HOT tubs are flying off the shelves now that the sunshine has returned here in the UK.
But your new relaxing jacuzzi might leave you a little red in the face once your electricity bill arrives. Luckily we’ve got tips on how to cut costs so you don’t have to give up the back garden luxury.
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With plenty of retailers bargaining off their own stock, you might have been tempted to make a purchase of your own.
B&M slashed the price of its four person spa from £400 to just £350 last week.
While, Morrisons stocked its shelves with a bargain £300 version that shoppers could add to the trolley.
But energy saving experts at Loop say that some of the least energy efficient models – which are often the cheapest ones – could add a whopping £300 per month to electricity bills.
And those bills are only set to rise further in just a matter of days when the energy price cap creeps up again.
Most households will have to fork out almost another £700 for their bills when the change comes in on April 1.
And the energy saving experts said that a hot tub is one of the worst garden culprits for adding to energy bills.
Already the cost of running a hot tub is 60% higher than in the summer of 2020 when many people bought their hot tubs to enjoy during the first lockdown.
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Steve Buckley, head of data science at Loop, said: “Many of us will be enjoying the warm weather this weekend, and for those lucky enough to own one, relaxing in a hot tub is welcome treat on a sunny day.
“But with the high cost of living at the moment, people should be aware that the cost of running one of these could be a lot more than they were expecting.
“Even the most energy-efficient tubs will cost £60 per month to run after the energy price cap increases on April 1.”
How much does a hot tub cost to run?
According to Loop, an efficient hot tub with an average usage of 7kWh per day it’s being used, costs around £1.46.
That means it costs roughly £44.41 if you used it for around 7 hours a day for a month.
But once the price cap rises in just a few day’s time, it’s going to cost even more than that.
The experts explained that the same usage will cost £1.98 a day or £60.23 to use every day for a month in April.
And if you had an inefficient hot tub – one that’s not insulated very well – then it could cost five times that.
That makes it just over £300 a month to run – almost the same price you might have paid for it in the first place.
The experts even explained that with yet another price cap rise likely in October, a winter dip could be even MORE expensive.
They predict that it will cost roughly £2.38 per day to run in October, with the same amount of usage and power – which means it would be a whopping £72.39 a month to run, even for the most efficient hot tub.
How can I still enjoy my hot tub and keep costs down?
Insulating your new hot tub is your best bet at keeping costs down.
Cheaper hot tubs that are available from high street retailers aren’t going to be as insulated because of their low price so they’ll let out heat very quickly.
That means it’ll have to work harder to heat up meaning you fork out a lot more on your bills in the process – and plenty of what you do fork out for is wasted.
Steve explained that due to poor insulation these could easily cost FIVE TIMES the amount a fairly insulated design could to run too.
So he said you should cover the hot tub with a thermal cover when it’s not in use to keep the heat in.
Have a shop around as these can vary in size and and effectiveness – you’ll need to find the right one to fit the hot tub you already have or it won’t fit and you could waste your money.
But blankets just to at least cover the top of the tub can start from £30, so keep in mind it will be an extra spend.
If you can’t afford to fork out for tech to keep the heat in, then you can try reducing its thermostat by a couple of degrees.
Just like with the heating inside your home, you won’t feel much of a difference in temperature, but it could help save money whilst you continue to enjoy your tub.
Another free way of lowering costs is to think about where you position the hot tub – keep it away from wind and breezes that will cool the water so it doesn’t have to work harder to heat back up again.
You can also install a smart meter to keep track of all your energy bills.
Use it to monitor how much your spending and at what times of days and rethink what you should be leaving on.
Steve said: “That way you can track usage and costs, to find out what appliances cost to run and avoid the dreaded ‘energy bill shock’. “
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