Wax Orchard

Can Better Replacement Hot Tub Covers Save The Planet?

Managing our available resources should be a concern of each of us.
Without getting on a bandwagon, it just makes sense to get the
most out of what we have.

Recently, some laws have been passed in an
attempt to regulate energy waste. Unfortunately for the Hot Tub Manufacturing industry,
the timing could not have been worse. In an market dependent entirely on
discretionary dollars, any perception of negative economic trends or worse additional costs due to new industry regulation has a
profound effect. So when California passed laws focused specifically on Hot Tub industry, forcing it to upgrade pump motors and meet strict energy
use limitations, it hit hard. Like using a baseball bat to kill fleas on a dog.

Don’t get me wrong. I am all for energy conservation. But no one
wants their industry to be the target. Still I can see the point.
According to the study used to justify the law, the energy used just to
heat the spas in California alone requires the entire output of a
nuclear power plant each year. Say it with me, Shocking.

Leveling the scrutiny of engineers on the single largest energy
consuming appliance in the home (three times more than your fridge)
they singled out the pump motor. The powers that be (sorry) determined
that an upgrade in motor would reduce energy used starting the pump in
motion. I am sure that they spent the next few days patting themselves
on the back.

Trouble is that when Hot Tub Manufacturers switched to the new type motor and measured the great cost savings, it didn’t add up. Switching motors cost the manufacturers, which increased the cost to the consumers and the anticipated reduction in required electricity consumption didn’t materialize.

Let us think about applying the same logic to some other areas. If
you want to improve your cars gas mileage you could keep the windows
rolled up. Not what you expected, right? Still, it would make a
difference. Just keep the windows rolled all the way up, all the time.
When they designed that car body, the designers went to a lot of
trouble to make it the most aerodynamically efficient shape they could.
The mileage estimates they posted on the window when it was new were
all based on the most efficient configuration and that meant windows
up. Maybe we should pass a law that no new car can be sold that has
windows that could be rolled down. We could probably save enough gas
per year that we could stop importing it from the middle east.

But some people really like to drive around with one arm resting
with the elbow out the open window. I doubt it would go over well if we
passed a law restricting window opening. The point is, if the goal is to improve mileage focusing on window use may not have the
biggest effect on future product development.

To relate this to hot tubs,
perhaps a better direction would be to place a limit on the amount of
total energy used by the unit. Better yet, posted energy used per year
on each model and rebates for buying the best rated units.

Let the Hot Tub manufacturers develop their products in different
directions. Independently, one manufacturer may focus on the pump motor
while another might target Better Hot Tub Covers with increased insulation capabilities. Still other
manufacturers may convert their spa to run on alternative energy.

As we all progress toward planet consciousness renewable resources
and conservation I think we can learn from history. Prohibition has
left us a legacy of organized crime. If we outlaw hot tubs, only
outlaws will have hot tubs.