Over the last few years, hot tubs have become increasingly popular. With an inflatable hot tub costing as little as £250 they suddenly became much more affordable than the hard plastic ones which usually set you back a few thousand pounds. Many people have rushed out to buy one as soon as the weather warms up but have they considered the running costs?

The hot tub needs to be heated to around 37 or 38 degrees to be warm enough to stay in on an evening. Most hot tubs heat up about 2 degrees an hour so you will often need to put it on in the morning to be able to use it that evening. The filter will also need to stay on again using electricity.

If you leave it on all the time you can expect a rather large electricity bill at the end of the month but even heating up once or twice a week can soon add up.

If you have a smart meter you can keep and eye on how much electricity you are using and if you know you have used it a lot one week you may not go in quite so much the next few.