Which is the Best Sauna Heater - Electric, Wood or Propane?
When it comes to choosing a sauna heater for your traditional sauna, you have plenty of options. The most popular types are electric sauna heaters, wood burning sauna heaters, and gas sauna stoves.
All three sauna heater types are efficient and powerful heat sources, safe to use, and can be used with water to make steam. All heat up the sauna in a similar process - by warming the sauna rocks, which then move heat throughout the space.
Where each of these sauna heaters are different is their power source, installation requirements, and whether or not we recommend them for indoor or outdoor use. This article will give you an in-depth overview of each sauna heater so you can choose which one is the best fit for you.
Electric Sauna Heater Overview & Requirements
An electric sauna heater is the way to go if speed and convenience is a priority. With a flip of a switch, your electric sauna heater will kick into action and be ready for you to use within an hour. A bonus with electric sauna heaters is that they can be upgraded and modified to include WiFi controls. We have an article all about automating your sauna if you want to learn more.
Requirements: Most electric sauna heaters will require hardwire installation. You will need a licensed electrician to connect to an electrical source. Depending on the size of the sauna heater, the majority of electric sauna heaters require 220 volts and about 30-40 amps of power. No chimney is required.
Electric sauna heaters are best for:
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Indoor & Outdoor Saunas
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Smaller-sized saunas
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Wifi Sauna Controls
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Convenience
Top Electric Sauna Heater Recommendations
If you’ve decided an electric sauna heater is for you, below are our top three recommendations from two different sauna heater manufacturers, Harvia and HUUM.
Harvia grew from a small sauna heater workshop in Finland into an award-winning global sauna company in the span of 70 years. Known for their impeccable quality and nod to sauna traditions, Harvia brings innovative approaches to sauna heaters, both electric and wood burning models.
HUUM heaters are made in Estonia, and bring traditional Finnish design into the modern era, utilizing brushed stainless steel elements for beauty and durability.
Harvia KIP is the classic electric sauna heater and comes standard in almost all Almost Heaven Sauna models. It comes in classic chrome with a large stone capacity that provides optimal heat release. The outer casing is designed to stay cool to the touch for more safety even while the heater is in action. The Harvia KIP can be upgraded to include Xenio Digital Control for convenient Wifi access.
Harvia “The Wall” Electric Heater is a sleek wall-mounted heater available in 6KW and 8KW. You have the option to choose between classic stainless steel and all-black stainless.The heater can be easily installed on either the right or left side of your sauna, and includes backlighting to illuminate its controls and highlight its modern aesthetic. It, too, can be upgraded to include Wifi controls.
HUUM sauna heaters boast minimal elegance in their design. By using very little metal, the majority of the heat comes from the heated stones. This, along with large stone capacity, maximizes the amount of steam they produce.
DROP electric sauna heater is an elegant wall-mounted stove in the shape of a water droplet. HUUM heaters have also developed a mobile app, so if you select Wi-fi for your heater control option, you can begin heating your sauna from the comfort of anywhere.
Wood Sauna Heater Overview & Requirements
With the wood logs crackling and the flames dancing, wood burning sauna heaters are perfect if you’re looking for the closest traditional sauna experience. In addition to creating that beautiful ambience, they are especially effective in heating up bigger sauna spaces. This is why wood sauna heaters are recommended for large-size saunas such as 6-person saunas (84”) or larger.
Requirements: Wood-burning sauna heaters require an additional chimney kit (like this one by Harvia or this one by HUUM), and are only appropriate for outdoor use.
Wood sauna heaters are best for:
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Outdoor Saunas
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Larger-sized saunas (6 x 6 or 84”)
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Traditional Ambience of a Crackling Fire
Top Wood Burning Sauna Heater Recommendations
If you’ve decided on a wood burning sauna heater, below is a summary of our top recommendations, again from sauna heater manufacturers, Harvia and HUUM. See our entire wood burning sauna heater collection.
A Harvia M3 wood sauna heater features a graphite black body, stainless steel air-flow spoilers, and tempered glass doors allowing you to see the glowing flames. The M3 is standard and pairs perfectly with the larger 84” barrel saunas, as well any custom sauna builds you may be doing, such as converting an old shed into a sauna space. For larger sauna spaces, we recommend the Legend Wood burning Sauna Heater Series also by Harvia.
HIVE Heat & Wood Models features a rounded, minimalist design, created almost entirely of brushed stainless steel for exceptional durability. The Hive Heat comes in a few sizes as well as the option for a firebox extension, indicated by “LS.”
The firebox extension allows you to load the sauna stove from the outside. This bypasses the need for a chimney connection, which will need to be accounted for otherwise.
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Propane Sauna Heater Overview & Requirements
A natural gas or propane sauna heater is an excellent choice if you are looking for a steady heat source that doesn’t require wood or an electrical hookup. Propane and gas sauna heaters provide a thorough heat. Fed by a gas line or propane tank, a metal plate heats the sauna space up to 175 - 190 Fahrenheit.
Requirements: Propane sauna heaters require a natural gas line or propane tank. They are only appropriate for outdoor use.
Propane sauna heaters are best for:
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Outdoor Saunas
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Larger-sized saunas (6 x 6 or 84”)
Scandia makes the only US-made gas sauna heater.
For those looking for an incredibly efficient and powerful propane sauna heater, the floor-mounted Scandia model is for you.
Which Sauna Heater is Best For You?
As you can see from this detailed sauna heater guide, the best sauna stove for you depends on your personal tastes, sauna size, and where you will be placing your sauna – indoors or outdoors?
Still not able to decide which one is best for you? Reach out to our team – we’d be happy to help with any questions you have and can help pair you with the best sauna heater for your space.
Here are some additional resources to learn more about indoor and outdoor saunas, sauna heaters, and more.
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Top Ideas for Automating a Home Sauna
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6 Steps to Improving the Temperature of Your Outdoor Barrel Sauna
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How a Wood Burning Outdoor Steam Sauna Works
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Best Indoor Saunas on the Market Today
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.