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Energy Cost Difference Between the
Sizes of
Spas.
How to determine the energy cost difference between sizes of spas.
copyright 2003, 2004, 2005 Havenmade Inc.
(This is from a very recent letter that I thought would be good for and
article on the site.)
With Haven Spas, you get the highest degree of energy efficiency, however, there are exact
reasons why different sizes of spas cost more to run. It is
basically a matter of the number of gallons, vs the square footage of
surface area.
The difference between the Pinecove to the Lakeshore per month in
electric use is about 50 cents to $1 (depending on the cost per KWH,
kilowatt hour) and that is due to the size of the surface area
(when
the cover is off) and the number of gallons. If the cover is on
and the thermal blanket in place, then there is a tiny difference in
cost caused by the heat up energy from cold to normal temperature due
to the quantity of water. Once the spas are up to
temperature, you set the filter cycles appropriate to winter vs summer
use or more filtering in winter and less in summer. This reduces
the electric cost because the heat from the filtering stops the use of
the heater. I can tell you how do do that.
The Fallsburg is
about a Buck more to operate than the Pinecove on regular basis after
the fill up and
bringing the spa up to temperature. If you use our ion
system you will only have to do a refill on the Fallsburg about once
every six months, the Pinecove once every four months. So a lot
of the cost in energy is in the initial warm up period. To
maintain the temperature in our spas is a lot less costly than in any
other brand of spa in current production. Since the Pinecove is
smaller it will have one more refil per year and that will increase the
energy use over a spa that is only filled twice a year.
They (Paramount Fallsburg, Lakeshore and Pinecove) all use the same
exact equipment, except in the Super Custom models.
I don't know how to use simple answers, but here is the simple version.
The Fallsburg is about $1 to $1.50 more per month than the Pinecove, if
they are used the same amount of time.
The Lakeshore is about $1 per month more than the Pinecove.
If you can go longer between drain and fill than is normal, because
your source water has a low total dissolved solids, then you can have
less cost by spreading out the "cold to hot" at fill up time costs.
If you go in by yourself in full winter and you want to reduce the cost
per use, then you can leave the thermal blanket on top of the water and
slide yourself under the blanket, folding it back in the seat you are
in. This stops 90% of the heat loss while using the spa.
Thus the electric heater use is much less. My wife, Sandy,
figured this out and it is obvious. When you open the cover and
have the blanket removed on a larger spa, the surface area will lose
heat and if there is wind it really loses heat fast. With a
blanket the air blowing on the water, can't reach the water surface
causing huge energy loss by evaporative cooling and a high temperature
difference. That way you can have a larger spa when friends come
over (removing the blanket) and have the effect of a "smaller" spa
(blanket on the water) when you go in for regular use. It is a
light weight material, foam and it won't trap people under the water,
because is is so light.
These are things that sales people are not taught to think about.
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