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Electric Sauna Heaters

Electric is the most popular sauna heater type for both home saunas and commercial saunas. When choosing your electric sauna heater size, it is important to consider the total cubic feet volume of your sauna, materials used in building it, and the location of the sauna. In colder states like Minnesota, it is usually a good idea to choose a slightly bigger sauna heater than in warmer states like California, just because the temperature outside the sauna room affects the power needed to heat up the sauna. Use our calculator to help determine the correct size.

Sauna Heaters
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    Harvia Virta HL80E Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,634.00 - $1,634.00
    $1,634.00
    $1,634.00 - $1,634.00
    $1,634.00

    Harvia Virta HL80E 8kW Electric Sauna Heater Suitable for sauna rooms from 177 to 431 cubic feet. Harvia Virta is a stylish electric sauna heater t...

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  • Harvia Virta HL60E Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,584.00 - $1,584.00
    $1,584.00
    $1,584.00 - $1,584.00
    $1,584.00

    Harvia Virta HL60E 6kW Electric Sauna Heater Suitable for sauna rooms from 177 to 297 cubic feet. Harvia Virta is a stylish electric sauna heater t...

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  • Harvia Virta HL110E Electric Sauna Heater

    $2,151.00 - $2,151.00
    $2,151.00
    $2,151.00 - $2,151.00
    $2,151.00

    Harvia Virta HL110E 10.5kW Electric Sauna Heater Suitable for sauna rooms from 177 to 635 cubic feet. Harvia Virta is a stylish electric sauna heat...

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  • Harvia Virta Combi HL90SA Steamer & Electric Sauna Heater

    $2,914.00 - $2,914.00
    $2,914.00
    $2,914.00 - $2,914.00
    $2,914.00

    Harvia Virta Combi HL90SA 9kW Electric Sauna Heater and Steamer Combination Suitable for sauna rooms from 177 to 494 cubic feet. Harvia Virta Combi...

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  • Harvia Virta Combi HL8U1SA Steamer & Electric Sauna Heater

    $3,060.00
    $3,060.00 - $3,060.00
    $3,060.00
    $2,797.00
    $2,797.00 - $2,797.00
    $2,797.00

    Virta Combi Series 8.0kW Steamer & Electric Sauna Heater Harvia Virta Combi HL80SA is a stylish and versatile combination of an 8kW electric sa...

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  • Harvia Virta Combi HL110SA Steamer & Electric Sauna Heater

    $2,961.00 - $2,961.00
    $2,961.00
    $2,961.00 - $2,961.00
    $2,961.00

    Harvia Virta Combi HL110SA 10.5kW Steamer & Electric Sauna Heater Suitable for sauna rooms from 177 to 635 cubic feet. Harvia Virta Combi is a ...

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  • Sold out

    Harvia Vega Compact 3500

    $927.00 - $927.00
    $927.00
    $927.00 - $927.00
    $927.00

    Harvia Vega 3.5kW Electric Sauna Heater 120V The second smallest electric sauna heater in Harvia's product range. This 1.9kW sauna heater is engine...

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  • Sold out

    Harvia Vega Compact 1900

    $903.00 - $903.00
    $903.00
    $903.00 - $903.00
    $903.00

    Harvia Vega 1.9kW Electric Sauna Heater 120V The second smallest electric sauna heater in Harvia's product range. This 1.9kW sauna heater is engine...

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  • Sold out

    Harvia Vega Compact 1700

    $903.00 - $903.00
    $903.00
    $903.00 - $903.00
    $903.00

    Harvia Vega 1.7kW Electric Sauna Heater 120V The second smallest electric sauna heater in Harvia's product range. This 1.7kW sauna heater is engine...

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  • Harvia TopClass KV80 240V Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,425.00 - $1,425.00
    $1,425.00
    $1,425.00 - $1,425.00
    $1,425.00

    Harvia TopClass KV 8kW Electric Sauna Heater Harvia TopClass is a wall-mounted stainless steel sauna heater, designed to power medium sized home sa...

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  • Harvia TopClass KV60 240V Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,382.00 - $1,382.00
    $1,382.00
    $1,382.00 - $1,382.00
    $1,382.00

    Harvia TopClass KV 6kW Electric Sauna Heater Harvia TopClass is a wall-mounted stainless steel sauna heater, designed to power small to medium size...

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  • Harvia TopClass KV45 240V Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,366.00 - $1,366.00
    $1,366.00
    $1,366.00 - $1,366.00
    $1,366.00

    Harvia TopClass KV 4.5kW Electric Sauna Heater Harvia TopClass is a wall-mounted stainless steel sauna heater, designed to power small sauna rooms ...

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  • Harvia The Wall SWS80 240V Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,212.30 - $1,446.30
    $1,212.30 - $1,446.30
    $1,212.30 - $1,446.30
    $1,212.30

    Harvia SWS80 The Wall 8kW Electric Sauna Heater Clear, streamlined, Scandinavian minimalistic design makes Harvia Wall the perfect choice for your ...

