Spa pool electrical requirements

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jamesrt

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#2408045 28-Jan-2020 12:05

Buy a smaller pool? :-)

More seriously: Ours only draws 15A, or can be dropped down to 10A if you don't want the heater running when the pump is on high.

We had a 15A supply fitted by a local sparky, took a couple of hours to a new RCD/breaker on the "fuse" board*

We bought a TrueForm from a local supplier: https://www.trueformspas.co.nz/

A quick check on their website shows even some of their larger pools still only need a 15A feed; so it may pay to compare manufacturers.

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* There are no fuses on that board, it's a new house, they are all breakers and RCDs; but terminology!

sen8or

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#2408049 28-Jan-2020 12:13

I can understand the appeal of that last one, it does look pretty good.

Most homes can support a 32a connection without too many issues, problems will arise when you have too many of those. How big is your hot water cylinder, do you have an induction cook top, future plans for a fast charger for an EV, large ducted air conditioning? If any of those apply, then you may run into problems, otherwise power requirements from a domestic house at any given time is pretty minimal.

stagnant16

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#2408066 28-Jan-2020 12:39

Kilack:
Jase2985:

what pool models are you looking at?

i was looking at the Alpine Spa models. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/munro/ - modest 15/25 amp requirement, not really sure why it lists 15/25... https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/k2-spanet-system/ - 32 amp requirement, this is the one the wife wants.. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/entertainer-x90/ - this is the beast that requires 45 amps.. but also needs barrier consents, + consent for holding more than 2,000 litres, plus would need to be sunk slightly into a deck or something as otherwise would break the building regulations of falling from a height >1m So while I really like that last one, I see the costs just rocketing with everything that needs to be done and now the power draw might be the last straw...and extra connection costs potentially.

We have a K2, Great Spa - Cost approx 850$ for the electrical work.

Make sure you take the Heat Pump option, wouldn't be without it.

Kilack

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#2409375 28-Jan-2020 21:09

Had the first sparky arrive today..

Measured everything out very carefully for the laying of cable required..I was surprised he didn't seem to concerned about 45 amps though?

he did say we have 63 amps to the house, and that because we have gas water heating, gas hobs. and a 20 amp oven.

We have 4 heat pumps x 6 kilowatt output... (not power requirement).

He thinks we would be ok.... Is that enough?

Actually he thought if we were going to get a heat pump installed for the pool that was up to the pool installers? now im really confused...

heers!

Kilack

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#2409384 28-Jan-2020 21:19

stagnant16:

Kilack:
Jase2985:

what pool models are you looking at?

i was looking at the Alpine Spa models. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/munro/ - modest 15/25 amp requirement, not really sure why it lists 15/25... https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/k2-spanet-system/ - 32 amp requirement, this is the one the wife wants.. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/entertainer-x90/ - this is the beast that requires 45 amps.. but also needs barrier consents, + consent for holding more than 2,000 litres, plus would need to be sunk slightly into a deck or something as otherwise would break the building regulations of falling from a height >1m So while I really like that last one, I see the costs just rocketing with everything that needs to be done and now the power draw might be the last straw...and extra connection costs potentially.

We have a K2, Great Spa - Cost approx 850$ for the electrical work.

Make sure you take the Heat Pump option, wouldn't be without it.

Yeah we are seriously struggling to decide.

k2 looks amazing. Do you know what you are roughly paying with the heatpump per month?

Wheelbarrow01

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#2409417 29-Jan-2020 00:15

Kilack:
Jase2985:

what pool models are you looking at?

i was looking at the Alpine Spa models. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/munro/ - modest 15/25 amp requirement, not really sure why it lists 15/25... https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/k2-spanet-system/ - 32 amp requirement, this is the one the wife wants.. https://alpinespas.co.nz/spa-pools/entertainer-x90/ - this is the beast that requires 45 amps.. but also needs barrier consents, + consent for holding more than 2,000 litres, plus would need to be sunk slightly into a deck or something as otherwise would break the building regulations of falling from a height >1m So while I really like that last one, I see the costs just rocketing with everything that needs to be done and now the power draw might be the last straw...and extra connection costs potentially.

