Outdoor infrared saunas: specs and running costs

An infrared sauna heats you with panels that give off radiant heat, rather than heating the air with a stove and stones. Outdoor infrared saunas put those panels in a weatherproof timber cabin you can stand in the garden. There are far fewer of them than traditional saunas: we found 10 outdoor-rated models from 6 UK retailers, and list every one below with the power and electrical supply the retailer states.

We stick to specs, prices and running costs. You’ll find plenty of health claims made for infrared saunas elsewhere; this page doesn’t make any.

*Cost per session for a 2.5 kW infrared sauna: 15-minute warm-up and 45-minute session with panels on throughout, at the Ofgem cap of 26.32p per kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026).

Shortlist: three infrared saunas worth a look

Each pick is the top model on the rule under it, among models whose retailer publishes the seats, size, height and heater. A model already picked is skipped. Prices checked 30 Sep 2026; how we pick.

Every outdoor infrared sauna for sale in the UK

Prices include VAT. Each row shows the date we checked it against the retailer's own page; the latest check was 30 September 2026. Prices change: the retailer's checkout price is what counts. Height chips show the retailer's stated height: green 2.5 m or lower, amber taller. That's before your base, and it isn't a planning check (see why 2.5 m matters). “Not recorded” means we could not confirm the figure on the retailer's page.

How an infrared sauna differs from a traditional one

A traditional sauna heats the air (an encyclopedia source puts the average at around 75 °C to 100 °C), and you can throw water on the stones for steam. An infrared sauna warms you directly with radiated heat, so the air stays cooler: the same source says 40 °C to 60 °C is usual. The retailers in our data state ranges such as “18–65 °C” and “40–65 °C”. There are no stones, so no steam.

What that means in practice:

• Warm-up is shorter. There are no stones to heat and the air doesn’t need to get as hot, so the warm-up is usually shorter than a traditional heater’s. Check the retailer’s stated time.
• Power is lower. The infrared-only models in our data draw 2 kW to 5.1 kW, against 6 kW to 9 kW for a typical traditional heater.
• They’re small. Most seat two or three. Only 3 of the 10 seat four or more.

Sources: Wikipedia: Sauna (encyclopedia, not a manufacturer source); Wikipedia: Infrared sauna (encyclopedia, not a manufacturer source). Checked 30 September 2026.

Hybrid saunas: infrared and a traditional heater

A hybrid puts infrared panels and a small traditional heater with stones in the same cabin, so you can use either. 3 of the models above are hybrids. Running both at once draws a lot of power: one hybrid in our data states 8,100 W, which needs a dedicated circuit.

Power supply: plug-in or hardwired?

This is the question to settle before you buy, because it decides what the electrician will cost. Here’s what each retailer states:

Most outdoor infrared saunas need hardwiring or a dedicated supply by a qualified electrician; some come with a 32 A industrial plug that still needs a matching outdoor socket on its own circuit. A new circuit to a garden building is notifiable under Part P. NAPIT’s Codebreakers column reviewed one sauna supplied on a 32 A industrial plug and raised concerns including exposed live parts, the outdoor IP rating and no emergency switching. Our guide to installing a garden sauna explains what to ask for, and the electrical supply calculator shows the current a given heater or panel output will draw.

Sources: IET: Part P (England and Wales) - Frequently asked questions; Professional Electrician: Codebreakers #76 (NAPIT, 22 May 2024). Checked 30 September 2026.

What an infrared sauna costs to run

Infrared saunas are the cheapest kind to run. At the current price cap of 26.32p per kWh, a 2.5 kW infrared sauna used for a 45-minute session after a 15-minute warm-up uses about 2.5 kWh, or £0.66 a session. An 8 kW traditional heater, with a 45-minute heat-up and an hour’s session, uses about 10.0 kWh, or £2.63.

Those are estimates on our stated assumptions. Put your own sauna’s power and habits into the running cost calculator, which has an infrared preset.

Infrared sauna heaters and panels

The panels are the heater. Retailers describe them as carbon fibre, far infrared or “full spectrum”, and state a total output rather than a kW rating for a stove. We don’t list standalone infrared panels for building your own, because we can’t check how they’d be installed in a garden building. For traditional heaters, see sauna heaters.

Is it really built for outdoors?

Infrared saunas started as indoor products, and some are still sold as “indoor/outdoor”. For a garden, look for a proper roof (Vidalux’s hybrid mini-cube, for example, has a corrugated steel roof), weather-resistant cladding, and a supply rated for outdoor use. Indoor-only cabins are compared separately in home sauna: indoor or in the garden?. We’ve left out one listing that stated a 120 V US supply, which isn’t suitable for UK mains as described; it’s recorded in our changelog.

All 9 of the models with a stated height are 2.5 m or lower, so before you add a base, they’re under the 2.5 m limit that applies within 2 m of a boundary in England and Wales. Every other permitted development limit still applies; see the planning permission checker.

Compared with other small saunas

If you want a traditional heater and steam in a similar footprint, see small garden saunas and sauna pods. For prices across every type, read how much a garden sauna costs. Nuovo Luxury (the Insignia range) and Polar Recovery list the most outdoor infrared models, 3 and 3. CenturaHeat’s model is also sold through Pro-Line Direct, and Vidalux sells a hybrid mini-cube.