Cost of a Hot Tub - Spa Price Canada
Hot tubs are luxurious fun. Hot tubs also help with sore muscles and relieve aches and pains.
Although hot tubs cost money, there is also the value of hydrotherapy, the benefits of allowing the body to relax and relieve daily stresses, the community and long lasting bonds formed with family and friends and even the status symbol of having a spa in your own private oasis.
Hot Tub Price Ranges
The following price ranges are based on the assumption that the hot tub is being purchased through a factory direct channel and not through a retail chain which includes several markup tiers from the distributor, dealer and/or commissioned salesperson. For those doing the research on the internet, the price savings of buying factory direct or through a well-connected supplier, can be hundreds or thousands. Prices are relative to U.S. dollar.
$500-$1,500
This price range usually includes inflatable spas. Although the inflatable type of spa is the most portable, they are often made of vinyl which when punctured, is repaired similar to repairing a bicycle tire or other product that needs a vinyl patch. You also don't sit in any seats or loungers, but usually just on the floor of the spa. Their main advantage is the quick setup and portability to places such as a campground, vacation home or other location which may require travel to get to.
$1,500 -$3,500
Buying a spa in this low price range may already yield a hot tub made from quality acrylic. The king of acrylic shells is the ABS-backed acrylic type made by either Lucite or Aristech Acrylics. Then regular fiberglass reinforced acrylic is next on the list, and then come cheaper plastics such as those found in roto-molded spas or polyethelene. Cheap, thin plastics will need more reinforcement and may discolor from the use of chemicals or direct sunlight.
$3,500 -$6,500
This class in the intermediate range of spas usually gets a hot tub with more jets, features and extras.
Again, the high quality ABS backed acrylic shell is the cornerstone of a quality spa. In the event a specific component should fail, it can be replaced, but the shell itself cannot be replaced.
At best it can be repaired using an acrylic repair kit, so starting out with the best possible shell material is essential. The cabinet should also not be made of wood which can rot, but of ABS plastic.
Having a metal frame instead of a wood frame is also a plus for both longevity and soundness of structure, although rarely does a spa go bad because of the structure, however the cabinet does go bad if it is made of wood and not periodically restained. The newer plastic cabinets do not require staining and are the best choice when it comes to low-maintenance spa ownership.
$6,500+
This is the deluxe category of spa ownership. Spas in this price class usually come with 70+ jets, at least 2 different jet pumps, LED lighting, a waterfall or other water feature and even a stereo system.
Sometimes spas are seen in the $10,000+ category.
At that point it certainly pays to do some comparison shopping, as the material costs to make a spa are similar from manufacturer to manufacturer because they all buy the third party components from similar suppliers.
There are very few components of a hot tub that are actually produced by the hot tub manufacturer including the acrylic shell, the material for the cabinet, the jets, the electronics, the pumps, the heater and other electrical components.
So if a spa (other than a swim spa) is priced excessively high, you may wonder how many layers of markup are tacked on to the price.
Buying a hot tub at a good deal has nothing to do with the quality of the spa, only the saviness of the consumer to know how to shop factory direct, from a trusted supplier, or at least negotiate the best possible deal at a retail store. Buying good quality at a discount is the best recipe for getting a good price on a spa.
What Other Spa Operating Costs Are there?
Most spas heat the water with a flow-through electrical heater. There is the cost of heating the spa up the first time to reach temperature and then the cost of continuously heating as needed to maintain the set temperature.
The larger the spa, the more electricity will be required to heat it. Having a great cover and some insulating panels inside the cabinet can help keep the heat in and lower the utility bill.
Larger spas with more water will cost more to heat.
It is estimated that a spa will use in the range of about 2,500 kWh per year. (Calfornia Department of Energy), but that will vary depending on size of spa, insulating cover and other factors. As a comparison, a medium-sized air conditioning window unit that uses 1000 watts in 1 hour, that is 1 kWH. A 100 watt lightbulb used all month long (730 hours) would use 73 kWh for the month.
