Does Your Small Outdoor Sauna
Need Insulation?
More and more homeowners have turned their attention to saunas. So, if you're planning to purchase or have recently bought an outdoor sauna, you might need to do a bit of research when it comes to insulation.
Do you need a drain, or will you install additional insulation? How much electricity is needed? You must understand when you require insulation and when you do not and how to install it. This guide will look at everything you need to know about your small outdoor sauna and whether or not it needs insulation.
The Science Behind Outdoor Sauna insulation
As per the second law of thermodynamics, heat usually flows naturally from a higher-temperature region or object to a lower-temperature area or object. When it comes to saunas, if the heat in your small outdoor sauna can escape to a cooler region, it will. Insulation helps prevent heat from escaping your small outdoor sauna.
Moreover, if the warm air comes up against cooler walls, condensation occurs, which could damage the stunning wood of your sauna. Even if you reside in warm climate regions, the outdoor temperature is not likely as warm as your outdoor sauna's interior.
For instance, if you set your sauna even in a low-temperature range of 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit, it's not feasible that your setting will be that warm throughout. Most sauna users fancy sauna temperatures of around 150 degrees Fahrenheit or higher; condensation and heat escape is unavoidable without proper insulation. So, insulation offers resistance to heat flow.
Benefits of Using Sauna Insulation
Authentic Sauna Feel
Your small outdoor sauna feels more solid with a vapor barrier with the correct insulation and sealing. It provides a more realistic experience as stated by many traditional outdoor sauna fans.
Moisture Will Not Leak
Insulation helps keep your small outdoor sauna from tracking moisture and prevents corrosion which can damage the interior wood. Keeping your sauna dry also helps prevent mildew, mold, and rust that accumulate when your sauna isn't insulated correctly.
Moreover, preventing moisture leaks helps keep the heat inside as well. Therefore, the more insulated your sauna is, the less energy it will require to heat up or cool down if using an electric model.
Holds Heat Inside
Insulation helps hold the heat inside your small outdoor sauna. Insulation can be made using various materials such as cedar shavings, wood chips, sand and rocks, reflective foil, foam panels, or bubble wrap.
Insulation also helps protect the wood from moisture damage. It keeps the wood warm and dry by preventing heat loss via the convection currents generated when air flows through the construction gaps. Therefore, the more insulation in your sauna, the more heat retention instead of heat loss through radiation or conduction.
Do You Need Sauna Insulation?
If you've already purchased a pre-built sauna or a sauna kit, you must wonder if insulation is included. You might have come across many manufacturers touting the "heat-insulating properties" of the wood used, such as cedar.
Some sauna types, such as barrel sauna or thermally modified saunas are built for the outdoors and do not need insulation for ideal performance. More details about each sauna type are below.
Barrel Saunas
Barrel saunas have several features that allow them to maximize and retain heat without insulation. These include:
Shape: The circular design of barrel saunas causes the warm air to rise continuously and cool air to fall. This implies that the air is constantly moving and being reheated, allowing it to maintain internal temperatures more effectively. Besides, snow and rain do not accumulate due to the rounded roof, making the roof cold.
Area: Even with the same outdoor dimensions, barrel saunas have around 23% less internal area to heat compared to cabin-style or shed saunas.
Wooden Staves: The long wooden planks encircling the cylindrical front and back walls offer some insulation on their own. This is because they're specially designed to fit together more tightly compared to cabin-style saunas.
Thermally Modified Wood Barrel Saunas
Some wood types keep heat in more effectively, especially ones that have been thermally modified, such as Thermory Saunas and Forever Saunas.
The process of thermal modification means the wood has been heated to greater than ~356°F (or, 180°C), which releases moisture and then its chemical composition is completely transformed. This induces chemical and structural changes provide endless benefits to your sauna, such as:
-
increased strength and durability
-
better stability by lowering the wood’s absorbency capacity
-
strengthens bio-resistance to protect it from pests and microorganisms
-
increases heat efficiency
SIGN UP. SAVE BIG.
Subscribe to be the first to know about our special monthly sauna sales, sent right to your inbox.
Pod Saunas
As the name suggests, pod saunas have a raindrop shape, flat on the bottom and rounded on the top. It is crucial to insulate your pod sauna because it is not as effectively designed as barrel saunas. Although they're somewhat similar to barrel saunas due to their rounded roofs that allow snow and rain to slide off, reducing the cold outdoor temperature, they lack the perks of a fully circular shape. As a result, they lack the best conventional heating. Moreover, they have interior regions similar to the cabin-style saunas.
Cabin Saunas
Cabin saunas usually are rectangular or square and require venting or fans sometimes for the best air circulation patterns for convection. Cabin saunas aren't designed for heat retention despite the construction material used and should be insulated for optimal performance. The staves of a shed sauna aren't as closely fitted as in rounded saunas, with their flat roofs allowing rain and slow accumulation in the winter weather.
Luna Saunas
Luna saunas are rectangular or square but with rounded corners for aesthetic appeal. They're similar to cabin saunas and require insulation to help retain heat and prevent the formation of condensation.
What Does the R-value Mean for Sauna Insulation?
