An infrared sauna is the only type of sauna you can put into an ordinary apartment without building work: single-person cabins usually draw somewhere around 1.3–1.8 kW — less than an electric kettle — and plug into a standard 230 V socket. The footprint starts at roughly 1 m², there is no steam and no moisture load, and the cabin can be taken apart when you move. This guide focuses on exactly that apartment reality — electrics, dimensions, placement and costs.
Why an infrared sauna in particular when you live in an apartment?
We covered the choice between sauna types in a separate article, Home sauna: Finnish, infrared or combined?. In an apartment, though, most of the arguments are settled before you even get to compare the experience — the electrical installation, humidity and weight decide for you.
The electrical supply. A Finnish heater for a 4–6 kW cabin needs a 400 V power supply and its own circuit protection. In an apartment that means work on the wiring, often reaching into the consumer unit and sometimes into the riser. A smaller infrared cabin for one or two people, with a power draw of roughly 1.3–1.8 kW, is happy with an ordinary 230 V circuit. Always check the exact figure in the data sheet of the model concerned — for two-person and full-spectrum cabins it commonly rises to 2.0–2.4 kW.
No humidity. An infrared sauna heats by radiation, not by steam. The air in the cabin sits at 40–60 °C and the humidity stays at room level. That removes the main problem of a home steam bath — the need for a vapour-tight structure, a graded floor and extraction. If moist heat appeals to you, compare the demands in the article Steam room at home; in an apartment block it is an order of magnitude more demanding to build.
A quick start. Infrared emitters reach operating intensity in 10–15 minutes, whereas a Finnish cabin takes 40–60 minutes to heat up. In an apartment, where you use the sauna after work rather than at the weekend cottage, that makes a fundamental difference to how often you actually use it.
Footprint and weight. Single-person cabins start at roughly 90 × 100 cm, two-person ones at 120 × 105 cm. A single-person cabin weighs somewhere around 90–130 kg spread over a few tens of centimetres of floor — a load comparable to a full bookcase, in other words something an ordinary floor structure handles easily. With a hot tub on a balcony the situation is entirely different, see structural load of a terrace.
Emitter types: ceramic, carbon and full-spectrum
The emitter is the heart of the cabin, and the differences between types matter more than the differences between wood brands. Put simply: the larger the emitter surface, the more even the warming, and the lower the risk that one part of your back is burning while another stays cold.
| Emitter type | Character of the heat | Warm-up | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic rod | High point intensity, heat from a small area | 5–10 minutes | Targeted warming of the back, lower price |
| Carbon panel | Lower intensity, but a large area and even radiation | 10–15 minutes | Longer relaxation sessions, most apartment cabins |
| Full-spectrum | A combination of bands with higher intensity, usually higher power draw | 3–10 minutes | More demanding users, sports recovery |
| Carbon + ceramic combination | A panel base supplemented by a back panel | 10–15 minutes | A compromise for two people with different preferences |
In practice, flat carbon panels are the most sensible choice for an apartment. The lower surface temperature of the emitter means you will not lean against it and burn yourself, which you appreciate in a narrow cabin. Ceramic rods give a stronger local sensation of heat, but the difference between your back and the front of your body is more noticeable.
EMF and low-emission designs. Every electrical heating element creates an electromagnetic field around itself. Manufacturers respond with so-called low-EMF windings, in which the conductors are routed so that their fields cancel each other out. There is no clear consensus about the effect of ordinary EMF levels on health, and the marketing around the subject tends to be overblown. The practical conclusion: if you are choosing between two comparable cabins, a low-emission design is a free bonus — but there is no point sacrificing the quality of the wood or the emitter area for it.
How to choose a cabin that really fits into an apartment
The dimension quoted in the catalogue is the external dimension of the cabin. To that you have to add the door swing (the glass doors of infrared saunas usually open outwards and need roughly 60–70 cm of clear space) and the clearance from the walls.
