Running costs
How much does a hot tub cost to run in BC?
A hot tub's electricity cost is its monthly kWh times your BC Hydro rate. Here's how to estimate the kWh, worked examples at both BC Hydro steps, and the habits that keep the bill down.
A hot tub's monthly electricity cost is simply the energy it uses in a month (kWh) times what you pay per kWh. On BC Hydro's residential rates, every 100 kWh a hot tub uses costs about $11.72 at the Step 1 rate or $14.08 at the Step 2 rate, before GST. How many kWh your tub uses depends mostly on its insulation and cover, the weather, the temperature you keep it at and how often you use it, so two tubs of the same size can cost very different amounts to run.
BC Hydro rates used in this guide
These are BC Hydro's residential rates effective April 1, 2025. Check your bill for the current numbers.
| Charge | Rate |
|---|---|
| Basic charge | $0.2330 per day |
| Step 1 energy | 11.72¢ per kWh for the first 1,376 kWh in a 62-day billing period |
| Step 2 energy | 14.08¢ per kWh above that |
GST applies on top. The basic charge is the same with or without a hot tub, so only the energy charge matters here.
Which step will your hot tub be billed at?
1,376 kWh over 62 days works out to roughly 666 kWh a month. If your household already uses more than that, every extra kWh the hot tub adds is billed at Step 2. Homes with electric heat or an electric water heater often pass that threshold in winter, so the Step 2 column below is the safer one to plan with.
Example monthly costs
These are examples to show the arithmetic, not figures for any particular tub.
| Example energy use | At Step 1 (11.72¢) | At Step 2 (14.08¢) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 kWh a month | $11.72 | $14.08 |
| 150 kWh a month | $17.58 | $21.12 |
| 200 kWh a month | $23.44 | $28.16 |
| 300 kWh a month | $35.16 | $42.24 |
| 400 kWh a month | $46.88 | $56.32 |
Add 5% GST to any of these. A tub's use also changes through the year: more in a cold, wet January, less in July.
What drives a hot tub's energy use
Standby heat loss
Most of a hot tub's electricity goes into replacing heat that leaks out while nobody is using it. That depends on:
- Insulation in the cabinet walls, floor and around the shell.
- The cover: its thickness, how well it seals, and whether it's waterlogged. A heavy, soggy cover insulates poorly.
- Air temperature and wind: a tub in an exposed spot loses heat faster on a cold, windy night.
- Set temperature: keeping the water at 40°C (104°F) uses more than 37°C (99°F).
Heating after use
Every time you take the cover off and run the jets, warm air and steam carry heat away, and the heater has to make it back. Longer soaks with the cover off mean more kWh.
Pumps, blowers and filtration
Circulation and filter cycles, jet pumps and air blowers all draw power. Air blowers also cool the water by pushing outside air through it.
Refilling
Fresh water from the tap is cold. Heating a full tub from scratch takes a lot of energy, which is one more reason to keep water balanced so you don't refill more often than you need to.
A worked example: heating a fresh fill
Water needs about 1.16 kWh of heat to warm 1,000 litres by 1°C. So heating a 1,500-litre (about 400 US gallon) tub from roughly 10°C tap water to 38°C (100°F) takes about 49 kWh. At 11.72¢ that's about $5.72; at 14.08¢ about $6.87, before GST and before any heat lost along the way. It's a one-off cost each time you refill, typically every few months.
How to estimate a tub's use from its standby rating
Many hot tub makers publish a standby power figure from the California Energy Commission's test for portable electric spas, which measures the power a tub draws to stay hot with the cover on and nobody using it. The Commission's appliance database lists the results by model.
To turn standby watts into kWh a month:
watts × 24 hours × 30 days ÷ 1,000 = kWh per month
For example, a rating of 150 watts works out to 108 kWh a month, and 250 watts to 180 kWh a month.
Two things to keep in mind:
- The test uses fixed conditions. On cold, wet Fraser Valley winter nights your tub will lose more heat than in the test, and in summer less.
- Standby is only part of the picture. Add some for heating after soaks and for running the jets.
When you compare tubs, the standby figure is still one of the best like-for-like numbers you'll find, along with the cover quality and how the floor of the cabinet is insulated. If a tub has no published figure, ask how it's insulated and how thick the cover is.
Plug-and-play and inflatable tubs
A 120-volt tub draws less power at any moment, but that doesn't make it cheaper to run. What matters is heat lost over the month. An inflatable tub with thin walls can use more energy to stay hot in winter than a well-insulated hard-shell tub, despite its smaller heater. See our inflatable vs hard-shell guide and plug-and-play hot tubs.
Ways to spend less
- Keep the cover in good shape. Closed, clipped and dry. If it's heavy with water or the seams have split, a new cover pays for itself in heat kept in.
- Close the cover as soon as you get out. Don't leave it open to air the tub between soaks.
- Block the wind. A fence, privacy screen or planting on the exposed side cuts heat loss.
- Turn the temperature down a little when you're away, but don't switch the tub off in freezing weather. Frozen plumbing costs far more than heat.
- Use the blower sparingly in winter. It cools the water.
- Keep filters clean so pumps don't work harder than they need to. Our maintenance guide has a schedule.
- Keep water balanced so you refill only when it's due.
- Choose a well-insulated tub with a thick, tapered cover from the start. Our buying guide covers what to compare.
Other running costs
Electricity isn't the only ongoing cost. Budget also for sanitizer and balancing chemicals, replacement filters, water for refills, and an eventual new cover. Our hot tub prices page explains what goes into the cost of buying and installing a tub.