Many of us love a good sauna session, and it is one of the most enjoyable parts of a visit to your local spa or gym.
In the past, the thought of owning a sauna yourself and installing it inside your own home was one reserved for the rich due to the high costs of installation and maintenance.
However, in recent years, advances in technology have made home saunas far more affordable than they once were, and this luxury is now well within the budget of many homeowners.
In countries such as Finland, saunas are now a common sight in domestic homes, and many in the UK are catching onto the trend.
What is a sauna?
A home sauna is a small room that is heated to a warm temperature (around 70-90 degrees) and is used for relaxation, muscle recovery, and detoxing.
Traditional saunas are made out of wood, usually cedar, and use steam to heat the air to the desired temperature.
Whilst the occasional sauna session whilst on holiday or on a spa weekend is a lovely treat, regular steams are required to maximise the health and wellbeing benefits that saunas provide.
This is where a home sauna comes in.
What is a home sauna?
Pretty self explanatory. A home sauna is a small space, normally located within a bathroom or outside your property, that works in exactly the same manner as saunas found in leisure facilities.
What types of home saunas exist?
Not all home saunas are the same, and there are actually 3 different types that are popular in the UK.
Traditional sauna
A classic sauna is wood built, and is heated by water being poured over hot stones than then release steam into the air.
Normally built using cedar due to the fact that this wood does not easily warp or crack, traditional saunas are popular due to their stylish appearance, and the fact that they are incredibly effective in opening up skin pores and helping you to release toxins.
Dry Sauna
Dry saunas are similar to traditional saunas in that a heat source is used to heat a small space, but these saunas do not use water on heated rocks to heat the air.
This means that whilst you still get many of the fantastic benefits of a sauna session, the humidity is much lower than with a more traditional version.
Infrared sauna
Infrared saunas have revolutionised the home sauna industry. They use no water in their operation, meaning that the humidity inside the room is zero. This means that they can be placed almost anywhere and require no direct water access.
Infrared saunas send heat penetrating deep within the body using infrared heat waves.
If you are considering a home sauna that is easy and quick to install and heat, and simply requires access to a mains electricity plug socket to operate, infrared is the way to go.
Do I need planning permission?
No. Regulations on home saunas in the UK are relatively relaxed, and there are no planning permission requirements for Home Sauna installation Scotland.
As long as you have the space required to fit what is effectively an extra small room inside your home, the installation of a home sauna will be simple and fast, especially if you use the services of a professional sauna installer.
It is possible to purchase DIY sauna rooms that can be put together yourself if you have a decent amount of DIY experience but given that there is still a significant amount of money involved in purchasing one of these kits, most people choose to go down the professional installation route.
Are home saunas expensive?
Home saunas have dropped in price dramatically in recent years, but there is no doubt that this is still a luxury item that will not fit into everyone’s budget.
The exact cost of a home sauna will depend on the size of the unit you are looking for, the features that you want included, and the type of sauna you choose.
Sauna prices vary widely from around £1,000 to upwards of £20,000 but on average you can expect to pay around £7,000-£10,000 for a traditional sauna or £4000-£9000 for an infrared option.
What about running costs?
With the price of energy rising, the thought of running a sauna can be daunting, but the fact is that these units are actually pretty cost effective to run.
A traditional sauna with a heater of around 4.5kw will cost around £1 per hour to warm up and run, whilst infrared saunas (which require no warm up time whatsoever) can operate for an hour at around the 30p mark, pretty cheap for such a luxury experience.