Now that you know you require insulation, how do you determine the best type of insulation, and what is R-value? R-value measures thermal resistance, or how well a material prevents heat from passing through. A higher R-value implies superior insulation; for an outdoor sauna, the ideal R-values are R26 for ceiling insulation and R19 for walls.
These acclaimed values prevent the warm air from escaping, preventing condensation from forming on your small outdoor sauna walls, and destroying the beautiful wood. Several insulation types are available, but only a few might work for your small outdoor sauna.
Types of Sauna insulation
Numerous insulation types are available at any hardware store, but only a few can work in an outdoor sauna. If you're wondering what insulation type you want to use in your small outdoor sauna, read on for some pros and cons to help you make the ideal choice. Read on!
Paper-backed Fiberglass Rolls
You might be familiar with the puffy pink fiberglass sauna insulation. This is because of their low price point and an R-value of 2.9-3.8 per inch. While it's ideal for heat retention, fiberglass has several disadvantages:
-
It sheds glass splinters that can damage your lungs and skin. As a result, you must wear protective gear and work with it carefully.
-
It comes with a paper backing that encourages moisture retention, which is counterproductive to insulating your small outdoor sauna.
If you choose this option, ensure you purchase it "naked" without the paper backing and wear protective equipment.
Insulation Boards
Insulation boards made of extruded polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, or polyisocyanurate have high R-values. They are easier to install than cotton or fiberglass insulation. It is advisable not to use expanded polystyrene foam because they contain air bubbles that retain moisture and cause problems.
On the other hand, polyiso boards have R-values between 7.0-8.0 per inch of thickness. They have reflective foils on sides, providing water resistance and heat reflection.
Recycled Cotton
Recycled cotton insulation is made from recycled textiles, mostly jeans explaining its blue coloring. This option is more expensive compared to fiberglass. Still, there is no risk of handling the material or paper. The recycled-cotton insulation has an R-value of 3.0-3.7 per inch, slightly higher than that of fiberglass, which explains the extra cost.
Vapor Barriers
The vapor barriers used in most homes are often made of plastic. However, this wouldn't work in your small outdoor sauna due to the high moisture and temperatures. The best insulation for a sauna is an aluminum foil vapor barrier. It prevents moisture from reaching your wall studs and insulation. It comes with the added advantage of reflecting heat into your sauna.
Applying the vapor barrier over insulation is essential, and it is a crucial step that you shouldn't overlook.
How to insulate a sauna
Your outdoor sauna's ceiling, floor, and walls may require various insulation types and installation methods. So, if unsure, it's best to consult a sauna service professional or manufacturer for further assistance.
If you decide to go the DIY way, read for some specific tips to add insulation to your small outdoor sauna.
Flooring
It's important to be thorough when insulating your outdoor sauna. But do you need to insulate the floor? It's not always mandatory to insulate your outdoor sauna's floor. Scientifically, warm air rises while cool air falls to the ground.
Thus, the heat won't escape from the floor, but condensation may occur there. However, since your floor isn't made of wood, floor condensation isn't a call for alarm in terms of damaging the sauna.
In most instances, the subfloor is made of concrete, and the ideal flooring option includes non-slip floor mats and tiles.
Ceiling
Much of the heat in a ceiling is lost through the ceiling because warm air rises. This worsens if a layer of snow or cold rain accumulates on the sauna roof. Therefore, your outdoor sauna's ceiling should be insulated to an R-value of 26R and further sheltered by a vapor barrier. It's, therefore, essential to use polyiso boards with a high R-value to meet the 26R requirement.
Don't substitute a vapor barrier with a polyiso, although it has a reflective foil. So, if you decide to use it, it's important to cover it with a foil vapor barrier required for outdoor sauna use.
Walls
Although most of the heat is lost via the ceiling, a substantial amount is also lost through the uninsulated sauna walls. As a result, your sauna walls should be insulated to an R-value of 19R, which again calls for polyiso boards. However, you can use recycled cotton batt insulation if you want something more affordable. Remember to cover it with a foil sauna vapor barrier.
In Conclusion, Most Pre-Built Models Will Not Need Sauna Insulation
Insulation is really only necessary if you are building a DIY sauna from scratch, which will make the heat inside more stable, and will prevent moisture from leaking.
However, if you are buying a pre-built outdoor sauna that is a barrel shape or made with thermally modified wood (such as a Thermory Saunas or Forever Saunas), you can be confident they can handle any type of weather without insulation. Check out our collection of outdoor barrel saunas for more information.
Let customers speak for us
I haven't even built this sauna yet (Rainelle), but I have to give an ENORMOUS shoutout to Adora and especially KELLY for their help on this one. This was a big purchase for us, and these ladies went way out of their way to make it work out for us. The first sauna that showed up was badly damaged in shipping, and from what it sounds like - that is not typical. At all. So Kelly helped us to get it squared away, and it took what could have been a horrible customer experience into a fantastic one. Give this woman a raise!
We really like our sauna! Quality of the sauna seems decent. The quality of the accessories was not! The back recliner was all busted up out of the box.
