There are many factors that determine how hot a sauna usually is, including personal preference, your current state of health and the features of the sauna itself. Generally, saunas are heated to temperatures between 150°F and 195°F (65°C to 90°C). 

How Does a Sauna Create Heat? 

There are lots of different saunas available: infrared, steam rooms, smoke saunas and standard saunas with either electric or wood-burning stoves. Even saunas that operate similarly to each other can feel quite different. A sauna’s size, shape, materials and air flow will all affect how quickly it heats up and cools down, which makes it feel warmest and coolest and how comfortable it is to stay inside at hotter temperatures.

With the exception of infrared saunas and steam rooms (which aren’t saunas in the truest sense) saunas work by heating up stones on top of a stove either with fire or an electric heating element. Steam is created by ladling water on the stones; the steam decreases the temperature within the sauna even though it may feel hotter due to the rise in humidity.

Infrared and electric saunas can easily be set to a desired temperature and changed at any time, versus a traditional wood-burning sauna where temperature control is less precise. In a smoke sauna once the chamber has heated up it will stay hot until the stones have cooled, with no option to reheat as there’s no flue for the smoke to escape. Because they all work in different ways, each type of sauna has its own temperature ranges. 

How Hot is a Dry Sauna? 

Traditional dry and smoke saunas build warmth by heating rocks which then heat the air in the room. The temperatures for traditional saunas typically range from 150 to 190°F (or 66 to 88°C). Originally these types of saunas used a wood burning stove to heat up rocks (smoke saunas still do), however most modern dry saunas use an electric heater, which radiates heat throughout the room.

Infrared Sauna vs Traditional Sauna

Infrared saunas generate infrared waves which safely penetrate your body and raise your core temperature. An infrared sauna can create the same experience as a dry sauna, but at a lower temperature range, between 80 to 130°F (or 26 to 55°C) because the infrared waves are heating you up from the inside out versus a traditional dry sauna that uses hot air to warm you up from the outside in.

Steam saunas (also called steam rooms or showers) warm you up with high humidity instead of dry heat. Heat is generated by a steam generator that boils water, turns it into steam and then continually releases it into the room. Steam rooms are kept airtight so the humidity level can reach 100%. The temperature in a steam sauna is typically lower than in a traditional sauna, but it can feel much warmer due to the humidity. 

Your best indicator for an ideal sauna temperature is your own body’s response, which might change depending on factors like ambient temperature, what you’ve been doing that day, how much you’ve eaten, etc. If you have questions about saunas don’t hesitate to give us a call at 970-879-4390 or contact us here.