| One of the advantages that infrared sauna | | | | heat-up, I assume a 2-hour working time for a |
| marketers talk about is a low electric power | | | | session. So for a steam sauna we get: |
| consumption of infrared heaters. I decided to | | | | For a 2-person steam sauna: |
| make some calculations to check if this is the | | | | 4.5kWh x 2 hour x 9 times/month x $0.20 = |
| case and how one's electric bill will really differ if | | | | $16.2 |
| an infrared sauna or a conventional steam sauna | | | | For a 6-person steam sauna: |
| will be used. I did estimations for a 2-person sauna | | | | 6kWh x 2 hour x 9 times/month x $0.20 = $21.6 |
| and for a 6-person sauna. | | | | So what conclusions can be drawn from these |
| To calculate how much will sauna usage cost we | | | | figures? |
| need to know the power consumption of an | | | | |
| infrared and conventional sauna. The average | | | | 1. An infrared sauna indeed consumes less electric |
| power consumption of 2-person infrared saunas is | | | | power than a conventional sauna with an electric |
| around 1600W and differs only slightly. For a | | | | heater, but the difference is not dramatic if you |
| 6-person infrared sauna it lies in the range from | | | | use your sauna about twice a week. |
| 2800W to 3600W so I took 3000W as an | | | | 2. The difference between power decreases for |
| average. | | | | larger sauna rooms. For my estimate a 2-person |
| A 1000W electrical device consumes 1kWh | | | | infrared sauna consumes about 5 1/2 times less |
| electrical energy in one hour of operation. Let's | | | | than 2-person conventional. For 6-person saunas |
| assume that you take an infrared sauna twice a | | | | the difference is 4 times. |
| week and heaters stay on approximately for 1 | | | | 3. If you use a sauna often (4-7 times a week) |
| hour each time you use a sauna (sauna warm-up | | | | the difference becomes more significant. For 20 |
| time plus sauna session time). If you pay $0.20 | | | | sessions per month difference between two |
| cent per 1kWh then infrared sauna operation in | | | | 2-person sauna types in my estimate is $30, and |
| one month will cost you: | | | | an infrared sauna costs $6.4 per month. |
| For a 2-person infrared sauna: | | | | But there is another issue with electric sauna |
| 1.6 kWh x 1 hour x 9 times/month x $0.20 = | | | | heater for a traditional sauna. It is almost certain |
| $2.88 | | | | that installation of such heater will require some |
| For a 6-person infrared sauna: | | | | amount of electric wiring work (new outlet for |
| 3kWh x 1 hour x 9 times/month x $0,20 = $5.4 | | | | higher voltage and amperage, GFCI, insulation), |
| To estimate electric power consumption of | | | | while with an infrared sauna you have a chance |
| electric heaters for a traditional steam sauna I | | | | that an additional dedicated outlet will fit well. |
| looked at some heater models. For a 2-person | | | | Keep in mind that figures are different for other |
| sauna, 4.5kW models look suitable, and for a | | | | sauna schedules and electric power prices, so you |
| 6-person 6kW will do (my estimation is based on | | | | may want to repeat the calculations for you own |
| a volume in cubic feet of 2-person and 6-person | | | | data. |
| saunas). As traditional saunas take more time to | | | | |