- Size. A single-person cabin of 90 × 100 cm is enough for sitting; if you want to lie down in the sauna or use it as a pair, allow a length of at least 150 cm. A two-person cabin of 120 × 105 cm is the most common compromise in an apartment.
- Getting it through the door. Cabins are delivered in sections, but the largest panel (usually the back wall or the bench) can measure 100–120 cm. Measure the narrowest point on the route — the staircase, the turn in the hallway; the width of a doorway without its frame is typically 70–80 cm.
- Furniture-style assembly. Good cabins are joined with cam fittings or latches, without glue and without screws into the walls of your apartment. They can be dismantled and taken with you when you move. Ask about this explicitly — with cheap models, dismantling is a one-off discipline.
- Wood without a scent. Canadian cedar has an intense aroma that may not suit people with allergies or a sensitivity to smells, especially in an enclosed apartment. A safer choice is hemlock or aspen — practically odourless and free of resin.
- Fan noise. Most cabins have a small extraction fan. It is an order of magnitude quieter than pool equipment, but in a bedroom you will hear it. We look at how noise is measured and perceived in the article on noise from pool equipment.
Electrics and safety: what to avoid in an apartment
One rule applies without exception: an infrared sauna does not belong on an extension lead or a multi-socket adapter. The unit draws 6–8 A for tens of minutes at a stretch, and cheap extension cables heat up under that kind of load. Plug the cabin straight into a socket.
With larger cabins (from roughly 2.5 kW upwards), or wherever a washing machine or oven shares the same circuit, a dedicated protected circuit is in order. Ideally with a residual current device, which is standard for new installations in living spaces anyway. Whether your existing circuit is adequate is for an electrician to judge from the state of the wiring — in flats from the 1960s and 1970s with aluminium wiring, a consultation is effectively mandatory. We describe similar logic in more detail for the electrical connection of a hot tub, where the power demands are higher still.
In a bathroom, zone rules for electrical equipment apply on top of that. The cabin has to stand outside the zone immediately around the bath or shower, and the socket has to suit the environment. This is a detail only an electrician on site can assess.
Where to put the cabin in an apartment?
The bathroom is the logical answer, because you have cooling down and a shower right next to you. It runs into two problems, though: in an ordinary bathroom of 4–6 m² there simply is no 1.2 m² of free floor left, and the moisture from everyday showering does the wood no good. If the bathroom does work out, it needs good ventilation.
A bedroom or a dressing room tends to be the more common choice in practice. The dry environment suits the wood and the cabin looks like a piece of furniture. The drawback is the walk down the hallway to the shower — a bathrobe solves that.
Whichever room you choose, keep a clearance of at least 3–5 cm from walls and furniture (the manufacturer states the exact figure), so that air can flow around the back wall and carry the heat away. Do not stand the cabin directly on a long-pile carpet or on a floating floor without a base; the ideal is a level, hard, non-combustible surface, or at least a solid mat that spreads the load. Check that the floor is level with a spirit level — a cabin standing askew will not close its door properly.
What to expect from an infrared sauna in health terms
Soberly: heat releases muscular tension, increases blood flow to the skin and supports relaxation. That is the traditional use people have expected from heat treatments for centuries, and at that level an infrared sauna delivers reliably. A session of 20–40 minutes at 45–55 °C is pleasant for most people, including those who find a Finnish sauna too hot.
At the same time, heat does not suit everyone. People with cardiovascular disease, with low blood pressure or poorly controlled high blood pressure, pregnant women and anyone with an acute febrile illness should discuss sauna use with a doctor. Alcohol has no place before or during a session, and drinking enough fluid during the session is essential. You will find the wider context of heat and water recovery in the article Hot tub vs. sauna: which is better for your health, and the principles of the procedure itself in How to sauna properly.
What does it cost to run an infrared sauna in an apartment?
