Heater Types

PLEASE NOTE: A wooden room that only uses these types of heaters are not considered a sauna by definition and are often called infrared rooms or cabins. 

An infrared heating system is based on a person’s body heat rather than the atmospheric heating. Unfortunately, there is much confusion in the market about what they each do and don’t do. It is most common to use these type of heaters in addition to a sauna room for a more targeted area as it was meant for. 

As the authority in all things “sauna”, Nordic Sauna will take the lead and clear up the details of infrared therapy and it’s comparison to a traditional style sauna.

Below we are going to look at the biggest debate, between an infrared room/cabin and a traditional sauna. We will explore the differences between these two room types, and why you may prefer one over the other.

If you enjoy steam, higher temperatures, and a more social environment, then a traditional sauna may be best suitable for you. If you prefer a lower temperature with dry heat, an infrared room may be for you.

Let’s look at the similarities between the rooms and the shared benefits. The goal of bathing in a sauna varies by each person, but let’s assume your goal is to enjoy the benefits of heat bathing, along with relaxation and stress reduction, sweating & relieving aches & pains. Both infrared rooms and traditional sauna provide these benefits, although the way these benefits are achieved is slightly different. It is good to understand that a traditional sauna room has more natural occurring long wave infrared than a man made infrared room. 

Both of these sauna types can be dry. The infrared room tends to be close to normal home humidity levels unless it has been on for an extended period of time. The traditional sauna will be about 10% drier until water is sprinkled over the rocks. A traditional sauna is the only Sauna Bath in the world where the user can control both the temperature and humidity. Humidity is controlled by each user to his individual taste by how much water is thrown on the rocks. In an infrared room you control the temperature, but not the humidity. With this it also shows that an infrared room with only infrared heaters will come up short in the multi-therapeutic aspects a traditional sauna offers. 

In either sauna or infrared room, you will experience deep relaxation, loosened sore muscles, and aching joints will feel relief. Perspiration burns calories, though the exact amount of calories burned is dependent upon each individual. Most of the weight loss in a sauna is water loss and is re-gained easily by hydrating. Without a doubt, either can be a very important part of a healthy weight loss program.

The temperature of a traditional sauna is typically between 150 and 185 F. In the United States, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) dictates that the maximum temperature at ceiling level of the sauna is no more than 194F. This means that the hottest point in the sauna, which is the ceiling directly above the heater, is typically around 190F.

The temperature in an infrared room is usually between 120-140F, however unlike a traditional sauna, the goal in an infrared room is not to achieve a high temperature, but instead, the bather wants the emitters to remain active because infrared energy is only being emitted when the sauna is on. 

In a traditional sauna, perspiration is achieved when the user enters a heated room. When the sauna has been properly heated, the sauna walls are warm(producing long wave infrared naturally), the air temperature has achieved the desired temperature and the rocks(producing long wave infrared naturally) are superheated. The process of heating the room most often involves a wood or electric heater that heats the stones, which then radiate the heat throughout the room along with creating natural long wave infrared. When the high temperature is achieved, the elements cycle on and off to maintain temperature in electric models. Most traditional sauna users pour water over the rocks to create steam & raise humidity levels in the sauna. The benefit of pouring water over the rocks include making the room more comfortable, moistening of the nasal passages, & allowing the use of aromatherapy by mixing water with essential oils. This multi-sensory, multi-therapeutic experience cannot be achieved in an infrared room. 

The heating time for the two rooms can be different, depending on how they are used. For a traditional sauna, the user should allow 30-60 minutes for the room to achieve the desired temperature and to preheat the rocks. The heating time is dependent on the ambient temperature from which the rooms begins heating, the amount of insulation inside the walls, and the ventilation in the room. A well-constructed sauna will typically heat to a 150-160 F temperature in about 30-60 minutes. For a hotter temperature, the room will need to heat for a longer period of time. Once the room has achieved the set temperature, the heater will cycle on and off, typically operating at about 50% of the time. The walls and heated rocks will keep the room hot and at a stable temperature.

For an infrared sauna room, a person may begin using the sauna when the room is turned on since energy is being emitted by the heaters, however many users prefer to wait until the room has reached 110 F. It is not uncommon for a person to spend 20-60 minutes inside an infrared room.

Regardless of which system is used, the user must closely monitor how they feel while using the products and must be sure to drink plenty of after each session. Drinking right before or during the sauna session causes you to sweat out the water you just ingested, instead of releasing toxins built up in the body through sweat.