Is a chiller cheaper than ice?
Take your daily kWh from this page into the ice vs. chiller calculator and compare it with your bagged-ice spend.
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How much does a cold plunge chiller cost to run?
Enter your chiller's power, how many hours it runs, and your electricity price. Get the cost per day, month, year and per plunge.
A calculation you can check.
600 W chiller, 8 hours a day.
600 W × 8 h = 4.8 kWh, plus a 50 W pump running 24 hours = 1.2 kWh. That is 6 kWh a day. At $0.16 per kWh it costs $0.96 a day, about $29 a month or $350 a year. At four plunges a week, that is about $1.68 of electricity per plunge.
| Compressor runs | kWh / day | At $0.16 / kWh | At $0.30 / kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 h / day | 3.6 | $17.52 / month | $32.85 / month |
| 8 h / day | 6.0 | $29.20 / month | $54.75 / month |
| 12 h / day | 8.4 | $40.88 / month | $76.65 / month |
Examples, not measured performance. A hot garage, direct sun or a missing lid make the compressor run longer.
How the electricity calculation works
kWh per day = (chiller watts × compressor hours + pump watts × 24) ÷ 1,000
Cost per day = kWh per day × your electricity price. Per month = per year ÷ 12. Per plunge = per year ÷ (plunges per week × 52).
Horsepower describes a chiller's cooling capacity, not its electricity use, so it cannot be converted to watts reliably. Use the electrical rating on the label, or measure the real use with a plug-in energy meter for a week.
Why the running hours matter most.
A chiller does not run all day. Its compressor switches on when the water warms past the set temperature and off when it is cold again. How often that happens depends on heat getting in: from the room or sun, through the tub walls, from an open lid, and from your body during a plunge.
That is why the same chiller can cost twice as much in a hot garage as in a cool basement. An insulated tub, a fitted lid and shade cut the running hours more than anything else. For context, the seller of one budget 600 W chiller estimates "approximately $1/day" to run; at $0.16 per kWh that is about 6 kWh a day, close to the example above.