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  • Harvia The Wall SWS60 240V Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,414.80 - $1,414.80
    $1,414.80
    $1,414.80 - $1,414.80
    $1,414.80

    Harvia SWS60 The Wall 6kW Electric Sauna Heater Clear, streamlined, Scandinavian minimalistic design makes Harvia Wall the perfect choice for your ...

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  • Harvia Spirit SP80E Electric Sauna Heater

    $1,395.00 - $1,395.00
    $1,395.00
    $1,395.00 - $1,395.00
    $1,395.00

    Spirit Series 8kW Sauna Heater, Black The elegantly curved shape of the Harvia 8kW Spirit SP80E sauna heater has a natural, organic design which is...

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Sauna Heater Packages

How do electric sauna heaters work

Electric sauna heaters work on the principle of electrical resistance heating. They utilize an electric current that passes through a resistive heating element, typically made from high-resistance materials like nichrome or kanthal. As electricity passes through this element, the resistance generates heat, known as Joule heating. This heat then radiates to the sauna rocks placed on or around the heating element, which absorb and emit this heat into the sauna room, raising the air temperature. If water is poured on the heated rocks, it quickly evaporates, increasing the humidity and enhancing the sauna experience. Most electric sauna heaters also feature thermostats or digital controls to precisely regulate temperature and potentially include safety mechanisms to prevent overheating.

Replacing your electric sauna heater

Electric sauna heaters need to be replaced every 10-15 years. It’s also not unusual to have to replace the heating elements before replacing the entire sauna heater. Sauna heaters with larger rock capacity usually require replacing the heating elements more often. The reason is that when heating elements are in direct contact with the stones, they can move slightly with the rocks and also get more exposure to minerals in the water thrown onto the stones. However, replacing heating elements is a straightforward process. You can get new ones from us at a very affordable price and change them yourself in a few minutes. Sauna heaters with larger rock capacities also give out better steam, so I would recommend them over the ones with low rock capacity.

Maintaining your electric sauna heater

Most of the sauna owners don’t do any kind of maintenance for their sauna heater, until it breaks down. However, we recommend performing some light maintenance periodically. If you use the sauna every week, we would recommend taking away the rocks and cleaning the sauna heater from dust and debris at least once or twice a year. This helps prevent fire hazards and ensures efficient heating.

Inspect the heating elements periodically to see if there’s any damage to them. If needed, you can replace them easily.

Lastly, make sure your sauna is properly ventilated. Proper ventilation prevents moisture buildup, which can damage the heater and other sauna components. In any case, since you sweat in the sauna and there’s a lot of humidity involved, we recommend cleaning the sauna monthly.

Costs of running an electric sauna heater

Let’s use a small home sauna heater as an example here. If you have a 4.5kw sauna heater running at full power, it consumes 4.5kw of electricity per hour. A typical sauna session, from heating up to being in the sauna, might last 1.5 hours. Here’s what the math would look like:

Local Electricity Rate: The cost of electricity is $0.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). It's important to note that this rate can fluctuate depending on your location and energy provider.

Sauna Session Duration: The typical duration of a sauna session, including heating up and actual usage, is 1.5 hours.

Heater Power: The sauna heater operates at a power level of 4.5 kilowatts (kW) when running at full capacity.

Calculation of Sauna Session Cost: To find out the cost of a single sauna session, multiply the electricity rate per kWh by the session duration in hours and then by the heater's power in kW.

Formula: Cost of sauna session = Electricity rate × Session duration × Heater power

Calculation: 

4.5kW × $0.15/kWh × 1.5 hours = $1.01

Conclusion: Therefore, the cost of a single sauna session with these parameters would be $1.01.

Electric, Gas, or Wood Fired Sauna Heater

Which sauna heater type should you choose? 

If you use your sauna regularly, and want to conveniently heat it up by just a push of a button, you should consider an electric sauna heater. 

In case you want the traditional sauna experience, and you treat the sauna going more like a fun journey from start to finish, and it’s something you might be doing while you’re in your summer house, then a wood-fired sauna stove is the correct choice for you. The smell of burning wood, the sounds and the authenticity of the sauna experience hits you differently with a wood-fired heater. It’s a lot of work to heat the sauna up with a wood fired sauna stove, though, and you need the wood and more time to do it, so it’s not something you want to do every day.

Lastly, there’s a new kid on the block called a gas sauna heater. Gas sauna heaters are extremely reliable  and often favored for their cost-effectiveness and performance in larger outdoor installations. If you have easy access to gas lines and you have a larger outdoor sauna, this is something you might want to consider.

Conclusion

In summary, choosing the right sauna heater involves considering several factors, including the size of your sauna, the place you live in, and your personal preferences regarding the sauna experience. Electric sauna heaters are the most popular choice for any sauna by a huge margin. Please don’t hesitate to contact our sauna experts, we’re passionate about the topic and are definitely interested in talking about saunas with you, regardless of the state of your sauna project.