How Much Does It Cost To Run a Home Sauna?

Because purchasing and installing a new home sauna can cost thousands of dollars, it is easy to overlook the actual day-to-day costs of running your sauna. While you can expect the day-to-day costs to vary according to the particular sauna, the amount of usage, and your local electric rates, it is possible to give you some idea of what your operation costs will be.

To operate a small 2-3 person infrared sauna, it will cost approximately nine cents per session. To operate a larger 4-6 person infrared sauna, it will cost about sixteen cents.

To operate a 3 kW electric sauna heater used in a 2-3 person traditional steam sauna, it will cost approximately twenty-seven cents. To operate an 8 kW heater used in a 4-6 person traditional steam sauna, it will cost about seventy-two cents.

Most home sauna users will consider these costs to be negligible, and with respect to infrared Saunas, they’re probably right, but the costs of operating a heater for traditional sauna should not be overlooked.

A 3kW heater is likely to run you $200 on the low-end and as much as $900 for a high-end model. Considering that daily use of this sauna heater will result in yearly electric bill of almost $100, after four or five years, you will have spent more on the electricity than on the heater itself.

For this reason, just as much, if not more, attention should be on finding an efficiently functioning heater which is the right size for your sauna. Additionally, it is worth the effort to make sure that your sauna is properly insulated and that the doors fit snuggly so that heat is not lost. Finally, don’t buy a larger sauna than actually need. Realize that a 300 cubic foot sauna requiring a 6kW heater is going to cost twice as much as a 150 cubic foot sauna requiring just a 3kW heater.

Calculating the Cost of Electricity Used By a Sauna Heater

The electricity consumption of a sauna heater (or any appliance) is measured in kilowatts (kW) per hour. The average cost of electricity in the USA is 12 cents per kilowatt per hour. To determine the cost of an individual sauna session, you must simply multiply the number of kilowatts per hour by the amount of time the heater is running.

For example, a typical traditional steam sauna session might last 15 to 30 minutes. Additionally, the heater will have to be run for approximately 30 minutes to preheat the sauna. While the heater will be on for a full hour, like a standard furnace, it will heat continuously until the room reaches the desired temperature, then it will switch itself on and off to maintain that temperature. For this reason, even though the heater may be on for a full hour, it will likely only be consuming electricity for 75% of that hour. As a result, a typical sauna session will be approximated as follows:

kW (of the heater) multiplied by .75 (percentage of time that heater is consuming electricity) multiplied by .12 (the average cost of electricity in the USA)

Table of Cost According to Kilowattage

The following is a table showing the cost per session and the cost per year of daily use for common heaters based on their kilowatts.

Kilowatts	Cost per Session	Cost per Year
2	.18	65.70
3	.27	98.55
4.5	.41	147.83
6	.54	197.10
8	.72	262.80
9	.81	295.65
10	.90	328.50
12	1.08	394.20
15	1.35	492.75

How Much Does the Cost of Electricity Vary State to state

The national average cost of electricity is 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. 43 out of the 50 States have electricity rates within 4 cents this. Idaho has the cheapest electricity, costing only 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. Hawaii has by far the most expensive electricity, with people paying on average 32 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Tips for Saving Electricity

If multiple people use the sauna, try to use it at around the same time to avoid having to heat the sauna from a cold state.

Saunas should be built with sauna foil vapor barrier insulation, which prevents heat from escaping the sauna. If your constructing your own sauna, choose insulation with high resistance factors.

Opt for saunas constructed with Basswood or Cedar because these woods are less likely to bend and warp. Cheaper woods like hemlock, spruce and pine are more likely to warp, allowing heat to escape.

Maintenance and Repair Costs

Infrared saunas are extremely low maintenance, but still need regular cleaning. You should wipe the wall and bench in your sauna with filtered water or vinegar. You should not use harsh chemicals or ammonia on your sauna. If you use your sauna daily, then you should wipe the areas where you sit after each session and wipe it down the entire sauna weekly.

The wooden walls and benches of a traditional sauna should similarly be cleaned with vinegar. You should remove your sauna rocks and clean them with soapy water. Then before returning the rocks, you should clean any debris our dirt out of the heating element.

Once a year you should sand the benches you your sauna with fine sand paper. You should check to see if there are any loose screws and tighten where appropriate. Finally if you ever see any mold, you should immediately take action to clean and disinfect with bleach.

It costs on average $350 to $500 for a technician to repair your sauna or sauna heater. Often times it is cheaper to just replace your sauna heater.

What About Wood Burning Saunas

Sitting next to the glowing crackling fire of a wood burning sauna heater is probably the ultimate and most authentic sauna experience, but the higher cost of using wood and the inconvenience bringing in of wood, waiting an hour for the sauna to heat up, and then having to dispose of ashes make a wood burning sauna less practical for daily use.

A cord of good firewood will cost between $200 and $300. This is a lot of wood, and unless you plan to use your sauna daily, you’ll probably be just fine keeping a quarter of a cord on hand. You will need 15 to 20 pieces of split firewood for each sauna session, depending on the size of wood pieces.

Unlike wood furnaces and fireplaces where a slower prolonged burn is desirable, when using a sauna, you will be seeking a shorter higher temperature burn. This means you will want a harder wood like Ash, and you will want the wood split into smaller pieces so as to increase the surface area of the wood.