First Month with Tub - Electric Bill

[marks]

Got my first full month electric bill with my new Beachcomber 580 hot tub running.  My bill went down by $8 versus last year with no tub.  So I told my wife that all the scientific and empirical data point to the Hot Tub actually saving electricity.

[Tman122]

My bill was 770 KWH less this billing period versus last year the same month. My tub musta been the cause???



Bill stayed th same though we are budgeted to pay the same every month. And we have an all electric house.

[Vinny]

Now I wish I didn't buy my tub ... I didn't know there were tubs that actually put out electricity!

[marks]

I thought only tubs with DAIT insulation produced electricity.  

[Chas]

There was a gentleman who offered to make me a partner in a startup business venture a long time ago - he was rigging Ford Pinto engines to run on natural gas and adapting them to a generator.  He would set them up on a stand in your backyard, and encase them for noise.

The heat from the engine went into your swimming pool, spa and/or house. The electricity went to run your house, but excess energy was sold back to the utility.

It was called "Cogeneration," because the excess jiuce was a side effect of using the engine to heat pool spa and house.

It wouldn't work without the pool: there was simply too much heat produced by the little engine -  it would keep just about any home at sauna temperatures. But he was convinced that these units would make enough extra juice to pay for themselves and offset some of the natural gas used to run them.  Plus you could run the pool and spa both at 104 if you wanted to.

Anybody know of anyone doing this? I passed on the opportunity and always wondered if I missed anything.

[Tman122]

With gas currently at 3-4 bucks a gallon and NG running higher and higher I dout running an engine to produce electricity can be as effiecient as the current means the power companys use (Nuclear,Coal, NG fired boilers to create super heated steam to run turbine generators) And with Hydroelectric plants becoming more and more effiecient to supply them with very inexpensive power to throw in the mix, I just don't see how you could do it cheaper yourself .07 KWH

[Vinny]

My electric company charges for 2 items, supply and delivery - the total cost comes to about $0.14 a KWH. They also have 2 rates, under 600KWH per month and over. The under is slightly cheaper.

I used to be under in the winter - I'll see how it goes this winter.