The cost of electricity will depend on your local kWh charge which you can get from your electric bill.
wattage x hours used ÷ 1000 x price per kWh = cost of electricity
If your device does not list wattage, then use the formula:
amps x
volts = wattage
(example 2.5 amps x 120 volts = 300 watts)
- Watts is the rate of use at this instant.
- Watt-hours is the total energy used over time.
The electric company charges you in kilowatt-hours, abbreviated kWh. If your billing is staggered over the day, you may have several categories to add up and also add in the tax so you get a complete cost.
The average cost of residential electricity in the U.S. is around 12 cents/kWh but can go as high as 40-50 cents/kWh. You have to look at your own bill to know what you are paying as it is different for each area and provider.
As an illustration, if your spa used 217 kWh/month, then at 12c/kWh your cost would be $26/mo. or $312/year to operate, but if your provider was charging you like 28c/kwH then your cost for the same 217 kWh would be $61/month. So think of it as having a deluxe cable TV package that benefits your health and you will be ok.
As one of the most costly appliances to run in the house (in addition to heating, cooling, dryers and refrigerators), it would pay to have a look at your electricity bill to see what you are actually paying, if there are off-peak hours and also look at other items in the home that can operate more efficiently to offset the acquisition of your new spa.
Electricity Money Saving Tip
Did you know all those wall-warts, cellphone chargers and other charging devices in the house consume power even if they are not connected to a device. You can feel how warm they are, and that is costly electricity being used for nothing.
A way to quickly fix that and get up to 10% savings on your electricity bill is to use a power bar with an on-off switch to which you connect the chargers and other power hogs to, then you can simply shut off the power strip and with it all of the devices to save money.
You can also turn off unused lights, use ceiling fans to reduce the load on A.C., save another hundred or two annually by using compact flourescents, wash laundry in cold water instead of hot....
Some hot tub heaters are rated at 4kW while others in plug and play models may only be rated at 1kW, but you won't save any energy by getting the 1kW heater because it will have to heat 4x as much to do the same work as the 4kW heater, so for practical purposes the electricity cost is not related to your heater kW but how long it has to heat, which is given by ambient temperature, hot tub cover quality, volume of water to be heated and other insulating properties.
If you are in an area that has lower night rates, then you may be able to set your spa to heat at night or at least run your filter cycle in the off-peak hours to save on electricity.
Costs aside, what is the entrance cost to a single day at a day spa? What is the value of improved health and well-being worth?
Between achieving overall additional savings in the home to make room for the spa, and your increased productivity and well-being, hot tub ownership should not solely be judged by the amount of electricity needed to run them.
Having said that, if this still concerns you, you may decide on a smaller model that will use less electricity than the big 8 person spas. You may not have room for as many friends, but will enjoy an invigorating hydromassage just the same.
Hot Tub Chemical Costs
Hot tubs require some type of sanitizer to keep bacteria in check and the water clean. They also require monitoring pH. PH is monitored with a water test kit or test strips (50 to a pack for about $8). Either pH plus or pH minus (powder) is added to the water to correct the pH level. Both of these chemicals are very cheap and last a long time. (about $5/bottle).
The chlorine and bromine can get expensive over the year, but still not too bad. There is a new water treatment available that is enzyme based which can reduce the amount of chlorine/bromine further.
Also having an ozonator will help reduce the amount of chlorine/bromine needed, but Health Canada stipulates that hot tub owners should use either chlorine or bromine to sanitize the water, whereas in the states it is ok to just use the enzyme treatment without any chlorine or bromine.
The combination of the ozonator and reduced amounts of chlorine/bromine can lower chemical costs. Using enzymes which also keep the pH neutral can further reduce the amount of extra chemicals needed (such as scum line remover, defoamer...).
Email us to find out about current specials and also for recommendations on a particular model or models based on your needs and requirements.