Questions: An outdoor spa (hot tub) draws 1482 watts to keep the water warm. If the utility company charges 0.12 per kilowatt-hour, how much does it cost to operate the spa for four months during the winter (24 hours per day Assume each month has 30 days. It costs to operate the spa for four months during the winter (Round to the nearest whole number as needed.)

Solution Steps

The power consumption of the spa is given as 1482 watts. To convert this to kilowatts, we use the conversion factor \(1 \text{ kW} = 1000 \text{ W}\):

\[ \text{Power in kW} = \frac{1482 \text{ W}}{1000} = 1.482 \text{ kW} \]

The spa operates 24 hours per day for 4 months, with each month having 30 days. Therefore, the total hours of operation is:

\[ \text{Total hours} = 24 \text{ hours/day} \times 30 \text{ days/month} \times 4 \text{ months} = 2880 \text{ hours} \]

The total energy usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh) is the product of the power consumption in kilowatts and the total hours of operation:

\[ \text{Total energy usage} = 1.482 \text{ kW} \times 2880 \text{ hours} = 4268.16 \text{ kWh} \]

The cost per kilowatt-hour is given as \$0.12. Therefore, the total cost to operate the spa is:

\[ \text{Total cost} = 4268.16 \text{ kWh} \times 0.12 \text{ \$/kWh} = 512.1792 \text{ \$} \]

Finally, we round the total cost to the nearest whole number:

\[ \text{Total cost (rounded)} = 512 \text{ \$} \]

Final Answer