With electric rates near 12c/kwh(peco philly), My question is how
much it costs to heat up the spa from 70 degrees F to 95' 500 gals


Part 2 would be what does it cost to run the circulating pump system.
It usually gets run 1 hour and it totals 11.5 hp. I've been
thinking about this for a while.
Thanks M

"Eye144" wrote in message
m...
With electric rates near 12c/kwh(peco philly), My question is how
much it costs to heat up the spa from 70 degrees F to 95' 500 gals


Part 2 would be what does it cost to run the circulating pump system.
It usually gets run 1 hour and it totals 11.5 hp. I've been
thinking about this for a while.
Thanks M


If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Spas can be set to all sorts of settings. They can be set to filter for
different amounts of time. They can be set to economy or standard, meaning
that during economy, the heater only comes on during filter cycles. In
standard mode, it comes on whenever the temp goes under the preset.

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature. That, of course, depends on the
ambient temperature, since a spa inside a house in a "spa" room would not
cool down as quickly or as much as one outside. And then, there's the
balance argument of: which costs more ....... to keep a spa hot, or bring up
the temperature 20 degrees every time I want to use it?

My Catalinas heat up at the rate of five degrees an hour. When I change the
water, I use pool water, as it is generally warmer than tap water, and when
the solar is going on the pool, it is a lot warmer than tap water.

It is impossible to estimate the answer to your question. It is all
intellectual mathematical masturbation.

It is what it is. If you want a spa, you will deal with it.

I love my spas, and spend more time in them than in the pool on a whole year
basis.

A better quality spa will cost less than an El Cheapo from Homer's. They
have better heaters, motors, and piping, which circulates the water better.

If you want one, get one, and fergeddabout the cost. If it makes your
electric bill jump too much, adjust, and then if it is still too much, get a
better job or do other things to increase your income.

Steve

"Eye144" wrote in message
m...
With electric rates near 12c/kwh(peco philly), My question is how
much it costs to heat up the spa from 70 degrees F to 95' 500 gals


Part 2 would be what does it cost to run the circulating pump system.
It usually gets run 1 hour and it totals 11.5 hp. I've been
thinking about this for a while.
Thanks M

Second try but you are still wrong.

If the pump is totaling 11.5 hp, that is over 36 amps of power at 240 volts.
About 8600 watts at .12 per kW it will cost over a buck an hour to run.

A Btu is the energy that it takes to raise the temperature of 1 pound of
water 1 degree. You need to know the correct weight of the water (have you
found that out yet? it was wrong yesterday) and the number of watts of
energy that is equal to. All this information is easily found. If you have
a program like Convert it is much easier to work with.
http://joshmadison.net/software/

Other factors to consider. Where is the heat loss from the spa going? If
it is in the heated house, it is not lost, just distributed to ease the load
of the home heater. Are you maintaining the temperature for a length of
time? Where is the 70 degree water coming from? This time of year incoming
water is much colder.

Steve B wrote:

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature.

This debate would be among people who know nothing of 300-year-old physics? :-)

That, of course, depends on the ambient temperature...

Of course not.

Nick

Edwin Pawlowski errs again:

If the pump is totaling 11.5 hp, that is over 36 amps of power at 240 volts.
About 8600 watts at .12 per kW it will cost over a buck an hour to run.

Watts are power, a RATE of energy usage. We pay for energy in kWh.

You need to know the correct weight of the water (have you found that out yet?
it was wrong yesterday) and the number of watts of energy that is equal to.

Whoa!!! :-)

Nick

It's not that expensive to run a spa. What you fail to realize is that
there is very little heat loss on spas. I work at a retail spa outlet
and it costs about $1/day to run a hot tub (not including chemicals)
and depending on the insulation. Ours are insulated around the
cabnetry which offers better heat retention than the foam on the bottom
of the tub.

Steve B wrote:
There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature.

3.
This debate would be among people who know nothing of 300-year-old
physics? :-)

Yes, I have to agree with that one. There is absolutely no question
that lowering the temp on a spa, for any period, then raising it back
up for use, saves energy. The rate of heat loss is proportional to the
temp difference.


"That, of course, depends on the ambient temperature...

Of course not.

Nick "

I agree with that too. How much you can save by turning it down
depends on ambient, but not whether you can save.

"If the pump is totaling 11.5 hp, that is over 36 amps of power at 240
volts. "

Aint no 500 gal spa pump that's 11.5 hp, that's gotta be a typo.

On 24 Dec 2005 05:50:26 -0800, wrote:

Steve B wrote:
There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature.

3.
This debate would be among people who know nothing of 300-year-old
physics? :-)

Yes, I have to agree with that one. There is absolutely no question
that lowering the temp on a spa, for any period, then raising it back
up for use, saves energy. The rate of heat loss is proportional to the
temp difference.


"That, of course, depends on the ambient temperature...

Yes, the rate of heat loss is proportional to the temp difference.

And mostly it depends on how well the body of water is insulated from
the exterior. An outdoor tub in a cold climate will loose more heat
over time than an indoor tub in an insulated room.

Under certain circumstances, for an indoor tub, the heat gain in the
room can be seen as adding to the overall heat gain of your house. In
other words, your paying to heat the tub, but the entrophy heat is
released into the house and may be considered to be "free" heat, at
least during the winter months.

Beachcomber

Eye144 wrote:
With electric rates near 12c/kwh(peco philly), My question is how
much it costs to heat up the spa from 70 degrees F to 95' 500 gals


Part 2 would be what does it cost to run the circulating pump system.
It usually gets run 1 hour and it totals 11.5 hp. I've been
thinking about this for a while.
Thanks M

Heating a spa or hot-tub large enough for you and three females: priceless.

wrote in message
...
Steve B wrote:

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it
where
it will maintain a constant temperature.

