How to save money on Lay Z Spa running costs

Lay Z Spas and other inflatable hot tub brands have become more popular than ever, partially thanks to the lockdowns of 2020-21 and people spending more time at home and in their gardens. In fact,  This Is Money reported an 1000% increase in UK inflatable hot tub buyers in 2020.

However, with energy costs soaring in 2022 and still high in 2023, many people may be concerned with the increased energy costs of running an inflatable hot tub. If you want to save money on your Lay Z Spa running costs, here’s all the information you need.

What is a Lay Z Spa?

Firstly to clear up any confusion, a Lay Z Spa is just a brand name for a type of inflatable hot tub made by Bestway. Other popular makes include Intex and CleverSpa.

Just as ‘Jacuzzi’ is actually a brand name for a hot tub, many people use the Lay Z Spa brand name to describe inflatable hot tubs. Indeed, Lay Z Spa is perhaps the most popular and well known hot tub brand in the UK.

Although each inflatable hot tub will have different running costs depending on its size, temperature controls and wattage, there is no difference in the energy costs of running an inflatable hot tub based on brand name alone.

As technology advances, all reputable inflatable hot tub brands are working on innovations to improve the energy efficiency of their products.

Are Lay Z Spa and other inflatable hot tubs expensive to run?

When considering the purchase of an inflatable hot tub, many people’s first concern is if a Lay Z Spa uses a lot of electricity. Data from the Lay Z Spa website suggests it costs between £7 and £10 per week to heat and run an inflatable hot tub.

Obviously, just like our general electricity costs, this can fluctuate significantly depending on use, and other factors such as outdoor temperature. This research is based on using the Lay Z Spa 3 times a week for 25 minutes a time, in average UK summer temperatures. 

Ways to cut the costs of running a Lay Z Spa

You can save money on running your Lay Z Spa by following these guidelines:

Use Chlorine Tablets instead of Granules

This has been a gamechanger for me and my number one tip! I previously purchased the Clearwater HotTub Starter Kit, which I would still recommend as it includes all the products you will need in a much cheaper bundle, but it includes chlorine granules rather than tablets.

Granules are good when initially setting up your hot tub as they dissolve quickly to get your water to the correct levels, but I found that because of this I needed to top up the chlorine granules on a daily basis. This also meant using a dip test almost daily, the cost of which also adds up.

Aside from this, it meant that if we were away for a few days, or didn’t want to use the hot tub, the water would need emptying as it would get in a horrible condition if left untreated even for this short time.

The Clearwater chlorine tablets, which I only bought after the granules were used up a few months later, changed all that!

Now I just put 2 in the chlorine dispenser that is provided with your Lay Z Spa, and they last a whole week, or even longer. The water remains crystal clear, and has not needed changing at all in over 2 months. This is a significant saving on water and heating costs.

I now only need to do a dip test 1-2 times per week, which saves money on the actual dip test kits versus using them daily.

I can also not worry about constantly maintaining the hot tub on a daily basis during bad weather, or long weekends away.

Is it cheaper to run a hot tub all the time?

In a word – Yes! As long as you are using it regularly. Lay Z Spa recommends leaving your inflatable hot tub on constantly if you are planning on using it 3 times per week or more. However, you can reduce the temperature as it does not need to be heating the water at a constant 40 degrees. 

Keeping it maintained at around 30 degrees when not in use in the summer and then turning it up to between 35-40 when in use will be much more cost efficient than switching it off completely and then letting cold water heat to 35 degrees over the course of 12-24 hours.

Reduce the temperature

Following on from the last point, you may not need to heat your hot tub up to 40 degrees in order to use it. Try reducing it to 38 and see if you notice the difference. From personal experience, I have found that on a really hot day it is so refreshing to get into a cooler hot tub for the purposes of cooling off.

This could mean that due to the outside temperature, your hot tub could maintain around 30 degrees without using any additional energy.

Don’t scrimp on cheap chemicals and dip tests

As previously mentioned, I use the Clearwater brand dip tests and chlorine tablets. They are a little pricier than some other unbranded products, but in this case you definitely get what you pay for.

Before I bought my Lay Z Spa I had some cheap chlorine tablets and dip tests for our large children’s paddling pool to prolong changing the water. These were still in the back of the cupboard when my Clearwater products ran out, so I decided to use them on the hottub in the interim.

Both products had expiration dates that were still in date at this point, so I thought they would be fine.

The dip tests said the chlorine levels were fine, but this was clearly not the case as even with daily treatment and testing, the water got into a horrible state within a few days and needed a full refill. We even got a nasty case of biofilm in the water…click that if you dare (gross!)

Saving a few pounds on these products could end up costing you time, hassle and more money in the end.

Consider the location

Set up your hot tub in a sheltered area if possible, such as next to a wall or in the corner of your garden. This will minimise exposure to the elements. A hot tub gazebo provides shelter as well as making an attractive feature.

Always place your hot tub on thermal tiles

Thermal tiles can be bought fairly cheaply and will help retain heat from the ground up.

Keep the cover inflated

Most inflatable hot tubs include an inflatable inner lid or “bladder” that fits inside the cover. Keeping this topped up with air will ensure it is at its most efficient in retaining the heat.

Keep the cover on when not in use

This is an obvious one but worth stating. The hot tub will lose heat most rapidly when in use, so it is important to always secure the lid when it is not being used. This will also prevent leaves, insects and other debris from entering the water.

Consider Purchasing an Additional Thermal Cover

Purchasing an additional cover to go over your Lay Z Spa could be an option if you’re concerned about heating costs. Although I don’t yet own one myself so can’t comment personally, this Cleverspa cover gets very positive reviews, with many saying it has paid for itself in a few months of use.

Empty and store away when not in use for a significant length of time

Heating an inflatable hot tub outside in the U.K. winter will obviously consume far more energy than heating it in the summer. And are you really going to venture out in all weathers on a regular basis to use it over the winter?

Personally, I stored mine away in October and will probably get it out again towards the end of April. 

Additionally, if you are going on holiday for 10 days or longer when your hot tub is set up, try and time this with when the hot tub needs a water change so it can be emptied and stored dry while you are away.

This means you can leave it inflated but switched off completely. Aside from the energy costs, leaving the water untreated for more than a week would require it to be changed on your return anyway, not to mention the build up of harmful bacteria.

Consider buying a newer, more energy efficient hot tub

It goes without saying that inflatable hot tubs are improving their features and energy efficiency over time.

All Lay Z Spa models made after 2017 have a power saving timer which allows the user to set the hot tub to begin heating at a chosen time rather than having to manually switch it on. Additionally, all Lay Z Spas from 2021 onwards have Freeze Shield technology which means the water heater only turns on when the air temperature reaches a certain level.

If you have an inflatable hot tub older than 5 years, you may find the cost of upgrading is more efficient than the extra costs of running your old tub.

Shop around for the best deal on your energy supplier

This is obviously a hot topic in 2023, and many people will be doing this regardless of the costs of running a Lay Z Spa! However, it is worth mentioning as this could be the single biggest factor in saving money on your Lay Z Spa running costs. 

You can check out the energy costs of different providers using price comparison sites such as Money Supermarket.

After all, if you could switch to a cheaper tariff, your hot tub running costs could pay for itself!

Could you save money on your Lay Z Spa?

If you have found this post helpful, be sure to share it! If you have any other tips for saving money on inflatable hot tub running costs, please leave a comment below.

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