Hot tub electrical requirements

It depends on the breaker, the type of wire and the length of the run, so the maker's guide and your electrician decide it. Jacuzzi's guide asks for copper of at least 6 AWGAWGAmerican Wire Gauge, the wire size. A smaller number is a thicker wire: 6 AWG is thicker than 8. The electrician sizes it for the breaker and the run.In the glossary → on a 50 A circuit, with longer runs needing heavier wire, and recommends against aluminum.

The wire type matters because the same copper carries different currents depending on its insulation and the terminals it lands on. In Cerrowire's ampacity chart, 8 AWG copper is rated 40 A as household NM-B cable but 50 A as THWN wire at 75°C; 6 AWG is rated 55 A and 65 A. That is why two installation guides can name different gauges for the same breaker.

As the Municipality of Anchorage's building handout summarizes Article 680 of the National Electrical Code:

• The disconnect must be within sight of the tub and at least 5 ft from its inside wall (680.13).
• No receptacle within 6 ft of the inside wall of an outdoor tub, and GFCI on every receptacle within 20 ft (680.22).
• At least one 15- or 20-amp receptacle between 6 and 20 ft away (680.22).
• A plug-in tub may use a cord of up to 15 ft, protected by a GFCI (680.42).
• 22.5 ft between overhead power lines and the water (680.9).
• GFCI protection on the outlet that supplies the tub, unless the tub is listed with its own (680.44).

The separate emergency shutoff switch in 680.41 does not apply at a one-family home, per EC&M's summary of the 2020 code. Local codes amend the NEC and adopt different editions; the permit and the inspection settle what applies to your yard.

38 listings we track mention a GFCI subpanel shipped with the tub, and 19 a GFCI cord. Read the electrical page of the model's manual to see what yours includes and what the electrician supplies.