It’s dawned on me that our home electricity usage profile will change this year.
On the negative side, we’ve decided to do away with our spa, a.k.a. hot tub. It’s a Sundance Cameo 880. That’s ~ 350 gallons of water that no longer will be maintained at 103 degrees F year-round, and pumps that no longer will circulate every two hours. We used it a lot in the first year of ownership, less the second year, and hardly at all last year. We’ve considered changes to make it more appealing — install a cantilevered umbrella, add more potted plants around it, make towel and robe storage more convenient, etc. — but we concluded we’re just fundamentally not “spa people” as we thought we’d be.
We can and have turned down the heat during the winter months to reduce the winter cost, but the lowest temperature setting is 65 degrees F. Draining and prepping it for freezing temperatures is a hassle. And pumps and PVC plumbing joints don’t like being frozen. As home ownership mistakes go, this one is non-trivial because a used spa’s resale value is $0. It’s not impossible to sell one but it’s super difficult and you’ll maybe net a couple of hundred for months of hassle. So…. it’s a junker.
As for maintenance and repairs, in the past four years we’ve spent an average of $900 per year on chemicals, maintenance, repairs, and anti-rodent packets. (Mice like to nest under the spa during the winter months and chew on the foam insulation. Yummy.) When repairs are needed, scheduling spa repair companies is a small hassle. The upsides of owning one are fun and joy if you love owning your own spa. And there were times when it was pure joy. But as we’ve discovered we’re not as much in love with it as we thought we’d be.
We’re thinking of replacing it with a nice fire pit with chairs.
On the positive side, we’re now remodeling our kitchen and primary bathroom. The old kitchen had a natural gas range… the new kitchen will have an electric induction cooktop and two electric ovens. The old kitchen had a middling Maytag refrigerator that I’m sure never won any efficiency awards…The new kitchen will have a sweet, sweet Sub-Zero refrigerator. The new kitchen will also have two below-counter freezer drawers with their own compressor. In the new bathroom we’ll have a heated floor and heated towel bars, both powered by electricity. Because we can.
I’m betting the savings from the spa deletion will outweigh the additional kitchen and bathroom usage, but I won’t know the reality until it’s all done and our new usage profile is established. If our net usage declines then our solar production may come in right on the money for a net-metering year or be a bit oversized.
And this year will be a complete toss-up since we won’t have a usable kitchen for half the year and I shut the spa down last month. I may not have a new usage profile until two years from now!
Seek Nuance 