It’s true to say that ideas, regulations and practices cross the pond, from America to the UK, as easily as a Jacuzzi on a container ship. So it might be worth taking a look at what could be coming our way in the next couple of years.

The Biden administration has been rolling out energy efficiency regulations across a wider and wider section of the US economy and so it comes as no surprise that the pool and particularly the spa industry are the next to come under scrutiny.

In the UK we are used to seeing energy efficiency labeling on everything from kettles and fridges to houses. It’s similar in the US where they have Energy Star and EnergyGuide labeling that allows consumers to compare running costs as well as the purchase price of an increasing range of products.

What is now happening in America is that energy efficiency regulation is becoming a topic for federal government and not left down to the individual states. APSP-14 is a new piece of federal legislation that will affect the spa industry in the US and around the world.

First things first.

Before American consumers start to see energy stickers on spas a few things have to happen first

·     Testing procedures have to be agreed that confirm manufacturers claims

·     Testing methods have to be devised that compare energy efficiency equally over spas of different sizes.

·     A third-party verification procedure has to be established.

After that, testing can begin and those test results can be transferred to labeling. Consumers must be made aware of what that labeling means and that new awareness must be leveraged to encourage manufacturers to produce more efficient products.

Home and abroad.

Once America enacts this legislation a number of things start to happen.

First of all, US manufacturers begin to build and label their hot tubs according to the new regulations. Some of these tubs are sold at home but many of them are exported; for instance, to the UK. The idea of being able to compare energy efficiency across a range of spa sizes and manufacturers soon catches the customer’s attention.

Back in the states, cheap import spas are picked up at customs as breaching federal Department of Energy rules and are impounded at the border.

Perhaps this, as much as any other reasons causes manufacturers to see a major marketing upside in ensuring and explaining energy efficiency to their consumers.

And here?

UK consumers are used to seeing energy labelling on almost everything. The conversation about energy efficiency and the spiralling cost of energy is getting louder. Concern about saving energy in relation to spas and hot tubs is going to increase, not diminish.

Perhaps what has held back the process of energy labelling on spas is the difficulties of testing and measuring. If the US leads the way on that, then it may not be long before we see those coloured bar-graph labels hanging off every tub and spa in the showroom as well.

And that may not be a bad thing.