November 26, 2024 Ezra Sudario

How to Light a Sauna

Lighting a sauna is one of the perfect ways to liven your sauna experience. With the right lights, you can create an ambient atmosphere for the most relaxing sauna experience. It also helps to create a safe environment for sauna goers.

However, unlike traditional rooms, sauna lights should be soft and dim to create a calming atmosphere during sauna sessions. In fact, the softer, the better. You also need to position the sauna strategically to avoid accidents, especially if you use it for social purposes or have kids.

In this article, we’ll cover:

Why you need a sauna light
The best places for sauna lights and
The two main types of lighting solutions for the perfect experience.

Let’s get started!

What is The Purpose Of Sauna Lighting?

Generally, the Sauna is a dark and natural place. Lights help to create a cozy ambiance and improve the safety of sauna goers. However, it’s important not to over-illuminate the sauna as you would other rooms in your home, as bright lights can easily disrupt the atmosphere and distract the sauna goers. Instead, the focus should be on setting the right mood with subtle, warm lighting that provides the most relaxing sauna experience.

The best sauna lighting solutions are dimmable — you should be able to adjust the brightness when needed. For instance, if you need to clean the sauna or have someone with visual impairments enter it, you can increase the brightness. Otherwise, keep the lighting dim to maintain the ambiance.

To achieve this, you have to install the lights strategically in different places. You can embed the lights behind the seating structures during sauna sessions and separate lights on the ceiling when you need to clean or brighten the sauna.

Where Should I Place My Sauna Lights?

In general, the lights should be placed and pointed so that the upper parts of the sauna and the sitting level of the benches are twilight, but your steps or step ladder and walking paths are bright enough to be safe. It should look like this:

One principle of sauna lighting is illuminating sauna features, not the sauna-goers. Usually, the outlines of the seating structures are illuminated. Since the sauna heater is always the heart of the sauna, the stove area might be lighted or spotlighted.

There’s a caveat, though. The sauna heater is always scorching, and you risk burning yourself when you hit it. The tricky thing about this is that putting lights near the stove exposes them to the highest heat and humidity, which can be risky. So, you need to be extra careful when placing the lights on the stove area and only do it when necessary.

Also, depending on your area, building codes usually prohibit installing electric lights near the sauna heater. Be sure to confirm this before you place the lights there.

Personally, I would embed some light bars behind the backrest, benches, and safety railings (or support handles if you have them). Then, I’d place dimmable lights on the roof to keep the interiors dim during the bath and bright when kids or people with visual impairments are in the sauna.

Pro Tip: When you’re placing your sauna lights, think about their accessibility. Even though we hope that your lights last long, you might need to change something once in a while. You need this to keep the lights in a place that’s easily accessible without dismantling the whole sauna.

What Kind Of Lighting Equipment Is Used In Saunas?

We have two great options for sauna lighting systems - special LED lights and Fiber Optics.

LED Lights

LED lights are the most popular option for sauna lighting. They are wired with temperature-rated wires and can handle temperatures up to 125C or 257°F. However, these lights need to be at least IP44-rated and capable of handling high temperatures. Otherwise, there are no restrictions.

As we discussed before, the most common way to illuminate sauna structures is with special LED light strips. If you live in the US, we have some Universal Light Kits available that work well for our customers.

These low-voltage LED strips are waterproof and heat-resistant, so you can use them anywhere inside the sauna (check the previous section for our disclaimer on the heaters). The wire is equally flexible, and you can cut it to any length to illuminate your benches, support handles, or backrests.

We also have some LED sauna lighting systems for the sauna ceilings. If you’re not in the US, ask your contractor to get you quality LED lighting strips.

Fiber Optic Lighting

This is the second most popular sauna lighting solution. Fiber optics have a separate light source, such as an LED or halogen light, that sends the light to the fiber. This means that fiber optics only transmit light. They’re not electronic devices, which makes them perfect for saunas, pools, and spas.

The fiber optic light source can be hidden inside the wall or moved to another room entirely. This allows for safe, reliable lights that don’t mind hot or humidity at all since they’re not actually electronic devices.

Fiber optic lights can be purchased from well-stocked hardware stores like Home Depot or specialized lighting stores. However, this is not the most common lighting solution outside wet areas, so you might have to search a bit.

Note: Keep in mind that building codes, which differ in each state, might restrict what kind of lights you can install close to the sauna heater. So, ensure you confirm this before hitting the market for one.

Conclusion

Sauna lights are just what you need to create the optimal soothing experience. For best results, fix them into fixtures that cast the lights into the surface and can create a warm glow that makes the sauna aesthetically pleasing. This can be behind the benches, along the rails, or under seating areas. The best lights are dimmable, and you can easily adjust them to your comfort level.

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