Cold plunge running cost
Chiller wattage, hours per day and your electricity price, turned into a monthly and yearly running cost. Add a bag price and bags per week to put ice next to that electricity line.
The numbers in the boxes are examples, so the math is visible before you type. They are not a product spec, a measured draw or a quote. Replace every box.
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How it works
Chiller kilowatt-hours per day = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours per day. A month here is 30 days. A year is 365 days. Monthly cost = kilowatt-hours per day × 30 × price per kWh. Yearly cost = kilowatt-hours per day × 365 × price per kWh.
Ice for a year = bag price × bags per week × 52. Ice for a month = that year ÷ 12.
The example in the boxes (500 W, 8 hours, 18.16¢ per kWh, $5.00 a bag, 4 bags a week) is 4 kWh a day, $21.79 a month and $265.14 a year for the chiller, and $86.67 a month and $1,040.00 a year for ice. Ice costs $64.87 more per month than the chiller's electricity on these inputs.
Only the numbers you type are used. Nothing on this page looks up a wattage, a bag price or a utility rate. The purchase price of a tub or chiller is not included.
Plunge Chill says its Tub with Chiller uses 3 to 6 kWh a day to hold temperature ($569 on plungechill.com, 31 Oct 2026). That figure is theirs. The boxes above stay examples until you type your own numbers.
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FAQ
How is the monthly electricity cost calculated?
Watts divided by 1,000, times hours per day, times 30 days, times your price per kWh.
Why is the yearly cost not exactly 12 times the monthly cost?
The month here is 30 days. The year is 365 days. Twelve times 30 is 360, so the yearly line counts five more days.
How is the ice total calculated?
Bag price times bags per week times 52. The monthly ice line is that year divided by 12.
What is left out of the total?
The purchase price of a chiller or tub, filters, water and any first cool-down. The electricity line uses the watts, hours and price you enter. The ice line uses the bag price and bags per week you enter.
What wattage should I enter?
The figure your chiller's maker lists for power use, not its cooling capacity. Cooling watts and draw watts are different numbers.
Related: chiller vs ice, cost per month · best chiller under $1,500 · Plunge Chill Pro Tub specs · Plunge vs Ice Barrel
Product pages: cold plunge · cold plunge gift under $1,000
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