Should I close my hot tub for the winter?

We’re often asked Should I close my Hot Tub for the winter?

We think the wintertime with its cold temperatures is a GREAT time to be hot-tubbing. But we understand that if you’re going away or really not going to use it, you might want to save energy throughout the cold months.

close my hot tub for the winter

We were recently asked a great question about hot-tubbing in the wintertime:

My hot tub won’t go below 80 degrees F, but I would like to save energy over the winter and run it cooler without shutting it off. Can it be reprogrammed? 

The difference in cost in running your hot tub at 80 degrees vs. 100 degrees throughout the winter is pennies, if that. As long as you have the cover on your hot tub, the heat has no where to go and it maintains a nice warm, toasty temperature. The energy will not burn off from the hot tub.

We don’t suggest keeping your hot tub at a low temperature during the cold months for a few reasons:

  1. If the power goes out to your hot tub or home, your hot tub only has 50 degrees to get to freezing if it’s set at 80. At 100, it would take a lot longer to freeze
  2. What if you decide you want to use your spa in the winter? It will take more energy & use of your heater to get the tub from 80 to 100 in a few hours than if you just kept it at 100 and ready to use at a moments notice!

So what do you do if you want to save energy in the winter.?

You could have your hot tub winterized. (Check out our post: To Winterize or NOT to Winterize) During the winterization process we drain the hot tub completely and suck all the water from the plumbing in your spa. But, in our opinion, the cost of the hot tub winterization negates the energy savings over the cold months because our hot tubs are so energy efficient.

We only really recommend winterization if you’re going to be away during the winter or are leaving your hot tub empty for more than just one season!

But then again, we’re really biased because we just LOVE Hot-tubbing in the wintertime!

Contact the Spring Dance Hot Tubs’ Service Department for more information

Comments

  1. http://sarah says

    we winterized our hot tub when would be a safe time to reopen it?

    • Hi Sarah!

      You can safely reopen your hot tub at any time as long as you fill and run it immediately! (Assuming you’re in a cold climate, we could still / are still getting below freezing temperatures!) Hot tubs are safe (and wonderful!) to use during the cold months- they just need to stay on and running to ensure there won’t be any freeze damage!

  2. http://Barbara says

    I need to drain and store my fiberglass hot tub for about 2 months as I find a new home. It is hot now in Colorado. Will it be OK stored on its side in an enclosed storage space? and whats the best way to protect the cover during this time of transition? thanks

    • Hi Barbara! Thanks for the question. You will want to make sure your hot tub can be stored on its side. Depending on the size and where the equipment lies, some brands do not recommend that. I’m only familiar with our brands and most of them are able to be stored on their sides (but there are specific sides, depending on the models).

      As long as you don’t get freezing temperatures during the time it is stored, you shouldn’t need to winterize the spa.

      The cover is a trickier one- You might want to find a box to protect it. Or protect it with pieces of plywood covered with foam eggshells – you don’t want the wood to puncture the vinyl.

      Good luck!

  3. http://Chris says

    Just a little different take on winter care.. We are leaving upstate New York for 3 months this winter, and really don’t want to drain and winterize our hot tub. Is there an optimal temperature to leave it at?? Is it worth putting a tarp over the cover? Any other precautions we can take? We do have someone stopping weekly to check power. Should water level be ok for 12 weeks with a good cover? Thanks in advance.

    • Hey Chris– great to know someone is going to stop by weekly to check power. The water level should be okay for 12 weeks with a good cover. Tarp won’t add much extra protection. We’d suggest keeping the hot tub between 98-100.

      In case there are extreme temperatures (and since it’s upstate NY, that’s probably a reality!) maybe the person checking your power can check the water level in the hot tub every few weeks to make sure it hasn’t dissipated too much, adding water if it seems low.

      Have a great trip!

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