What a hot tub heater costs to run in California
California homes use 1,296 kWh a year on a hot tub heater. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $200.04 to $671.68 a year across 115 published California plans — a $471.64 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Cheapest 25 of 115 priced plans, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $138.66 | −$61.38 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $138.66 | −$61.38 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $150.39 | −$49.65 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $150.48 | −$49.56 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $200.04 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $200.41 | +$0.37 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $204.15 | +$4.11 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $206.81 | +$6.77 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $212.98 | +$12.94 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $215.34 | +$15.30 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $219.11 | +$19.07 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $230.89 | +$30.85 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $248.37 | +$48.33 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $254.69 | +$54.65 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $262.89 | +$62.85 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $280.46 | +$80.42 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $285.07 | +$85.03 | 22.0¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $298.52 | +$98.48 | 24.5¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $299.34 | +$99.30 | 17.9¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $299.76 | +$99.72 | 15.7¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $315.72 | +$115.68 | 24.2¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $315.92 | +$115.88 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $319.80 | +$119.76 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $321.12 | +$121.08 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $322.44 | +$122.40 | 23.5¢ |
90 further schedules are published and priced but not listed here — mostly regional and seasonal variants of the plans above. The dearest of them costs $671.68 a year at this usage.
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $78.60 (Residential Service), dearest $263.88, a $185.28 spread
- Average — cheapest $200.04 (Residential Service), dearest $671.68, a $471.64 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $314.40 (Residential Service), dearest $1,055.52, a $741.12 spread
What a hot tub heater costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a hot tub heater adds $200.04 to $671.68 a year — $16.67 to $55.97 a month. The median plan puts a hot tub heater at $493.84 a year.
Cheapest for a hot tub heater: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Coastal Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 1,296 kWh are billed at 15.4¢–51.8¢, against a 39.5¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 12.3¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 1,296 kWh a year across 53 sampled homes that run one, near the national 1,479 kWh. The middle half spans 509 kWh to 2,037 kWh, so a hot tub heater varies by 1,528 kWh between one household and another.
Keeping the water hot across a year, which is most of what a hot tub costs. That average covers homes with an electrically heated hot tub — 4% of homes here.
That makes a hot tub heater about 20% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 5,185 kWh is what a hot tub heater is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each California provider's cheapest plan: City of Redding, California (Utility Company), $200.04; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $285.07; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $315.92; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $428.28; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $493.84.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $293.80 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 1,296 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a hot tub heater
A household in the lighter quarter runs a hot tub heater for 509 kWh a year and pays $78.60 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 2,037 kWh and pays $314.40 — $235.80 more for a hot tub heater on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for California, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 115 California tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.5865, -122.3917.