This debate would be among people who know nothing of 300-year-old
physics? :-)

That, of course, depends on the ambient temperature...

Of course not.

Nick


See what I mean?

Some people buy a spa to sit in it, relax, or pick their butt. Others buy
it to calculate costs, contemplate physics, or just tell others they have a
spa. But they rarely get in it.

That might cause a heat loss, and they would be up all night monitoring and
figuring.

HTH

How do you cause a tidal wave in a spa?

You jump in!

Steve

wrote in message
...
Steve B wrote:

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it
where
it will maintain a constant temperature.

This debate would be among people who know nothing of 300-year-old
physics? :-)

That, of course, depends on the ambient temperature...

Of course not.

Nick


So, If I leave my spa out on the patio where it can freeze solid as a
Popsicle, and then take a long time (months) to heat up, that doesn't depend
on ambient temperature?

What I WAS saying, and you missed is:

THAT THE AMOUNT OF HEAT LOST DEPENDS ON WHERE THE SPA IS LOCATED ......
INSIDE ....... OUTSIDE ......... IN A SUNNY AREA ........ IN A SHADY AREA
.......... IN A WINDY AREA ................. Did you get it that time,
sweetheart?

Steve, who's about out of nits.

"Beachcomber" wrote


And mostly it depends on how well the body of water is insulated from
the exterior. An outdoor tub in a cold climate will loose more heat
over time than an indoor tub in an insulated room.

Under certain circumstances, for an indoor tub, the heat gain in the
room can be seen as adding to the overall heat gain of your house. In
other words, your paying to heat the tub, but the entrophy heat is
released into the house and may be considered to be "free" heat, at
least during the winter months.

Beachcomber



SUMBITCH! Someone actually read my post.

Steve

Steve B wrote:

What I WAS saying, and you missed is:

THAT THE AMOUNT OF HEAT LOST DEPENDS ON WHERE THE SPA IS LOCATED ......

That may have been what you thought or said, but what you wrote was:

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature. That, of course, depends on the
ambient temperature, since a spa inside a house in a "spa" room would not
cool down as quickly or as much as one outside. And then, there's the
balance argument of: which costs more ....... to keep a spa hot, or bring up
the temperature 20 degrees every time I want to use it?

.... which implies that whether a spa uses less energy with or
without a setback depends on the location, which is incorrect.
Setbacks always save energy.

Nick

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Subject: calculating costs of a spa
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"Eye144" wrote in message
m...
With electric rates near 12c/kwh(peco philly), My question is how
much it costs to heat up the spa from 70 degrees F to 95' 500 gals


Part 2 would be what does it cost to run the circulating pump system.
It usually gets run 1 hour and it totals 11.5 hp. I've been
thinking about this for a while.
Thanks M


If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Spas can be set to all sorts of settings. They can be set to filter for
different amounts of time. They can be set to economy or standard, meaning
that during economy, the heater only comes on during filter cycles. In
standard mode, it comes on whenever the temp goes under the preset.

There is much argument/debate/discussion/hysteria over the
advantages/disadvantages of leaving it on all the time, or leaving it where
it will maintain a constant temperature. That, of course, depends on the
ambient temperature, since a spa inside a house in a "spa" room would not
cool down as quickly or as much as one outside. And then, there's the
balance argument of: which costs more ....... to keep a spa hot, or bring up
the temperature 20 degrees every time I want to use it?

My Catalinas heat up at the rate of five degrees an hour. When I change the
water, I use pool water, as it is generally warmer than tap water, and when
the solar is going on the pool, it is a lot warmer than tap water.

It is impossible to estimate the answer to your question. It is all
intellectual mathematical masturbation.

It is what it is. If you want a spa, you will deal with it.

I love my spas, and spend more time in them than in the pool on a whole year
basis.

A better quality spa will cost less than an El Cheapo from Homer's. They
have better heaters, motors, and piping, which circulates the water better.

If you want one, get one, and fergeddabout the cost. If it makes your
electric bill jump too much, adjust, and then if it is still too much, get a
better job or do other things to increase your income.

Steve

wrote

... which implies that whether a spa uses less energy with or
without a setback depends on the location, which is incorrect.
Setbacks always save energy.

Nick

Thank you for clearing that up.

Steve

... which implies that whether a spa uses less energy with or
without a setback depends on the location, which is incorrect.
Setbacks always save energy.

Nick

===============
Got to agree with you Nick....

HOWEVER my "spa" and I prefer to just call it my "tub"
is kept at 101 degrees 24/7 year round....

I may save money by using setbacks BUT I know damn well the thing is
ready to use ANYTIME day or night ... I was in last evening early
and the wife used it after minnight mass

Actually my "tub" runs me about 20 bucks a month on average.... just
not enough money to worry about...or enough money to try to regulate
its readyness...

Bob G.

"Bob G." wrote in

Got to agree with you Nick....

HOWEVER my "spa" and I prefer to just call it my "tub"
is kept at 101 degrees 24/7 year round....

I may save money by using setbacks BUT I know damn well the thing is
ready to use ANYTIME day or night ... I was in last evening early
and the wife used it after minnight mass

Actually my "tub" runs me about 20 bucks a month on average.... just
not enough money to worry about...or enough money to try to regulate
its readyness...

Bob G.

Ditto here. If I had to plan every time I would use it, and go out and turn
it on and turn it off, I would forget more times than I did it.

People talk about chemical costs. I put two tabs of bromine in mine every
couple of weeks. That's it. I guess we have the right kind of water. When
I DO check the ph and stuff, it's right in there.

Steve