Running costs
What a hot tub really costs to run
A typical hot tub uses 150 to 400 kWh per month, roughly 45 to 120 EUR at common European rates, and most of that is heating. The heating cost is not about how much you heat, but when. Here is where the money goes, and how to cut the biggest part of it without changing how you bathe.
Where the money goes
Three things run a hot tub: the heater, the circulation pump, and water care. The pump and chemicals are steady and modest. The heater is the big one, and it is the cost you can actually move.
A hot tub holds its temperature by reheating around the clock. Every time it tops the water back up to your set temperature, it draws power at whatever electricity costs in that hour.
Why the same heat can cost very different amounts
Electricity is far cheaper at some hours than others. Overnight and midday are usually cheap, the morning and evening peaks are dear. A tub that reheats blindly through the expensive hours pays the top price for heat it could have bought cheaply a few hours earlier.
On a time-of-use or Economy 7 tariff the gap between cheap and expensive hours is wide, so the same warmth can cost a fraction of the price depending only on timing.
How Spapilot cuts it
Spapilot heats your tub on the cheapest hours and coasts through the expensive ones, while still hitting the temperature you set for the baths you have planned. You set the warmth and the times, it only decides when to heat, never whether to.
- Up to 80% off the heating cost, the largest part of your running cost.
- Typically pays for itself in 1.5 to 3 years.
- Fits the Gecko or Balboa system you already own. No new tub, no rewiring.
- Fitted in about 30 minutes, with no electrician needed.
Savings figures refer to the heating component. How they are derived, and the assumptions behind them, is documented on the dated savings methodology page. Zavepower does not maintain any commercial partnership with Balboa Water Group or Gecko Alliance. References are provided exclusively to elucidate technical compatibility.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to run a hot tub?
- It depends on your electricity plan, how warm you keep the water, and how well the tub is insulated. The largest and most controllable cost is heating. Because electricity is far cheaper at some hours than others, when your tub heats matters as much as how much it heats.
- Can I cut running costs without using the hot tub less?
- Yes. Most of the saving comes from moving the heating to the cheapest hours of the day, not from bathing less or running the water cooler. Spapilot does this automatically while still hitting the temperature you set for the times you want it ready.
- Do I need a special electricity plan?
- No. Spapilot saves on any electricity plan where the price changes through the day. A time-of-use or Economy 7 tariff widens the gap between cheap and expensive hours, so the saving is usually larger, but it is not required.
See what it would save on your tub
A local dealer confirms your exact model and what Spapilot would cut on your setup.