Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Elmo on January 22, 2009, 03:16:19 am
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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!
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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.
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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$..
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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...
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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 :o
In the summer, I hang my towels on the line, but this time of year the dryer gets used a lot!
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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.
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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 :o
In the summer, I hang my towels on the line, but this time of year the dryer gets used a lot!
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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...
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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. :o Still, I would say you can get 3-4 uses from a towel before needing to wash them under normal circumstances. :)
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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. ;)
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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 ;D
AND DON'T TRACK WATER DOWN THE HALL
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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!
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In general, YES. they tend to use almost the same amount of electricity when turned off, as they do when turned on.
OMG, I have three LCD tvs in my house that run alot! I have have two friges, and one freezer. I guess I should be thinking about how to cut back before my spa even gets here.
So many of you unplug your LCD/Plasma tv's? Because of this?
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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. ;)
That surge protector w/ remote is cool Bonibelle...thanks for sharing!! Do you know how much one of these costs?? It's a great idea...
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Renee, I think it is about $80.00 but that is based on an article in a Family Circle magazine...I have emailed the company but still no answer. I checked in Home Depot for availability but nothing...so maybe this is really new. I like the idea that there are some plugs that can remain on all the time, yet the others will be shut off. All of my connections (HDTV, video game, Bluray, home theater and Verizon DVR box )are connected through one surge protector. If I just shut the entire strip off, it will turn off the DVR and defeat the purpose completely. And I also know that my kids won't turn that strip off...Shoot they won't hang up a towel!! ;D ;D. So if this is really $80.00, based on Hillbilly's estimate it will pay for itself in 8 months..I am sure my electric rate in Pa is as high as New England rates. ;)
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In general, YES. they tend to use almost the same amount of electricity when turned off, as they do when turned on.
Does that go for Plasma tv's as well? And what about computer LCD monitors?
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That surge protector w/ remote is cool Bonibelle...thanks for sharing!! Do you know how much one of these costs?? It's a great idea...
If you click on the buy now link it shows a 10 outlet (8 “Switchable” + 2 “Always On” ) is $59.99 plus $12.99 for a remote.
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Here you go... http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/energy-vampires.html
Thanks ;)
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Check this one out too...don't even need a remote
https://www.chooserenewables.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16227&cat=268&page=1
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I found a good article on tv consumption here's the link
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6475_7-6400401-2.html. It's not twice the power used for Plasma vs LCD but it is significantly more.
What's also interesting is the amount of power consumption when turn on in an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and how little power a Nintendo Wii uses.
Power consumption compared
TVs:
Average plasma: 339 watts
Average rear-projection: 211 watts
Average LCD: 213 watts
Other AV gear:
PlayStation 3: 197 watts
Xbox 360: 187 watts
Average PC: 78 watts
DirecTV HR20 DVR: 33 watts
Nintendo Wii: 19 watts
Slingbox: 9 watts
Wireless router: 7 watts
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Here is another no one has mentioned...cell phone charges use about $3:00 a month if left plugged in. Anything with the little black transformer box will draw power even if the item is not plugged into it.
With 3 teenagers at home we are always telling them to make sure thier chargers for phones, ipods, cameras and so on are un plugges. $3.00 a month times each item, 3 kids with these items will add up to more than what it costs to run my hot tub!
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Ok, so I went to Radio Shack looking for the different surge protectors with either remote or auto shut off features. They didn't have any, but the manager argued for 10 minutes with me that I would screw up the settings by shutting down the TVs and games. What settings? Unless you have a video game set to upload something, what would you be messing up? I understand that you wouldn't shut down the DVR if you wanted record, but I can't get what he means...Nada, do you know?
I'm with you Hillbilly, I want to use my wasted" electric to power my tub and not to bleed out though stuff that is supposed to be off..
I am going to buy three of those strips and put them on my TV's with games and put my bedroom TV on a timer so it shuts off after midnight and doesn't become available until 10pm..since no one ever watches TV in the bedroom any other time. I will monitor my electric and see if I notice a difference.
OH, I am still (in spite of our very cold weather) running my Epic in economy mode with no problems. My son went out to soak the other night and she was still cooking at 101... ;)
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I know with my plasma TV I have to reset the settings everytime I have a power outage. It is like I am just taking it out of the box.
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Flat Panel TV's are the same as any other TV as far as settings go. Most people have cable boxes which store things like channels, preferences, etc so any settings on the TV are probably minimal. Only a VERY few people have "cable cards" in their PC's so the only settings you would loose without a cable card are things like aspect ratio. You can test it simply by turning off your power and then see what effect it has on your settings.
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My guess is that your Sundance will run $40-60 per month TOPS! That's a VERY high estimate.