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Frequently Asked Questions
Sauna
Sauna Heater & Electrical
All electrical wiring must be performed by a qualified and licensed electrician with complete knowledge of local codes and regulations. Costs of hiring an electrician can vary greatly depending on several factors such as your sauna’s distance from your electrical service box, the state you live in, and the cost of materials. We recommend you get quotes from 2 to 3 different licensed electricians before you begin the installation.
Our sauna heaters require 220v and must be hardwired to your electrical panel.
Manual Control heaters
6kW heaters require a standard two-pole 30-amp breaker and 10/2 wire, unless they are positioned more than 90 feet from the breaker in which case they will require an 8/2 wire.
8kW heaters require a standard two-pole 40-amp breaker and 8/2 wire
9kW heaters require a standard two-pole 45-amp breaker and 8/2 wire
Digital control heaters (WIFI)
6kW Harvia digital heaters will require a 30-amp breaker and a 10/3 wire, unless they are positioned more than 90 feet from the breaker, in which case they will require a 8/3 wire.
8kW Harvia digital heaters will require a standard two-pole 40-amp breaker and an 8/3 wire
9kW Harvia digital heaters will require a standard two-pole 45-amp breaker and an 8/3 wire
9kW HUUM DROP heaters will require a standard two-pole 50-amp breaker and 8/3 wire.
9kW HUUM Hive heaters will require a standard two-pole 50-amp breaker and 8/3 wire.
Your electrician will drill a hole in the wall of the sauna below the heater for the conduit. All of the wires will come into the sauna through this hole. In a barrel sauna, it can also come up through the floor below the heater.
Use copper wire with 90C insulation. Do not use aluminum wire to make the connection. Consult with an electrician so you can determine the requirements for your particular situation. All wiring must conform to all national, state, and local codes and regulations.
Because our heaters run on 220v they are quite energy efficient and should not be a significant drain on your electricity bill.
For manual control heaters, the interior sauna light will require a separate 110V power line and a switch must be wired in-line. The light switch can be installed wherever is convenient for your property, however the switch cannot be inside the hot area of the sauna.
For digital Wi-Fi heaters, you do not need to run a secondary 110v line for the sauna light. When wiring a digital Wi-Fi heater your electrician will run a single 220v line from your panel to the Power Unit that comes with the heater. The Power Unit has different voltage outputs which will feed both your sauna heater and the sauna light. The sauna light will be controlled from your digital touchpad and/or myHarvia App.
Our Harvia heaters are made in Finland by Harvia, the world's leading sauna heater manufacturer.
Harvia heaters are considered the gold standard and we import our heaters directly from Europe, where they are subject to strict safety and quality standards.
HUUM sauna heaters are manufactured by HUUM in Estonia, a country known for high quality saunas and heaters.
All our sauna heaters are certified for use in the United States.
Our heaters (with the exception of our wood-fired heaters) are hardwired. They must be directly connected to a power source by a qualified and trained electrician.
Firstly, there is a difference in the amperage. Larger heaters require larger breakers, so you should make sure you have space on your electrical panel before choosing your heater.
6kW heaters require 30A breakers.
8kW heaters require 40A breakers.
9kW Harvia Cilindro heaters require 45A breakers.
9kW HUUM Drop heaters require 50A breakers.
9kW HUUM Hive heaters require 50A breakers.
Unless you are regularly using your sauna in outdoor temperatures below 20F (-5C), you will not notice much of a performance difference between heaters.
A higher-wattage heater will heat up the sauna faster. In 40F weather, a 6kW heater will heat your sauna in approximately 1 hour, whereas the 8kW will reach the same temp in about 45 minutes.
In our larger saunas, an 8kW heater is advised so we do not offer a 6kW option.
The unique mounting requirements of the different heaters means that each sauna design is only compatible with certain heater types. For example, the only heater that mounts compatibly in our Extra Wide Barrels is the KIP heater family.
In our larger saunas, an 8kW heater is advised so we do not offer the 6kW heater as an option.
Yes. The temperature sensors on Harvia sauna heaters are calibrated at sea-level.
If you are installing an electric sauna heater above 5000ft in elevation, some adjustments will need to be made to the sensors after installation.
If you are installing the heater above 5000ft, please have your electrician contact us and we will connect them with Harvia's dedicated tech support. Harvia's technicians will advise on how to perform the necessary re-calibrations.
Wi-Fi Enabled Heaters
Like all sauna heaters, digital sauna heaters require 220v and must be hardwired to your electrical panel. However, for digital heaters, the power from your electrical panel will run first to a Power Unit box (see diagram below) which must be positioned outside of the sauna .
Please note the Harvia and HUUM power units are not weatherproof and must be housed in weatherproof protection or located in a dry area.
The Power Unit feeds power to your sauna heater, interior light, temperature sensor, and digital wall control via separate outputs. The Power Unit must be positioned within 82 feet of sauna.
The digital wall control (pictured below) must be positioned within 82 feet of Power Unit. The digital wall control must be mounted outside of the sauna and housed in a weatherproof box or located in a dry area. Finally, the digital wall control must be located where it has a strong Wi-Fi signal to allow for remote control from your smartphone.
Unfortunately, you cannot upgrade a manual control heater to a digital Wi-Fi system in the future. While the manual and digital heaters look very similar, they are in fact totally different heaters. This means you must select the control system you are going with at the outset. If you want to change in the future it would mean replacing the heater itself.
As of late 2023, all WIFI sauna heaters (both Harvia and HUUM) require a 2.4 GHz connection.
Many modern routers can create multiple networks (both 5Ghz and 2.4GHz). So make sure when you are connecting your heater to WIFI, make sure to use a 2.4GHz network.
Also WIFI heaters require a strong (full bar) signal strength for connection.