Some key things to consider when reviewing power consumption for the first time
- You will need a range of weeks to compare consumption – not one weeks’ worth of consumption as this will include the costs for the initial heating of the water to the set point – ideally 4 weeks to build a trend
- What time of year has your pool been delivered? The temperature of groundwater going into the pool will vary significantly – in general during winter the water temperature out of the hose is between 10-12 degrees Celsius
- What is the current weather like – cold and frosty at night or warm evenings? Has it been unusually windy or wet which can impact heating?
- What is your pool’s temperature set point?
During the cooler months of the year, it is to be expected that power consumption will rise due to the lower temperatures however we would expect the following consumption from our pools. This is based on our own personal experience as well as other client’s feedback.
Typical Power Consumption
For the purposes of this discussion we differentiate spa pools into 2 basic categories listed below.
The figures discussed below are based on our experience with spa pool energy costs, both in store and our personal homes, as well as the technical side of spa pool operations like the maximum power required for individual pools to operate
Due to the number of individual variables for each spa pool and their owner’s behaviour there is no ability to have 100% accurate cost estimates.
| LOW USE | HIGH USE | |
| Set Temperature | 38°C | 40°C |
| Usage | 3-4 spas/week | 5-6 spas/week |
| Running Costs/month | ||
| · Winter
· Summer |
$80-90
$40-50 |
$100-110
$60-80 |
| Variables which can impact the figures above | ||
| · Location of your spa in the back yard
· Direction of the prevailing winds and impact on the spa · Sunny or shady position in the backyard · Base underneath the spa pool – raised wooden decking or concrete/paving? · How long do you spa for usually? · What is the outside air temperature? · What is the ground temperature? |
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Power Consumption Experiment
A simple way to tell how much a spa uses to heat in a given 24-hour period is to go out at a particular time, say 9am, and read the current actual temperature and then shut the spa off at the wall for a 24-hour period.
You with then have to turn the spa on at the same time the following morning to have the pool off for a 24-hour cycle.
The current temperature displaying on the screen will show the temperature drop in a 24-hour period and will also show us how long the spa will need to heat to regather the heat loss.
For example – the temperature drops in the spa by 10°C degrees in 24 hours.
Your Spa uses a 3.0 kWh (kilowatt) heater which generally heats the water at 2°C/hour but will be slower than that in cooler months
Based on the above temperature drop the spa will need requires 5 hours of heating time to recoup the temperature at 3.0 kWh/hour therefore a total of 15.0 kWh
15.0 kWh x $0.2617/kwh (from our power provider) = $3.93 to heat back to the set point