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Infrared or traditional sauna?
Panels or a stove with stones. The heat is a matter of taste; the price, the power draw and the room each one needs are numbers. When you want one at home, send us one message: we reply within 5 minutes with offers on either. Free.
By Stefan Dahl, ColdPlunges.ae research · Updated
The verdict
Infrared vs traditional sauna: the short verdict
Infrared vs traditional sauna is a choice between two ways of heating a cabin. An infrared cabin warms you with panels and has no stones, so it makes no steam. A traditional sauna heats the air with an electric stove and gives a burst of steam when water hits the stones. In a UAE home the difference shows up three times: in the price, in the power each one draws, and in whether it needs its own circuit from the distribution board. Tell us the room and we get you offers on whichever fits it, from suppliers who compete for your job.
Should you buy an infrared or a traditional sauna?
Buy infrared for the lower price, the lower power draw and an apartment: two-person cabins start at AED 13,999, Harvia's two-person cabin draws 2,105 W and, by Harvia's account, plugs into a household socket. Buy a traditional sauna for hot air and steam from the stones: cabins start at AED 16,950, typically AED 21,000 to 25,500, with a 4.5 to 9 kW heater on its own circuit under DEWA's rules.
Infrared and traditional sauna side by side
| Point | Infrared | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| How it heats | Panels emit infrared; no stones, no steam | Stove heater warms the air; steam when water hits the stones |
| Lowest price, AED | 13,999 (2 person) | 16,950 |
| Typical price, AED | 14,499 to 17,950 (2 person); 22,399 to 25,500 (4 to 5) | 21,000 to 25,500 |
| Power | 2,105 W for Harvia's 2-person cabin | 4.5 to 9 kW, sized to room volume |
| Supply | Household 230 V socket, by Harvia's account | Own sub-circuit (DEWA Reg. 4.6.5); 20 to 50 A fuse at 230 V |
| Running cost, worked example | AED 0.64 to 0.97 an hour | AED 1.83 to 2.77 an hour (6 kW) |
| Placement | Dry indoor room, 5 cm clearance | Room at least 1,900 mm high (Harvia BC60) |
Which costs less to buy?
Infrared, at the entry level. The cheapest two-person infrared cabin is AED 13,999 against AED 16,950 for the cheapest traditional cabin. The gap narrows at the top: a four-to-five-person infrared cabin is typically AED 22,399 to 25,500, and a traditional cabin typically AED 21,000 to 25,500. Every band is on sauna prices, and they are the prices we hold every offer against.
Which draws less power?
Infrared, by a wide margin. Harvia lists 2,105 W for its two-person Spectrum cabin and a 16 A fuse for its Onni Small. A traditional heater is sized by room volume: Harvia's Vega runs 4.5 kW for 3 to 6 m³, 6 kW for 5 to 8 m³ and 9 kW for 8 to 14 m³, on fuses of 20, 35 and 50 A at 230 V. DEWA's Regulation 4.6.5 puts every sauna on its own final sub-circuit with the control gear outside the cabin; it does not say whether a plug-in infrared cabin counts, so an electrician confirms it per home.
As worked examples at DEWA's October 2026 rates, with the 6 fils fuel surcharge and 5% VAT, an hour at full power costs AED 0.64 to AED 0.97 for the 2,105 W infrared cabin and AED 1.83 to AED 2.77 for a 6 kW heater. Both assume full power for the whole hour.
What heats you in each?
In an infrared cabin, the panels; Harvia lists a range of 20 to 70°C for its one-person Onni Sienna. In a traditional sauna, the air heated by the stove, and the steam you make by throwing water on the stones. The international safety standard treats them as one family: IEC 60335-2-53 covers both sauna heaters and infrared emitting units up to 20 kW. If you have never sat in either, one Dubai venue offers infrared and traditional sauna sessions side by side at AED 195 for 30 minutes; Dubai saunas lists it.
What does the research measure?
We make no health claims for either, and the evidence differs. The long-term studies most often quoted are on traditional Finnish saunas: 2,315 men followed for a median 20.7 years, in which more frequent sauna bathing was associated with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (Laukkanen 2015); it is observational. For infrared, a 2009 summary of nine papers found "limited moderate evidence" on blood pressure and congestive heart failure and "consistent fair evidence to refute claims" about cholesterol (Beever 2009).
Can one cabin do both?
Yes, at a price. A five-person infrared and traditional hybrid costs AED 48,000, and a traditional heater can be added to an infrared build as an AED 2,500 to 4,000 upgrade. A hybrid needs the traditional heater's circuit, so it carries the wiring of a traditional sauna whatever mode you use. The home saunas page lists every cabin with its price.
When each one wins
- Infrared: an apartment, a spare dry room with only a socket nearby, the lowest budget, or the lowest power bill.
- Traditional: a villa with room for a circuit, or a taste for hot air and steam.
- Hybrid: a large cabin where two people want different heat, with a budget near AED 48,000.
If a cold plunge will follow the sauna, the cold plunge Dubai page covers chillers sized for UAE summers.
Want offers on an infrared or traditional sauna?
Send us one message with the room size, the ceiling height, villa or apartment, the emirate and your budget. We reply within 5 minutes and get you offers from UAE suppliers who compete for your job, on an infrared cabin or a traditional one, and tell you which offer is the best deal. It is free for you: the supplier pays us when you buy, and you pay the supplier's own price.
Questions
Infrared or traditional: common questions
- Can you get me offers on either type?
- Yes, free. Send us the room and your budget on WhatsApp and we reply within 5 minutes. Suppliers compete for your job, we tell you which offer is the best deal, and the supplier pays us when you buy. You pay the supplier's own price with nothing added by us.
- Is an infrared sauna better than a traditional sauna?
- Neither is better in general. Infrared is cheaper to buy (from AED 13,999 against AED 16,950) and to run, and plugs in by Harvia's account; traditional gives hot air and steam from the stones and needs its own circuit.
- Which is cheaper to run?
- Infrared. As worked examples at DEWA's October 2026 rates, a 2,105 W infrared cabin costs AED 0.64 to AED 0.97 an hour at full power and a 6 kW traditional heater AED 1.83 to AED 2.77.
- Which is better for an apartment?
- Usually infrared: a dry indoor room with 5 cm of space around the cabin and, by Harvia's account, a household socket. A traditional heater needs a new circuit from the distribution board, which is the hard part in a tower.
- Do infrared saunas lower blood pressure?
- We make no such claim. A 2009 summary of nine papers on far-infrared saunas in Canadian Family Physician found "limited moderate evidence" on normalising blood pressure; that is the research position, not a promise.
- Can I convert an infrared cabin to traditional later?
- Some infrared builds take a traditional heater as an AED 2,500 to 4,000 upgrade. The upgrade brings the traditional heater's wiring with it, so plan the circuit at the start.
- Who should check with a doctor first?
- Harvard Health says people with unstable chest pain (angina), poorly controlled high blood pressure or other serious heart issues should avoid saunas, advises 15 to 20 minutes at most and no alcohol before or after. NHS guidance on pregnancy notes you may choose to avoid saunas because of the risks of overheating, dehydration and fainting. With Raynaud's, the NHS advises avoiding sudden changes in temperature.
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