To answer then part in bold, it's switchable depending how you want to set it up - it's 25 amps if you have it setup to heat while you have the pump running at high speed, or it's 15 amps if you have it setup to either heat, or pump at high speed but not both at the same time.

I have an alpine spa running on 15 amps, so I can heat it, or have the pump on high speed, but not both at the same time. If it's heating when I turn the pump up, then the heating is suspended until I drop it back to the lower pump speed. That doesn't worry me as I almost never run the pump on high except when I am mixing the chlorine in.

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Jase2985

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#2409423 29-Jan-2020 05:13

Kilack:

Had the first sparky arrive today..

Measured everything out very carefully for the laying of cable required..I was surprised he didn't seem to concerned about 45 amps though?

he did say we have 63 amps to the house, and that because we have gas water heating, gas hobs. and a 20 amp oven.

We have 4 heat pumps x 6 kilowatt output... (not power requirement).

He thinks we would be ok.... Is that enough?

Actually he thought if we were going to get a heat pump installed for the pool that was up to the pool installers? now im really confused...

heers!

6kw heatpumps will use about 2kw of energy (cop average of about 3) so thats 8kw (34amps) of energy for the heatpumps, 20amps for the oven so your already at 54 amps if those are all running at the same time.

the gas water heating and hob helps you a little but i think you could be pushing it a little on the power front

stagnant16

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#2409433 29-Jan-2020 07:38

Kilack:

Yeah we are seriously struggling to decide.

k2 looks amazing. Do you know what you are roughly paying with the heatpump per month?

It's been a while now, we bought the Spa April '19. From memory, it added an additional $8-10 weekly, no more expensive than just the heating element. We are extremely heavy users and I'm increased the filter time to compensate.

The biggest benefit of the heat pump is the ability to cool the spa quickly and back up as required, it has been a godsend the last month or so.

Kilack

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#2409900 29-Jan-2020 21:23

Jase2985:

Kilack:

Had the first sparky arrive today..

Measured everything out very carefully for the laying of cable required..I was surprised he didn't seem to concerned about 45 amps though?

he did say we have 63 amps to the house, and that because we have gas water heating, gas hobs. and a 20 amp oven.

We have 4 heat pumps x 6 kilowatt output... (not power requirement).

He thinks we would be ok.... Is that enough?

Actually he thought if we were going to get a heat pump installed for the pool that was up to the pool installers? now im really confused...

heers!

6kw heatpumps will use about 2kw of energy (cop average of about 3) so thats 8kw (34amps) of energy for the heatpumps, 20amps for the oven so your already at 54 amps if those are all running at the same time.

the gas water heating and hob helps you a little but i think you could be pushing it a little on the power front

If we needed more power and he did note that the plinth was extremely close to our house and then rambled in some sparky mumbo jumbo that i didnt understand. he talked of 2 phases, but a 3 phase meter but only 2 being used? went over my head, mainly cause it was in a 2 minute conversation.

Would we just pay for extra power ? or would we pay some extra connection fee also? (and what would that be?)

Jase2985

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#2409963 30-Jan-2020 05:22

unless you already had 2 or 3 phase power to you home, which you would likely know about, then you would be up for a connection cost to have it connected too.

Kilack

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#2410382 30-Jan-2020 20:26

Expanding a bit beyond the thread....

There is a builders compliance related to spa pools out of ground in that they cannot be 1m or greater in height to reduce any risk from fall.

Does anyone know... how far out the sorrounding ground is measure to get the ground level vs height of spa?

The regulation says the fall cannot be greater than 1 metre, but for how far out? 10 cm ? 1 m?

I am honestly amazed at the hoops to get a spa in this country... imagine a world where parents had to take responsibility for their kids.

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