subject: Selecting The Right Hot Tub Cover [print this page] Hi! Does you hot tub cover smell or drip? Is it too heavy with water to remove it easily? Have your electricity of gas bills increased every month since you bought it? You may be the victim of a low quality hot tub cover.
This is very common. Most hot tub dealerships know that a poor quality hot tub cover won"t make or break a sale, so they usually supply the cheapest covers possible.
However, help is out there. Many places, both online and offline,offer custom-fitted replacement hot tub covers. Here are some things to look for when you"re buying one.
High Density Foam Core
Polystyrene Foam is measured by its weight per cubic foot. It ranges from 0.5 lbs/cfto 2.0 lbs/cf (8 to 32 kg/cm). Higher density foam is a better insulator than lower density foam. This is most pronounced on the lower side of the spectrum. 1.5 pound foam is massively more insulating than 0.5 pound foam, but 2.0 pound foam is only slightly better than 1.5 pound foam.
If you live in a warm climate, 1.0 pound foam should be enough to meet your needs. Never go below that. 1.0 pound foam is the standard for spa cover sales. If anyone is offering you a cover with lower density foam, that person is trying to cheat you.
Not Actually a Bonus
This is why it annoys me to see some companies advertising hot tub covers with the words "light and easy to lift." A spa cover is a very simple object: foam core, vapor seal, vinyl covering. The only place to remove any weight here is in the foam density. A hot tub cover advertising "light and easy to lift" covers is actually saying "Our product is specifically designed to cost you a fortune in electricity bills." If you have trouble lifting your cover, just buy a hydraulic cover lifter. Heavier is better.
Energy Savings
If you"re mathematically inclined, you might want to figure out how much money different covers will save you in electricity.
If you live in a cold area, here is a formula to figure out your costs:
Dollars of energy lost per year(0.002)*(average cost of a kilowatt-hour in your area)* (size of hot tub cover in square feet) * (36 "" Average outside temperature during winter in Fahrenheit) *(number of days of the year that the temperature is below freezing) R-Value.
I have a thick 3-inch 1.5lb core hot tub cover. Using this online calculator, I find that my cover"s R-value is roughly 12.5. My hot tub cover is 64 sq. feet. It is below freezing about 100 days out of the year. Electricity costs about 8 cents a kilowatt hour.
I live in Ottawa, Canada. It is below freezing about 100 days of the year, with an average temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Using this formula, I find that I lose about $26 of electricity through my hot tub cover lid during winter.
However, if my hot tub cover had the standard 1 inch thick 1.0 pound foam core, I would lose about $80 a year in electricity. Since my heavy duty cover only cost $150 more than a standard cover, it paid for itself within the first three years.
Plug in your own numbers and see what comes up. You should be able to practically estimate how much money a higher quality cover will save you over the long term.
