What Is the Average Cost of Running a Hot Tub?

While we might be biased, it’s hard to deny just how alluring a top-of-the-range hot tub in your home can be, especially if you love a good soak after a hard day’s work or intense gym session.

Of course, besides the obvious questions around initial pricing, one of the other common questions that always crop up often circles around hot tub running costs – after all, surely it can’t be that cheap to run a hot tub or jacuzzi-style bath for more than an hour or so?

Well, to shed some light on this area of hot tub ownership, we’ve pulled together everything you need to know about the average cost of running a hot tub, including insights into hot tub electrical costs and hot tub kWh usage, as well as addressing the misconceptions around hot tub power expenses.

Are hot tubs expensive to run?

Contrary to popular belief, hot tubs are not nearly as expensive to run as you might think. Naturally, using such a powerful piece of bathing technology will increase your bills, however, if you plan on using your new hot tub regularly, you’re only looking at an average cost of just £1-£3 a day!

On top of this, the better the hot tub you buy, the more money you’ll save on running costs in general. This is because better quality tubs use more efficient heating systems and insulation technology, making it faster to heat your water and easier to retain said heat while using it.

How much do hot tubs cost to run?

Although the daily cost of running a hot tub can be kept relatively low, that’s not to say that hot tub running costs are only limited to electricity usage. There are actually three key areas that go into calculating the cost of running a hot tub, including:

• Energy – the electrical cost of running a hot tub
• Servicing – how much it costs to maintain a hot tub
• Water – how much you’ll need to spend on water care products

Granted, the cost of all of these areas will vary from hot tub owner to hot tub owner, and will naturally be higher the more you use your hot tub, however, if you regularly use your hot tub all year round, you can expect your hot tub running costs to sit in the following ranges:

• Energy: £400 – £500 per year
• Servicing: £200 – £500 per year
• Water: £250 – £300 per year

Therefore, the rough annual cost of running a hot tub is around £850 – £1300 per year, or around £70 – £108 per month – cheaper than most people expect but still a reasonable increase to your bills that you should be aware of.

But what exactly goes into influencing the cost of running your hot tub, and is there anything you can do to reduce these overheads and keep your hot tub bills as low as possible?

How do you calculate hot tub electrical cost?

First and foremost, let’s start by looking at hot tub electrical costs and hot tub kWh usage.

As you might expect, energy usage makes up the biggest portion of costs when it comes to running your hot tub. This is thanks in large part to the heaters used to keep your hot tub’s water at a consistent temperature during use, but it also includes the power needed to activate your tub’s lights and air jets – the more you use them, the more you’ll pay.

Of course, your current energy tariff will play a big part in how much you can expect to pay in energy costs for your hot tub, and if you know you’re on a more expensive tariff, looking to switch to a cheaper tariff could help reduce your hot tub’s running costs overall, but the quality of your tub’s insulation can also be a big factor in how much you spend.

How important is quality hot tub insulation?

As a rule of thumb, the better the quality of your hot tub’s insulation, the more effective it will be at retaining heat during and after use. Lower-quality hot tubs will naturally be much cheaper to buy, but the amount and quality of their internal insulation usually suffer for it.

What this means is that your hot tub will release more heat into the air during use, instead of keeping it in the water and tub exterior, meaning you have to spend more to consistently reheat your pool.

Higher quality hot tubs, on the other hand, tend to have multiple layers of insulation that help to minimise total heat loss. For example, here at Platinum Spas, we use our Platinum Premium Shield insulation technology, created by our innovation team, to capture and absorb as much escaping heat as possible.

What is the average hot tub kWh usage?

The average hot tub kWh usage in the UK varies quite substantially depending on the size of your tub. Generally speaking, however, most hot tubs use between 3.5 and 6 kWh, which equates to the £1-£3 per hour running cost that we highlighted earlier.

How much is the average hot tub water cost?

Next up, we have hot tub water costs, which, despite being such an important aspect of operating your hot tub, tend to come out as the cheapest area of your running costs overall.

In fact, once you’ve filled your tub for the first time, you generally won’t have to worry about hot tub water costs until you perform a full drain, which typically only needs to be done 3-4 times a year at most – though given the size of most hot tubs, this will be a lot of water you’ll need to pay for in one go.

How much does it cost to clean and service a hot tub?

Finally, let’s talk about the costs associated with hot tub cleaning and servicing, two very important areas of hot tub maintenance that can’t be ignored.

As a whole, regular maintenance and servicing of your hot tub cannot be avoided, and it’s actually one of the best ways to keep your hot tub in good condition and minimise the likelihood of you needing to call out a hot tub repairman to fix any mechanical issues.

Of course, this obviously means you’ll need to pay for the requisite cleaning products throughout the year, as well as the occasional check-up to make sure your tub is operating at 100% efficiency.

How much do hot tub cleaning products cost?

When it comes to the price of hot tub chemicals and cleaning gear, you’ll need to purchase two key products – sanitisers and pH adjusters.

Sanitisers are the primary way you keep your hot tub water clean and need to be used regularly to prevent bacterial growth. This means testing your water’s sanitiser levels each time before use in order to determine whether or not you need to add fresh sanitiser to the mix.

PH adjusters, on the other hand, are used to keep your hot tub water at a neutral level, which on the pH scale is between 7.2 and 7.4. Anything above (an alkaline) or below (an acid) can start to cause issues for you and your tub, so like your sanitiser, you want to test your tub’s water each time you use it.

As a result, you may be paying more or less for your hot tub cleaning products based on how often you use your tub, as the more you use it, the more of these products you’ll need to buy each month.

How much does it cost to service a hot tub?

Alongside regular sanitisation of your hot tub, it’s also recommended that you have your hot tub serviced by a professional at least once a year. This will help to identify any issues your hot tub may have, such as needing a replacement filter, and reduce the odds of any major faults occurring in the future.

Typically, a one-off hot tub service might set you back upwards of £200. Alternatively, you can find service plans with a monthly cost of £30-£50. The more expensive service plans may include regular full drains of your hot tub, so if you’d rather not do it yourself, this might be the option for you if you’re looking to save that extra bit of money.

Invest in an energy-efficient hot tub today

And there you have it; that’s a clear-cut breakdown of how much it costs the typical hot tub owner to run their new tub. Of course, as we mentioned, one of the best ways to save money on hot tub costs is to buy an energy-efficient model – and that’s exactly what we offer here at Platinum Spas!

Get in touch today to learn more about our range and speak to our team of experts. They’ll be happy to guide you through which hot tubs are best suited to your situation and budget so that you can find the perfect hot tub to relax in.

Hot tub running cost FAQs

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Sarah Watkins

Head of Marketing at Superior Wellness

Sarah Elphick is our passionate head of marketing who has years of experience within the leisure, travel & tourism industry. She is well-versed in a range of marketing fields including sales, direct marketing, CRM, brand management, innovation, customer research and much more. Her experience has helped us expand our brand into one of the fastest growing and innovative hot tub manufacturers.

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