Commercial chillers that make Antarctica feel like a beach vacation
Turning your chiller off overnight might seem like it would save power.
There would be a good 8-10 hours where it isn’t running, therefore not consuming electricity.
But it’s actually the opposite.
Your chiller is in a constant battle with heat.
Heat from swimmers, heat from sauna, but one constant heat load is from the surrounding air.
Think of your cold plunge like a commercial fridge with the door constantly open.
The surface of the water is always exposed to the room temperature.
That room temperature is always trying to heat it up, and the chiller is always fighting to keep it cold.
Quality chillers are designed to handle this.
They get to the right temperature, turn off for a period of time, let the water heat up just a little, then turn back on to maintain.
This is optimal efficiency for electricity and longevity.
But when you turn the chiller off overnight, that pool heats right up.
If the target temp was 5 degrees, it might jump to 15-20 degrees overnight.
That’s a lot of heat to be removed.
And your chiller will run on max for hours to try and bring it back down, consuming a lot more energy and putting more stress on the equipment.
Keep it on.
Let it cycle as intended.
You’ll cut power costs and extend the life of your components.