Spa heating, what solutions?

Un spa au soleil

A spa session is synonymous with relaxation and well-being, but to get the most out of it, it’s essential that the water is at the optimum temperature. An unsuitable or poorly controlled heating system can quickly become energy-consuming and costly. Let’s explore the ideal temperature for a spa, the different heating options available and their respective performances.

The importance of efficient heating for spas

A poorly heated or energy-hungry spa can quickly become a source of frustration for your customers. The ideal water temperature is between 35 and 38°C for comfortable use. However, maintaining this temperature can be a challenge due to heat loss and energy costs.

Offering efficient and cost-effective heating solutions not only improves the user experience, but also addresses your customers’ ecological and financial concerns.

Spa heating solutions: which one to recommend?

You have several options to offer your customers, depending on their needs and budget:

  • Electric heating: Electric heating is the most common heating system for a spa. It may or may not be in direct contact with the water. These two operating modes offer identical performance.
  • Heat exchanger: The heat exchanger is connected to the heating system of your choice: heat pump, boiler or solar panel. By connecting the spa to the heating system, the water is heated by transferring heat from the primary circuit to the secondary circuit.
  • Solar heating: An ecological and economical heating system, solar heating, using thermal or photovoltaic panels, has one drawback: the amount of sunshine it receives. A solar heating system requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunshine a day, which becomes a constraint in winter, for example.
  • The spa heat pump: Reliable and efficient, the heat pump is a heating system that can be used in both summer and winter to achieve the ideal water temperature in just a few hours. As well as being simpler to use, a spa heat pump offers a major economic advantage for your customers. Because it uses less energy than the original spa system, this heating system can considerably reduce your customer’s electricity bill.

Why choose a spa heat pump?

Heat pumps dedicated to spas offer a number of advantages over other heating systems:

  • Reduced energy costs: Up to 75% energy savings compared with traditional electric heating.
  • Year-round use: Able to operate even in winter, unlike solar solutions.
  • Quick and easy to install: An asset for you as a professional, making it easy to add a value-added service.

All it takes is a few reflexes and a few habits to increase the temperature of your spa water by a few degrees and keep it there. The first step is to insulate the tank properly. Wooden or stone cladding will provide better protection from outside temperature variations. To protect the tub from the cold, you can recommend injecting polyurethane foam between the tub and the cladding. Better still, some top-quality spa models come with a polyisocyanurate insulation system for even more advanced, rodent-resistant insulation.

When using the spa on a daily basis, you should insist that your customers close the spa cover after each use. This simple gesture will help maintain the water temperature. After all, three-quarters of the energy escapes through the surface. A thick, rigid cover, at least 10 cm thick, is perfectly suited to maximising the effects of the spa heat pump that has just been installed.

Finally, as with heating a house, maintaining a certain temperature, between 30°C and 32°C, is much more economical than heating the water only when you use it. These few simple rules will enable your customers to heat their spa quickly and maintain the ideal water temperature. This will improve the performance of their spa heat pump. They will also be able to extend the use of their spa throughout the seasons.

Polytropic spa heat pumps: a tailored offer

Polytropic offers heat pumps specially designed for spas, offering an excellent compromise between performance and ease of use.

  • Spa-Inverter: With its low noise level and intelligent operation, the Spa-Inverter includes PolyConnect 2.0. With PolySmart Control, the heat pump regulates its own power to adapt to the needs of your pool, depending on the water temperature and the ambient temperature.
  • Stepio: discreetly integrated into the spa’s footboard (not supplied), it uses environmentally-friendly R32 refrigerant and boasts an improved COP for optimum efficiency thanks to its Full-Inverter technology. The heat pump has two built-in relays to control the filtration pump in ‘heating priority’ mode and activate the heater as back-up if necessary. When the outside temperature drops below -10°C, the heat pump goes into protection mode and activates the heater to ensure that the spa water temperature is maintained at an optimum level.
  • Mini Stepio: The MINI STEPIO heat pump is designed to heat spas of up to 2 m³ efficiently, offering an economical alternative to traditional electric heaters. Compact and discreet, it’s perfect for the warmer seasons, from March to October, or as a complement to a heater for extended use. The heat pump has two built-in relays to control the filter pump in ‘heating priority’ mode and activate the heater as back-up if necessary. When the outside temperature falls below -0°C, the heat pump stops working and activates the heater to ensure that the spa water temperature is maintained.