What Is Arctic Spas FreeHeat™? Why Minnesota Hot Tub Buyers Should Ask
Shopping for a hot tub in Minnesota? Here, one of the most important parts of the spa is a part you never see: how it's insulated. Our winters drop well below zero, ice storms knock out power, but Winter is when Minnesotas want to use their Hot Tub the most. Arctic Spas® builds its hot tubs in western Canada for exactly these conditions, and the heart of that design is a system called FreeHeat™.
Quick Answer: What Is FreeHeat™?
FreeHeat™ is how Arctic Spas insulates its hot tubs. Instead of packing spray foam around the pumps and plumbing, Arctic insulates the cover, cabinet walls, and floor and leaves the equipment in an open, warm cabinet inside that envelope.
The heat the pumps give off stays inside and helps warm the water. If the power goes out, the stored heat in the water flows back to the equipment and helps keep the plumbing from freezing. And because nothing is buried in foam, the spa is easier to service.
Watch: How FreeHeat™ Works
Arctic Spas explains the system in this six-minute video. The full breakdown follows below.
Video courtesy of Arctic Spas®.
How Most Hot Tubs Are Insulated
Many hot tubs are built as "full foam" spas. The underside of the shell, the plumbing, and sometimes the pumps are packed solid with spray foam. It sounds warm, but it has two real drawbacks.
The Problems With Full-Foam Insulation
- The heat your pumps make is wasted. Spa pumps give off a lot of heat while they run. With the equipment walled off in foam, that heat has nowhere useful to go.
- Repairs mean digging. To reach a leaking fitting or jet line, a technician may have to cut through foam to find it and patch it afterward. That's more labor and a bigger bill.
The FreeHeat™ Approach: Insulate It Like a House
Arctic Spas took its design cue from how homes are built in northern Canada. You don't spray foam around your furnace. You insulate the attic, the outer walls, and the floor, and you keep everything important inside that warm envelope. FreeHeat applies the same idea to a hot tub.
The "Attic": Mylovac™ Cover
Heat rises, so the cover matters most. The Mylovac cover is about 5 inches thick with a full-length baffle and double-density foam. It is vacuum-sealed to keep moisture out, so it stays light and keeps insulating year after year.
The "Walls": Insulated Cabinet
High-density polyurethane foam is applied to the inside of the cabinet walls and the underside of the spa's top lip, right where heat would otherwise escape.
The "Floor": Forever Floor®
The spa sits on a sealed SMC fiberglass base that's insulated underneath. It blocks ground cold, moisture, and pests from getting into the cabinet.
Inside: Open, Foam-Free Equipment
The shell, plumbing, and pumps sit inside that insulated envelope with no spray foam around them. That open space is what lets heat move where it's useful.
Where the Heat Goes
With the equipment inside a warm, open cabinet, heat moves in both directions depending on what the spa needs.
Pumps Make Heat
Every time the pumps run for filtration or jets, they give off heat. In a FreeHeat spa, that heat stays inside the insulated cabinet instead of being lost.
That Heat Warms the Shell and Water
With no foam behind the shell, the warm cabinet air transfers heat into the shell and the water. The heater has less work to do, and the seats feel warm when you climb in on a cold night.
The Cover, Walls, and Floor Hold It In
The insulated cover, cabinet, and base keep that heat from escaping out the top, sides, or bottom of the spa.
In an Outage, the Water Protects the Equipment
If the power goes out in January, the flow reverses. Hundreds of gallons of hot water radiate their stored heat back into the cabinet, helping keep the pipes and equipment above freezing.
Why It Matters in Minnesota
A hot tub here doesn't get a winter off. Here's how a full-foam spa and an Arctic Spas FreeHeat spa compare on the things Minnesota owners care about most.
| What Matters | Typical Full-Foam Spa | Arctic Spas With FreeHeat™ |
|---|---|---|
| Pump heat | Gets trapped in foam or vented outside | Kept in the cabinet and used to warm the water |
| Winter energy use | Heater has to make up for heat that's lost | Recirculated pump heat and a sealed envelope means the heater runs less |
| Power outage | Exposed or foam-locked plumbing has less protection | Equipment sits in a warm, insulated pocket heated by the water - A space heater can also be added in the equipment cavity to keep the spa warm |
| Service and repairs | Often requires cutting through foam both to locate and to repair a leak | Removable Total Access™ cabinet doors; nothing buried in foam |
| Site prep | Often needs a concrete pad | Forever Floor® base; no concrete pad required for hot tubs |
Lower Winter Energy Use
A hot tub's biggest operating cost is keeping the water hot through the cold months. FreeHeat reuses heat the spa is already producing and stops it from leaking out the top, sides, and bottom, so the heater runs less when it's coldest outside.
Freeze Protection During Power Outages
The real nightmare for a Minnesota spa owner isn't a high electric bill. It's a winter storm, a power outage, and frozen, cracked plumbing. Because FreeHeat keeps all the critical equipment inside a warm, insulated pocket, Arctic Spas designs its tubs to hold off freezing far longer than a spa with exposed or foam-locked equipment.
Easier, Less Expensive Service
Nothing is buried in foam, and Arctic's Total Access™ cabinet uses removable doors. A technician can see and reach the pumps, plumbing, and fittings directly instead of cutting into insulation. Over the life of a spa, that adds up.
Simpler Installation
Because the Forever Floor® base is sealed and insulated, Arctic Spas hot tubs don't require a concrete pad. (All-Weather Pools still do.) Ask us what base makes sense for your yard.
Shopping for a Spa? Ask Every Dealer These Questions
Whatever brand you're considering, these questions will tell you a lot about how a spa will handle a Minnesota winter:
- Where does the heat from the pumps go? Is it captured and used, or vented out?
- Is the plumbing buried in foam? What does a repair look like?
- What happens if the power goes out for a day in January?
- How thick is the cover, and how does it keep water out of the foam?
- Does the spa need a concrete pad?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does FreeHeat™ replace the hot tub's heater?
No. Every Arctic Spa still has a heater. FreeHeat reduces how often it needs to run by recycling pump heat and holding onto the heat you've already paid for.
Is FreeHeat™ an add-on option?
FreeHeat is the default way Arctic Spas builds its hot tubs; it is already included in the price of the spa. The insulated cover, cabinet, and floor work together as one system. Stop in and we'll show you how it's built on the specific models you're considering.
Will my electric bill spike in the winter?
Every hot tub uses more energy when it's cold, but FreeHeat is designed to keep that increase in check. Arctic Spas builds its tubs to be energy efficient in climates even colder than ours.
Will an Arctic Spa freeze if the power goes out?
FreeHeat is designed to keep the equipment and plumbing protected for much longer than a typical spa by using the heat stored in the water. For a long outage in extreme cold, keep the cover closed and contact us.
Can I see FreeHeat™ in person?
Yes. We have Arctic Spas on display in our Chanhassen showroom, and we're happy to open a cabinet door and show you exactly what's inside.
See FreeHeat™ in Person in Chanhassen
Premier Pool & Spa is the Twin Cities' Arctic Spas showroom. Come see the lineup, look inside a cabinet, and talk through which model fits your yard and your winter.
Premier Pool & Spa
2985 Water Tower Place
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Call: 952-368-6070 · Text: 612-293-8609
Images and video courtesy of Arctic Spas®. FreeHeat™, Mylovac™, Forever Floor®, Total Access™, and Arctic Spas® are trademarks of Blue Falls Manufacturing.
