The awareness of climate change is brought home to roost in energy prices, which are climbing rapidly.  This has spawned a trend to improve the energy efficiency of all kinds of appliances and tools.  In the case of portable spas and hot tubs, the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, in coordination with ANSI, issued energy efficiency standards in 2010, titled ANSI/APSP-14 Standard for the Energy Efficiency of Self-Contained Portable Electric Spas and Hot Tubs.

The APSP says the purpose of the standards is to “influence the design and construction specifications of portable electric spas to maximize energy efficiency.”

More recently, APSP also released new standards for residential pools and inground spas, ANSI/APSP/ICC-15, which we covered in a separate blog post.

Manufacturers Are the First Affected Party

The first real impact of standards like these is to encourage manufacturers to design products that meet them.  The benefits of energy conservation will appeal to cost conscious consumers, and manufacturers will want to promote their advantages along these lines.  The pressure to adopt the standards will mount as states choose to incorporate the standards into their own codes, as Florida has done with the ANSI/APSP-14.

Consumers Benefit from Better Products

Consumers in new spa or replacement markets will benefit from these standards by getting more energy efficient systems.  DEL Ozone systems have always been environmentally sensitive in that they permit chemical use reduction and create no harmful byproducts.  Since ozone is injected when the circulation pump runs, the increased efficiency of pumps will permit owners to run them a little more, thereby increasing the disinfection power of the ozone system.

DEL Ozone has long been a “green” company, but energy efficiency is more than green:  it saves money.