Browsing around for the best sauna heaters in North America can feel both exciting and confusing. It means that you are installing a brand new sauna, or perhaps fixing a current one, for in-home use. The perks to an in-home sauna are countless, both in terms of mental and physical well-being. But there are a lot of considerations to choosing the right sauna heater for your home.
Heat-Up Time
If you only have a short amount of time to spend in the sauna before heading off to your next commitment, heat-up is an important consideration. Even if you have all the time in the world, nobody wants to spend hours on end waiting for the sauna to heat up to the appropriate temperature. In the past, traditional saunas would heat so slowly that they could take nearly all day to reach the proper temperature.
Nowadays, it’s very rare to find a sauna that takes longer than 30-45 minutes to heat up. However, there are some modern models that can take as long as an hour to heat up, so it’s important to do your research. Larger sauna heaters tend to be more powerful, so if a short heat-up time is important to you, spend a bit more cash on a larger heating unit.
Power Source
If you choose an electric sauna heater, which many people do, you’ll need to consider your power source. Electric saunas are heated through an electric power source, and depending on the heater size and type you choose, they can use quite a bit of electricity while in use. The larger your sauna room, the larger your heater needs to be, and the more electricity it will use.
Materials Used
The materials used to construct a sauna heater have two main purposes: aesthetics and function. Depending on the way your sauna room is laid out, you might not even see the sauna heater. But if you do have eyes on the sauna heater while spending time in the room, it is important that it is aesthetically pleasing, rather than looking like a piece of junk.
More importantly, the materials used need to be high in quality and durable. Your heater needs to be built to last since it is what makes the sauna, well, a sauna. Without a properly running heater, you can kiss your in-home sauna days goodbye. The most durable sauna heaters will cost a bit more, but spending more money upfront often means you won’t need to spend on repairs or replacements.
Sauna Controlling Device
Cheaper electric sauna heaters will come with built-in controls found at the bottom of the unit. This means you’ll need to enter the sauna to turn the heater on, wait for it to heat up, and then spend time in the room. The main problem with this comes about when you go to turn the heater off. Since the controls are located close to the heating unit, they tend to get very hot. External controls, although more expensive, are the more convenient and safer option.
