Perfect Sun Wolff System tanning bedsPerfect Sun Wolff System home tanning beds
Electricity PDF Print E-mail

In the simplest form, a tanning bed is a large lamp fixture. It requires electricity just like other lights. One thing to consider when purchasing a tanning bed for your home is how to power it.

120 Volt vs. 220 Volt

Most houses are wired with 120 Volt, 15Amp outlets in the walls. The 2000S, 16B and 16D will work fine on these circuits with no modification. But as the beds get larger, they need more power. The 16E, 24P, 32P and 26C still run on 120 Volts, but require a 20Amp circuit. The 28 2F runs on 220 Volts, much like an electric dryer or oven range. It is very important to provide the proper power for your home tanning bed.

Impact on electric bills

While a tanning bed may be compared to a large appliance in power requirement, in actuality it will not run nearly as long nor as often as other appliances. The actual impact to your electric bill is quite minimal. Let's look at the figures...

Perfect Sun 28 2F uses 17Amps on a 220VAC circuit
17A x 220V = 3740 Watts
3740W ÷ 100 = 37.4 Kilowatts
The national average cost per Kilowatt Hour is around 8¢
37.4 Kilowatts × .18 hours (11 minutes)
= 6.9 Kilowatt hours
8¢ per KH × 6.9 KH = 55¢ per session

Dedicated circuit

Most household electrical outlets are strung together in a "daisy chain". That means one outlet is connected to another which is connected to another and so on to the end of the run of wire. A single circuit breaker in your breaker panel could be connected to many outlets throughout your home. The thinking is, you will never have something plugged in and running in all the outlets at once. For the short time a tanning bed is running it will need most of the power on its circuit. Therefore it is highly recommended that the supply power is on a dedicated circuit. This means the circuit breaker is connected directly to the outlet or junction box the tanning bed is plugged into, and nothing else. This reduces the risk of overloading the electrical circuits.

Certified electrician

Since most houses are not wired with dedicated circuits, much less 220 Volt power to anything but a dryer or oven, one must be provided. You may need to hire a certified electrician to wire the outlet(s) properly before operating the tanning bed. Below is a table showing exactly what type of power each home tanning bed needs.

Buck-boosters

This section only applies to the Perfect Sun 28 2F: Voltage drops as it travels through wire. How far your house is from the electrical sub-station, how far your house is from the power pole, how far the tanning bed is from the breaker box, etc. will all affect the voltage reading at the tanning bed. Where you live in the country and the season will also affect voltage. Think of the last time your lights dimmed when the air conditioner turned on. For that reason you must get an accurate voltage reading where the tanning bed will be placed.

Buck-boosters lower (buck) or raise (boost) voltage to compensate for these fluctuations. While higher voltage results in more tanning power, you must keep the voltage below 230V for proper operation of the tanning bed. Continued use above 230V may damage the unit and void your warranty. Once you have your voltage reading, please contact your tanning consultant to choose the correct Buck-Booster if required.

 

Tanning Bed Voltage Outlet
SunQuest 2000S 120VAC, 15A NEMA #5-15RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 16E 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 16B 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 16D 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 24P 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 26CP 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 32P 120VAC, 20A NEMA #5-20RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds
Perfect Sun 28 2F 220VAC, 30A NEMA #L6-30RElectrical outlets for home tanning beds

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 5-15R standard household outlet
NEMA #5-15R

The NEMA #5-20R outlet
NEMA #5-20R

The NEMA #L6-30R 220 volt outlet
NEMA #L6-30R