The most fundamental component of the a sauna is the heating component. Sauna heaters have to be blueprinted to produce persistently steep temperatures. You can buy electric, gas, oil, and wood-burning sauna heaters for traditional dry saunas. Electric sauna heaters are usually left on for the entire stretch of the sauna experience. When it comes to common sauna heaters, wood and electricity are the most ordinary fuels used. However, sauna heaters fueled by propane or even natural gas are more affordable and heat up very quickly. In some countries they must be installed by licensed professionals for safety. Sauna heaters for far infrared saunas come in two types: ceramic and carbon.
Traditional saunas have stones placed above the heater. The stones absorb the heat from the heater, and are intended to produce water steam when water is sprinkled onto them. Because the stones in saunas are cooled and heated up repeatedly, they really need to have to have special properties that allow them to withstand widely and rapidly oscillating temperatures. When choosing sauna rocks, you should look for ones without any signs of structural cracks. Sauna stones with course surfaces release hot steam faster because they have more hot surface area available for the water to come into contact. The sudden rapid addition of moisture in the air will make the sauna feel hotter due to the elevated level of humidity.
Far infrared sauna heaters run by a radically different set of principles than regular sauna heaters. Whereas normal sauna heaters heat rocks and air in the sauna, infrared sauna heaters heat objects with the far infrared light spectrum. Those “objects” also include the people using the hot sauna. As a result, the air temperature within the infrared sauna is quite a bitlower than the ambient air temperature within the traditional sauna, though there is a feeling of warming of the musclesand extremities as the far infrared spectrum of light rays penetrate the skin.
There is still an ongoing debate in the world of far infrared heaters as to whether carbon or ceramic heaters are better. Here are some of the important differing characteristics.
Carbon far infrared sauna heaters create long wave infrared dry heat, but they do not create a lot of heat. Some sauna users are of the opinion that these heaters under-perform. Carbon far infrared sauna heaters are made of thin carbon plates and distribute heat evenly, virtually completely eliminating the problem of so-called “hot spots.” Because the surface temperature of carbon far infrared dry sauna heaters is known to be lower than with ceramic infrared sauna heaters, they are considered much safer for longer sauna heat therapy sessions.
Carbon far infrared sauna heaters output rays of the light spectrum that are closer to the far infrared area of the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavelengths are believed to be the best for “healing.” Supposedly the far infrared rays penetrate deeper down into the dermis and muscle tissue than the rays produced by the ceramic variety of heaters. Though to-date the jury is still out on the decision of the veracity of these claims.
Ceramic infrared dry sauna heaters are powerful and emit a large amount of infrared heat. The infrared wavelengths emitted, however, are shorter, and argued to be less therapeutic. (But, keep your skepticism in place about that).
Today, there are also hybrid carbon / ceramic infrared sauna heaters available. Made by the company Clearlight, these sauna heaters combine carbon and ceramic to generate the best of each of the types of heat. The carbon allows the sauna heaters to produce longer wavelength infrared rays, while the ceramic gives the heaters a large amount of infrared heat output, making it quicker to concentrate the heat rapidly and directly onto and into the body.
If you found this article helpful or informational please take a moment to also visit these pages, and give us your feedback where appropriate: Sauna Heaters and Far Infrared Sauna Kits.