Energy consumption is something none of us can avoid, especially with regard to enjoying many of the toys that life offers. Wasting energy is not good for the environment and it’s certainly not good for our wallets! When it comes to hot tubs, many believe that a luxurious hot tub requires luxurious upkeep costs. We’ve outlined a few features that enable those costs to be minimal.

• Circulation pump – This is a feature that dramatically reduces the operating costs of a hot tub. A circulation pump operates 24 hours a day at a very low speed, allowing the water to be consistently filtered and maintained at the desired temperature. This is much less expensive than a spa without a circulation pump, in which the jet pumps turn on periodically throughout the day to filter the water and to allow the water to pass through the heater. Having water that is constantly filtering also reduces chemical costs, because the more cleaning the filter does, the less chemicals are needed for upkeep.
• Spa cover – It’s critical to have a quality cover on a hot tub. There are two aspects of that quality. The first is to ensure that the cover fits the spa; there should be a tight seal all the way around that spa to keep every bit of heat contained. The second aspect is ensuring that cover is free of tears, particularly along the seam, as that can also allow heat to easily escape.
• Insulation – There are a few different types of insulation available in hot tubs. We recommend FiberCor insulation, which is applied at 2 lb. density and fills every nook and cranny inside of the spa. While FiberCor cannot be applied to an existing spa, the energy savings of upgrading to a spa with FiberCor can pay for itself in a just a few years.
• Temperature – A common myth regarding spa temperature is that it’s cheaper to turn the temperature down when the hot tub is not being used, and then to turn the temperature back up right before using it. This is actually significantly more expensive than simply maintaining at a constant temperature, because the heater has to work that much harder to catch up than it would to simply maintain.

By utilizing even one of these features, spa costs can be dramatically reduced. With all four in place together, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing people spend less than $15 a month on energy costs to enjoy a hot tub in their backyard. If we’re able to reduce our impact on the environment while also spending less to enjoy the benefits of a spa, we’ll take that as a win!