My wife and I would occasionally sit in the sauna at our gym after a workout. It was hot but a little gross. I can't tell you how many times we bailed on the gym sauna session because someone else was playing their phone too loud, someone was breathing like they were gasping for air, someone decided to be shirtless in public, someone is weird or any number of other reasons. Loved the sauna feeling but HATED the gym sauna.
We bought a sauna for our home and installed it in our basement to escape the gym sauna experience. We absolutely love it! We sauna daily. Without the angst and frustration of hoping to avoid an awkward gross experience at the gym sauna.
If you are considering a sauna purchase, spend a little extra and get the WIFI enabled heater. This is the best way to make sure you get the benefit of owning a sauna. The app on our phone is easy to use. Just click the on/off button on the app and set your temperature to your desire. I like 171. My wife likes 153. Once it hits the temperature, the app will let you know. You can even turn on your sauna while you are on the way home from the gym. The WIFI version and the app make all the difference in usability and enjoyment of your investment. If we did not have the app and the WIFI version, we probably would probably skip 2/3 of the sessions we currently take.
The sauna is well made. Wood quality is excellent. Very few knots and blemishes. Hillsboro Almost Heaven saunas are a great choice for quality components, solid electronics, easy to use controls and an enjoyable sauna experience.
This is a standard kit sauna. I made several modifications but I am very satisfied with it so far. I have a few shingles left to install tomorrow and then will move onto to interior. MSW has been easy to work with and I recommend them.
I really love this sauna. I use it about four times a week to help me wind down before bed and calm my ego. Customer service at MySaunaWorld was great.
Assembly took me roughly 8–10 hours total over two days, and I’m not a particularly handy person. The step by step instructions video was straightforward and easy to follow.
I paired the sauna with the HUUM Drop 9 heater (the largest HUUM Drop), and it performs very well. I hired an electrician to install it (about $900 extra). It easily heats the sauna to 190°F plus. I personally like it around 180°F, which it reaches in about an hour. Also, you can pour water over the hot rocks to make the air hotter and steamier. Make sure to mount it low so that it can heat everything above it. (I mounted mine 6” from the ground to the base of the heater.) I love that I can start heating the sauna from my iPhone, even when I’m not on my home Wi-Fi.
I got the double-bench configuration going across the back of the sauna which lets two people lay down. The area around the lower bench is cooler which is nice to have different temperature seating options.
The sauna looks fantastic, smells great, and feels solid. I would recommend this sauna to a friend.
We love our new Almost Heaven Pinnacle barrel sauna!
Delivery was perfect, the assembly was a breeze, and the sauna fits perfectly in our space.
The only regret we have is not to have made this purchase 10 years ago!
I had been thinking about installing a sauna for quite some time. I kept going back and forth between framing one in or a prefab that I assemble. I spent several weeks going over the various websites looking at designs for both and writing out the pros/cons for each. After much deliberation, I reached out to My Sauna World to purchase an Almost Heaven Greyson.
It came way sooner than expected which was a good thing, so I had to arrange for my electrician. I assembled it very easily, with my wife holding just one panel, and then I ran into a problem. The last wall was short. It took a lot of head scratching and measuring and remeasuring as well as back and forth communication with both My Sauna World and Almost Heaven. It turned out that I had been sent 2 glass panels that were the same dimension when the 2 glass panels are actually designed with different dimensions. The new panel was sent out without question, and the rest of the assembly went easy.
I will say that the folks at My Sauna World were extremely responsive and did a great job as liaison back to the manufacturer.
Overall, I had a really positive experience, and we are very happy with the Greyson with the Harvia Spirit 8kW stove.
We also have the duckboard flooring (that is a must) sitting on top of the concrete floor. The back and leg rest are also recommended.
Note: this is advertised as a 3-4 person but in reality it is a good 2 person. And lastly, I grew up with sauna my whole life, starting with my grandpa’s wood burning sauna. This non insulated Greyson type will not get up to the same temperatures, but it does get the job done. Very pleased with the product and do recommend (to frame one in my self and buy a pre-cut kit would have cost a few thousand more overall)
Their customer service is refreshing in a world where most companies fail miserably with service. They should teach customer service to other companies and government agencies. We have only tested the actual product to make sure it works, but along the way, we had multiple questions and the replies were quick and helpful. The sauna was easy to assemble.
Frankly, I was stunned at the quality of this product. Equally stunning is how easily everything fits together. It’s well and I’m looking to an improved lifestyle.
Back rests are a nice size and fit perfectly in my Lugano 3-person sauna. They are very comfortable (especially considering they are wood) and make sitting in the sauna an even more pleasant experience. To think that they were added in free to my purchase of the sauna is hard to believe. Very pleased with customer service from My Sauna World.com !
Well built, good quality, reliable, and matches my barrel sauna very well
I purchased this since it was significantly more affordable than from the brands website. It arrived quickly and is function perfect. It's easy to install and looks great. I had issues with water leaking into the sauna before that used to annoy me. Now it stays completely dry and the wood also is protected from damage and weathering.
The best Sauna ever, and the quickest delivery, 100% recommend !!!!
Works exactly as advertised. Easy install and perfect coverage. Highly recommend.
Very good customer service. My sauna came as expected.