How Much Does It Cost To Run A Hot Tub? – Part 3

The final element of ongoing expenditure is related to your ongoing water quality maintenance equipment, chemicals, and replacement parts like new hot tub filters.

Part 3—Consumables and Watercare Products

It costs in the region of £250 – £350 a year to replace filters once per year as recommended and purchase a typical year’s worth of water care products.

What about water usage?

Most people who own spas tend to take fewer baths and more showers.

Because a ten-minute shower uses around half as much water as a bath, hot tub owners actually tend to save money on their water bills.

Estimated cost of running a hot tub in the UK:

While hot tub running costs can vary massively, if you add up all of the factors for an average-sized (good quality) hot tub that’s used three or four times a week for around 30-45 minutes at a time, you can typically expect to pay:

• • £400 – £475 in electricity
  • £150 – £300 in service costs
  • £250 – £300 for consumables and water care

Making the total cost of running a hot tub £800 – £1,075 a year.

That’s significantly less than a daily latte from your local Costa or Starbucks – and allows you to enjoy all the health benefits of using a hot tub.

So if you value your physical and mental health, your sense of overall wellness, your sleep quality and the quality of the time that you spend in a tech-free zone actually talking to your loved ones, a hot tub represents very good value in-deed!

How much does a hot tub cost to run a week?

A hot tub typically costs between £15 and £20.50 a week to run – around the same as a round of drinks at the local pub.

How much to run a hot tub per day?

A hot tub costs around £2.20 and £3 a day to run – about as much as a latte from the nearest coffee shop.

How to run a hot tub economically?

There’s plenty you can do to make dramatic savings on your hot tub running costs, such as:

Buy a quality home spa

Buying a cheap spa will cost you far more money in the long run than opting for a premium model.

You can half your hot tub running costs by buying a model from a reputable brand that’s fully insulated with multiple layers of high-quality foam, features an energy-efficient heater, and has a perfectly fitted and foam-insulated cover.

Shield it from the wind

If your hot tub is located in a wind trap it will have to work a lot harder to maintain the right temperature.

So, be sure to install it in an area that’s shielded from the wind to help keep running costs down.

Switch energy providers

Save money on your hot tub without changing the way you use it at all by making sure to shop around for the cheapest energy provider.

Make sure you’re always paying as little as possible for your electricity by using a comparison site every year to switch to the lowest energy tariff available to you.

Make sure the cover is sealed every time you get out

Hot tubs lose around 60% of their heat through the surface. If your cover isn’t properly sealed when you’re not using your spa, energy consumption will go through the roof while it works harder to maintain the same temperature.

Avoid this by making sure your cover is properly sealed every time you get out of your hot tub.

Close the air jets

A simple way to save money is to close your spa’s air jets when you’re not using it, as these introduce cold air to your hot tub and cause heat loss.

Turn the temperature down

Cooling your hot tub down a few degrees can lead to huge savings in the long run.

Even if you like your spa on the hot side, you can make a serious dent in your electricity bill by cooling it down to around 30 degrees when you go on holiday or you know you’re not going to be using it for a while.

Clean your filter

A clean filter is an efficient filter. Be sure to clean your filters every week and replace them every year to make sure they’re working as efficiently as possible.

Maintain pH levels

Keep your hot tub’s pH level between 7.2 to 7.8 at all times to ensure chlorine and other chemicals you treat the water with work as effectively as possible.

Be particularly careful to keep its pH above 7.2, or the water will become acidic and could eventually corrode the heater, landing you with a costly repair bill.

Is it cheaper to leave a hot tub on all the time?

It might seem counterintuitive, but it’s more cost-effective to leave your hot running all the time.

That’s because your hot tub’s heater has to work a lot harder to heat the water from scratch than it does to maintain a steady temperature given how well-insulated they are.

In Summary:

If you add up all of the elements of hot tub running costs for an average sized (good quality) hot tub, used 3 or 4 times per week for around 30-45 minutes per session, including servicing and hot tub maintenance, the annual cost will be in the region of £750 – £950 which is significantly less than a daily cup of latte or cappuccino from your local Costa or Starbucks!

So if you value your physical and mental health, your sense of overall wellness, your sleep quality and the quality of the time that you spend in a tech-free zone actually talking to your loved ones; a hot tub represents very good value indeed!

Article taken from What Spa?
Written by Nick Clamp
15th April 2022