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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.
Spirit Series 6kW Sauna Heater, Black, 240V/1PH The elegantly curved shape of the Harvia 6kW Spirit SP60E sauna heater has a natural, organic desig...
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Harvia KIP 80W sauna heater with external controller Suitable for sauna rooms up to 425 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be the...
View full detailsHarvia KIP 80B sauna heater with integrated controller Suitable for sauna rooms up to 425 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be t...
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Harvia KIP 60W sauna heater with external controller Suitable for sauna rooms up to 300 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be the...
View full detailsHarvia KIP 60B sauna heater with build-in controllers Suitable for sauna rooms up to 300 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be th...
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Harvia KIP 45W sauna heater with external controller Suitable for sauna rooms up to 210 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be the...
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Harvia KIP 45B sauna heater with integrated controllers Suitable for sauna rooms up to 210 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP might be ...
View full detailsHarvia KIP 30W sauna heater with external controller (sold separately) Suitable for sauna rooms up to 130 cubic feet (CF). About Harvia KIP series ...
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Harvia KIP 30B sauna heater with integrated controller Suitable for small sauna rooms up to 130 cubic feet. About Harvia KIP series Harvia KIP migh...
View full detailsHarvia Club K15G Commercial Sauna Heater The Harvia Club sauna heater can produce steam for larger groups from morning to evening. Sauna heaters fo...
View full detailsHarvia Club K12.5G Sauna Heater - suitable for commercial and large home saunas The Harvia Club sauna heater can produce steam for larger groups fr...
View full detailsHarvia Club K10G Electric Sauna Heater for home or commercial use. The Harvia Club sauna heater can produce steam for larger groups from morning to...
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Cilindro Half Series 9kW Sauna Heater with external controller Harvia Cilindro PC90E is a stylish pilar-type sauna heater suitable for home or comm...
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View full detailsHarvia KIP80W Electric Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia KIP80W Electric Sauna Heater x 1 ...
View full detailsHarvia KIP60W Electric Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia KIP60W Electric Sauna Heater x 1 ...
View full detailsHarvia KIP45W Electric Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia KIP45W Electric Sauna Heater x 1 ...
View full detailsHarvia KIP30W Electric Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia KIP30W Electric Sauna Heater x 1 ...
View full detailsHarvia Club K15G Electric Sauna Heater Package for home or commercial use. This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia Cl...
View full detailsHarvia Club K12.5G Electric Sauna Heater Package for home or commercial use. This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia ...
View full detailsHarvia Club K10G Electric Sauna Heater Package for home or commercial use. This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia Clu...
View full detailsHarvia Cilindro Series 9kW Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia Cilindro PC90E 240V/1PH Sauna ...
View full detailsCilindro Half Series 9kW Sauna Heater with integrated controller Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia Cilin...
View full detailsHarvia Cilindro Series 8kW Sauna Heater Package This package includes everything you need to run your sauna: Harvia Cilindro PC80E 240V/1PH Sauna ...
View full detailsElectric 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.