Of all the things that you can do for your health and wellbeing, sunbathing is one of the most effective. A good tan is not just a sign of good health, but it also improves our mood and helps us sleep better. It’s no wonder that millions of adults use sunbeds every year!
Yet while tans are considered beautiful, they also have a dark side: they increase your risk of developing skin cancer. That’s why we need to be careful when using sunbeds and ensure that they don’t use too much energy or cause unnecessary pollution.
Most Commercial Sunbeds Use Between 1,500 and 2,000 watts.
The power rating of a sunbed depends on how many lamps, their wattage and how long each session is. Most commercial sunbeds use between 1,500 and 2,000 watts. This is equivalent to the energy used by a kettle or toaster. A typical sunbed session can last from 2 to 15 minutes.
Most sunbeds have between 8 and 20 lamps that are switched on for different lengths of time during your session, so it's impossible to give a single answer as to how much energy they use during this time period—the amount depends on which lamps are switched on at any given moment and how long they stay on for.
It can be difficult to determine exactly how much energy a sunbed uses because it depends on the number of lamps, their power rating and how long each session is.
It is not an exact science but the industry standard for measuring energy consumption for artificial tanning devices has been set at 85 kWh per 1000 hours use (1kWh = 1kW used for 1 hour).
This means that if you have a 4-lamp sunbed and you use it for 3 hours per day, 365 days a year, then over the course of one year it will consume:
85 kWh x 1000 x 365 = 31 025 kWs or 31 MWh of electricity
What we do know is that 10 minutes in the tanning booth will use approximately 0.1 kWh (kilowatt hour) of electricity—or about £0.02 worth at current prices!
Ways To Reduce Your Utility Bills
Although sunbeds do use lots of energy, there are some ways to minimize the impact on your utility bill.
Use a timer.
Turn the machine off after use. Most sunbeds have this feature, but if yours doesn’t or it’s not working well enough, consider purchasing an automatic timer switch that will turn off your machine after an hour or so of use (make sure you know how long it takes for your skin type).
Buy an LED-lit bed instead of fluorescent one.
Fluorescent bulbs tend to be more expensive and less efficient than LEDs (the latter can also last much longer). Look for in-built timers as well—they’re especially useful if you have multiple users in your house who could forget about turning them off when they leave home without having their own individual switches installed!
Buy new sunbeds.
Older sunbeds are more likely to be inefficient, so if you’re thinking about getting a new one, the cost of energy may be worth it. Sunbeds can use up to 3kW per hour – depending on the model and settings you choose.
However, newer models are capable of using just 1kW per hour. So if your current sunbed is 10 years old or more and uses 2kW per hour, installing a new one could save you £900 in electricity costs over 10 years.
Get a broker.
Another factor that impacts the cost of a sunbed session is how much electricity you use overall – if you have several appliances running at once, this can bump up the amount they charge per kilowatt hour (kWh).
This means that switching providers may be worth considering, as energy companies generally charge more during peak times (when demand is high), but less when demand is low. It's also important to check electricity rates as you could potentially save money by choosing a provider with more favorable pricing structures.
As such, by using less electricity across all appliances over time will help keep costs down while still ensuring your home stays cool during those hot months!
Hiring a broker like Utility Bidder can be beneficial because they can offer you better deals because of their network of energy suppliers.
Final Thoughts
There are other factors that can affect how much energy your sunbed uses, but it’s important to keep in mind that the amount of power needed depends largely on how long you use it for. If you want to make sure that your salon is using as little energy as possible, then you should pay attention to these factors when buying new equipment or upgrading existing systems.
