Heat
Home saunas, from a $969 wood stove to a $14,000 aluminium cabin
Barrel, cabin, indoor infrared and the heaters that run them — sizing math, electrical requirements, running costs, and what wood species really costs you over ten years.
A home sauna is two purchases pretending to be one: the room, and the heat source. Most buyers spend six weeks agonising over the first and fifteen minutes on the second, then discover the heater they chose needs a 240V 40A circuit that costs $1,400 to run across the yard.
This section is built to reverse that order. Work out your room volume, size the heater, price the circuit, and only then argue about cedar versus thermowood. The guides below are ordered the way the decision actually happens.
One framing worth having up front: traditional and infrared are different products. A traditional room runs 175–195°F and lets you pour water on hot stones, which is the entire ritual for most people who grew up with it. Infrared warms your tissue directly at 120–150°F, cannot produce steam, and at the small end plugs into a standard outlet. If you have used a gym infrared cabin and found it disappointing, you were not using a bad sauna — you were using a different appliance.
The decisions this section settles
- Barrel, cabin or cube?
- Barrels heat fastest and cost least per person; cabins use the footprint better and look like architecture; cubes split the difference and cost the most per cubic foot.
- Cedar or thermowood?
- Cedar smells better and needs sealing every two to three years outdoors. Thermally modified hemlock or spruce is dimensionally stable and effectively maintenance-free. Over ten years, thermowood wins on cost.
- How many kilowatts?
- Roughly 1 kW per 45–50 cubic feet of insulated room, then add for glass and uninsulated surfaces. An 8 kW heater covers about 400 cubic feet — most 4 to 6 person barrels.
- Electric or wood-fired?
- A wood stove deletes the 240V circuit, which is $800 to $2,000 of the installed cost. It costs you 20 to 30 minutes of tending per session and a chimney.
- Infrared or traditional?
- Infrared heats you at 120–150°F with no steam and plugs into a normal circuit at the small end. Traditional heats the air to 175–195°F and lets you throw water. They are different products, not different price points.
- What does the electrician actually cost?
- A dedicated 240V 40A run to a detached backyard sauna typically lands between $800 and $2,000 depending on trench length and panel capacity. Budget it before you pick a heater.
Guides in this section
Category guide
Barrel saunas: why the shape works, where it fails, and what to pay
The barrel is the cheapest route to a real traditional sauna, and the geometry is the reason. Here is what the curve buys you, what it costs you, and which models are worth the money in 2026.
Buying guide
The best home saunas of 2026: indoor, outdoor and the $2,099 exception
Indoor infrared, outdoor traditional, and the one portable system a renter can actually own. Ranked on installed cost, heat quality and what the circuit costs.
Buying guide
The best outdoor saunas of 2026, ranked by installed cost
We priced every major outdoor sauna in the US market including the heater, the circuit and the pad. The winner is not the one with the best marketing — it is the one that costs least to still own in ten years.
Comparison
Infrared vs traditional sauna: they are different appliances, not price tiers
One heats the air to 190°F and lets you throw water. The other warms your tissue at 130°F and plugs into a wall outlet. Choosing on price is how people end up disappointed.
Sizing guide
Sauna heater sizing: the kW math, the amps, and which heater to buy
How many kilowatts your room needs, what circuit that requires, and why the $1,318 Harvia beats the $1,751 HUUM at identical output. Priced September 2026.
The planner
Get the Recovery Room Planner
A spreadsheet that sizes your heater in kW, prices the 240V circuit, calculates your chiller horsepower for your ambient temperature, and totals the installed cost before you order anything. Free, one email.