 847 kWh year over year.

[Hottubguy]

How often do you us the tub?  Also there is a big difference from going from a enclosed area with a hot tub to outside in the elements. No wind in a enclosed area and it won’t be as cold out. I’m guessing in the summer you won’t notice which will get your average monthly charge into the 40-50 range. Bullfrog also uses a circ pump that draws more energy then a circ pump in a Caldera. I think the idea behind it is to not run it 24/7 like you would in a Caldera. As far as I know BF uses a full foam icynene foam similar to Marquis which is a very good insulator. I’m sure Eric will respond on here as a BF Dealer as to how to how many hours per day to run circ on that tub

[Thisismyname]

Haven't used it too much. Maybe once a week for 30 mins since we got it.  Been too cold plus we have 2 little ones so it's been tough.

I don't see where to adjust the circ pump timing.  Only the filter cycles which are the default like 1 hr in the morning and 3 or 4 in the evening I think

[Hottubguy]

Just looked at there owners manual and didn’t see it anywhere in it. Hopefully someone more familiar with BF will respond

[Tman122]

Do you keep your cover latched down tight? Maybe add a floating foam blanket for the winter.

[Thisismyname]

I keep one side latched down...the other is basically up against a retaining wall.  The tub is pretty well isolated from the elements as much as it can be being outside.

But I went in it today and when I flipped the cover open I noticed the center section of the cover that hinges and is very thin was covered in frost on the inside of the cover.  So there is definitely cold air penetrating somehow

[Tman122]

I keep one side latched down...the other is basically up against a retaining wall.  The tub is pretty well isolated from the elements as much as it can be being outside.

But I went in it today and when I flipped the cover open I noticed the center section of the cover that hinges and is very thin was covered in frost on the inside of the cover.  So there is definitely cold air penetrating somehow

The cover is responsible for about 80% of heat loss on any tub.

[Thisismyname]

I keep one side latched down...the other is basically up against a retaining wall.  The tub is pretty well isolated from the elements as much as it can be being outside.

But I went in it today and when I flipped the cover open I noticed the center section of the cover that hinges and is very thin was covered in frost on the inside of the cover.  So there is definitely cold air penetrating somehow

The cover is responsible for about 80% of heat loss on any tub.

Ok, but is that my problem?  I dont think the heater is running a lot looking at the electric usage.  Its a steady draw, Im guessing the circ and/or ozone.

would a floating cover on the water do much?

[bud16415]

What voltage, wire size and length did you run? The only way to really tell is have an electrician put a amp meter on the wire and measure current draw with it running with and without the heater running. Then if things seem right you are looking at heat loss. What temp do you have the tub set at?

A sign of heat loss would be snow melting on the cover in some areas. Mine the snow on the cover looks just like the snow on my deck.

You can buy a hand held infrared sensor that are now not that expensive or pay one of the window companies a few bucks to bring out their house scanner and take some thermal image photos of your tub. That will pinpoint every heat leak.

[bud16415]

This page shows their claims with thermal images.

https://www.bullfrogspas.com/energy-save/

 

[Tman122]

This page shows their claims with thermal images.

https://www.bullfrogspas.com/energy-save/

That entire page is 100% BS

[Hottubguy]

This page shows their claims with thermal images.

https://www.bullfrogspas.com/energy-save/

That entire page is 100% BS

Completely agree. People can either love or hate Hot Spring but they are the industry leader in that aspect when talking the Highlife series. BF makes a lot of claims on there site that are great for marketing purposes but doesn’t mean they are completely true. I think they are a great tub but they go overboard on their claims

[bud16415]

This page shows their claims with thermal images.

https://www.bullfrogspas.com/energy-save/

That entire page is 100% BS

Completely agree. People can either love or hate Hot Spring but they are the industry leader in that aspect when talking the Highlife series. BF makes a lot of claims on there site that are great for marketing purposes but doesn’t mean they are completely true. I think they are a great tub but they go overboard on their claims

There is a theory of law that I believe in, that kind of goes like this. If someone is on the stand giving testimony and you catch them in one single lie, it is then within your rights to assume everything they say or claim is a lie at that point.

I put faith in that rule many times when making up my mind about lots of things, hot tubs included. I have no way of proving their image is true or not that’s why I called it a BF claim. If you guys have proof this claim is not true someone should do something about it.

It is not a case of stretching the truth or puffing or going overboard about their product. They are saying something about facts as they claim to be true. If that picture is not true then it is a lie. If it is a lie I’m free to conclude everything is a lie if I want to.