The calculation is unusually simple, because an infrared sauna has no filtration, no pump and no continuous heating — it consumes energy only while you are sitting in it. Take the power draw in kW, multiply by the length of the session in hours and by the price of electricity.
| Cabin | Power draw | Session incl. warm-up | Consumption | Cost at €0.25/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-person, carbon | 1.3 kW | 45 minutes | approx. 0.7 kWh | approx. €0.18 |
| Two-person, carbon | 1.8 kW | 50 minutes | approx. 1.1 kWh | approx. €0.28 |
| Two-person, full-spectrum | 2.4 kW | 50 minutes | approx. 1.5 kWh | approx. €0.38 |
Real consumption tends to be somewhat lower, because once the set temperature is reached the thermostat cycles the emitters off. At three sessions a week, a year of running a two-person cabin works out at roughly €40–50. For comparison: simply running a hot tub comes to hundreds of euros a year, because it has to be kept warm continuously. Anyone with photovoltaics can use the sauna practically for free — the cabin makes an excellent appliance for soaking up afternoon surpluses, as we describe in the article on photovoltaics for a pool and hot tub.
Maintenance: fifteen minutes a month
After every session, leave the door ajar and let the cabin air out — moisture from perspiration has to get out, otherwise the wood darkens and starts to smell. Wipe the benches and backrests with a damp cloth and a little vinegar or soapy water, never with aggressive chemicals: the wood is untreated and will soak them up. Using a towel underneath you cuts this work down considerably.
Once a season, check that all the emitters are heating (put your palm a few centimetres away from them after switching on), that the supply cables are undamaged and that the panel joints are holding. Carbon panels typically last thousands of operating hours and will survive years of ordinary domestic use. A failed panel is replaced as a whole — it is not a repair you would take on yourself.
And what about an apartment building? Does it need approval?
A free-standing cabin that you simply plug into a socket is, from the building’s point of view, a piece of furniture and needs no approval. You need the consent of the building manager or the owners, according to local rules, the moment you interfere with the common parts of the building — typically when an electrician goes into the riser or the consumer unit, when something is drilled into a load-bearing wall, or when you change the main breaker and with it the apartment’s reserved capacity.
A practical tip: if you are planning any work beyond “I plug it into the socket”, check the conditions in the building’s rules or in your tenancy agreement in advance. Changing the main breaker also means notifying your electricity distributor and may increase the monthly charge for reserved capacity.
Frequently asked questions
Is an ordinary 230 V socket really enough?
For single-person and smaller two-person cabins with a power draw of up to roughly 2 kW, yes — provided the circuit is sound and you are not sharing it with another high-power appliance. Always check the power draw of the specific model in its data sheet, though, and with older apartment wiring have the circuit assessed by an electrician.
How long does an infrared sauna take to be ready?
Ten to fifteen minutes with carbon panels, and even less with full-spectrum emitters. Many cabins can start pre-heating from a mobile app, so you walk into a sauna that is already prepared.
Will an infrared sauna in the bedroom damage parquet or a floating floor?
The base of the cabin barely heats up at all; the risk is mechanical rather than thermal — the point load of the feet. We recommend a hard mat underneath the cabin to spread the load, and a level surface. Avoid long-pile carpet, which blocks ventilation of the lower section.
Can I take the infrared sauna with me when I move?
With cabins that have demountable joints, yes — dismantling takes roughly an hour with two people. Before buying, though, check that the manufacturer allows repeated assembly; with glued structures, moving is a risk.
Is an infrared sauna suitable for children too?
Children have less effective thermoregulation than adults. Shorten the session to a few minutes, lower the temperature and never leave them in the cabin alone. Pre-school children generally do not belong in a sauna without consulting a paediatrician. We summarise the wider safety principles for home wellness in the article Child safety around a pool and hot tub.
Wellness that fits into an apartment
An infrared sauna is so far the most workable way to bring regular heat recovery into an apartment without renovation, without a power supply and without a moisture load. The key to a good result is honest measuring of the space, panel emitters and a verified electrical circuit — the rest is simply a question of how often you find forty minutes for yourself.
You will find cabins, accessories and other elements of home wellness in the wellness category. More practical guides to pools, hot tubs and saunas are waiting in the Guide section.
