If you’re considering purchasing a sauna for your home, it’s natural to wonder how much electricity a sauna will cost. A single session in an infrared sauna will use about as much electricity as a dishwasher, and a traditional sauna using an electric heater is comparable to running a larger appliance like a dryer. We can’t give you an exact number, but here are some things to consider and help you calculate. 

How Much Electricity Does a Sauna Use?

Historically, saunas were heated by a wood fire underneath a pile of rocks. Nowadays, most saunas use electricity, which is cheaper and safer than wood burning saunas. There are two types of saunas available for residential use: traditional and infrared saunas. Generally speaking, infrared saunas use less electricity, but ultimately the cost to run a sauna depends on the type, wattage, size, how much it’s used, and your electricity costs which vary state to state. 

To calculate the monthly energy costs of any sauna (traditional or infrared), multiply the wattage of the sauna by the number of hours the sauna is on per month and the cost per kilowatt charged by your electric company. The average consumer price of electricity across the United States ranges from 9 to 34 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh); the average is around $0.12 per kWh.

wattage (in kilowatts) × hours used per month × cost per kilowatt-hour used = monthly cost 

When you’re doing your calculations, don’t forget to include the time it takes for your sauna to come to temperature before you actually get in it; a traditional sauna will take much longer to heat up than an infrared one. 

How Much Power Does a Sauna Use? [Sauna Cost Calculations]

Here’s a comparison of the energy usage and cost to operate both a traditional and an infrared 6,000 watt sauna for one month as an example. Electricity usage is measured in kilowatts (kW), so we’ll divide the wattage by 1000 to determine the sauna’s wattage in kilowatts (6,000 watts divided by 1,000 is 6 kW.

For a traditional sauna, running for 75 minutes a day (45 minutes heating, 30 minutes using) for a month is 2,250 minutes or 37.5 hours (2250 minutes divided by 60). Multiplying the time by the 6 kW required by the sauna is 225 kWh used per month. Using the average cost of energy, expect to pay 0.12 dollars/kWh x 225 kWh = $27.00 per month to spend half an hour a day in a traditional sauna.

For an infrared sauna, running for 40 minutes a day (10 minutes heating, 30 minutes using) for a month is 1,200 minutes or 20 hours (1,200 minutes divided by 60). Multiplying the time by the 6 kW required by the sauna is 120 kWh used per month. Using the average cost of energy, expect to pay 0.12 dollars/kWh x 120 kWh = $14.40 per month to spend half an hour a day in an infrared sauna.

As you can imagine, the more a sauna is used, the more electricity it will eat up, and there will be a greater difference in cost to run a traditional sauna versus an infrared one. The primary cost of your sauna however will be the initial purchase of the sauna and the installation, not the electricity usage. 

If you have questions about installing a home-based sauna, give us a call at 970-879-4390 or drop us a note. We’re happy to answer questions and help you create a relaxing environment that’s always accessible in the privacy of your own home.