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Are infrared sauna heaters the right way for you to power your home sauna?
Finding a sauna dealer with the right infrared sauna system may take some digging. Infrared saunas heaters are very popular and several sauna dealers carry this type of sauna exclusively. Many kits are available and extremely easy to put together. Some units are even pre-assembled. Your hardest job may be having to decide which kit is right.
If you prefer to custom design your own FIR unit having too many choices won’t be a problem. Finding the infrared sauna heaters sold seperatly may in fact be your problem. In combing the internet I came up with only two sources to buy just the heating units. The reason may be the complicated nature of figuring out the correct placement, size/power ratio and instillation. If this sound like your kind of challenge then here are some things to consider:
In this case the distribution is more important than the power. Infrared rays don't circulate like heat does. The benefit comes from direct exposure to the rays. Be sure the emitters are are distributed so that your entire body will be exposed to the rays. I did run across one formula to calculate the wattage but I am also aware of references that make this formula highly suspect. For what it's worth here it is. 17 Watts are needed for each cubic ft. of sauna space. A 4 x 4 x 6 space = 96 cubic ft. This requires about 1632 Watts of power.You want multiple emitters spread around the sauna to distribute the light, so for a 1632 Watt system you want 10 163 Watt units instead of 2 800 Watt emitters.
Heater Quality
There are 2 common types of infrared sauna heaters: ceramic and steel coated (incoloy).Ceramic heaters are better for saunas. They produce more of their heat in the Far Infrared (FIR) form, which is what you want. More of their FIR is in the wavelength range (7-13 microns) that creates deep penetrating heat best. Check the expected lifespan of the emitters. They are expensive to replace. 10,000 hours should be the minimum. Some emitters are 110 Volt and some are 220 Volt. Be sure to check before buying.
Price Range
By the time you get all the emitters, housings, reflectors wiring and controls you can spend close to $1,000 just for the infrared sauna heaters to power a 2 person unit.For not much more than this a sauna dealer will sell you the complete unit with the heaters included.I tend to prefer building things "from scratch" but in this case it seems like the complete kit is the way to go.
There are many easily constructed and relatively inexpensive sauna kits that use infrared sauna heaters. If you talk to a good sauna dealers they will help you find the package that is right for you.
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