Guide

Indoor saunas: a sauna in a spare room, garage or loft

What fits indoors, which saunas plug into a normal socket, and the floor, ventilation and access to check first.

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For indoors, most people choose an infrared cabin: it runs cooler, many plug into a normal 13 A socket and it arrives as flat panels that fit through a door. A traditional indoor sauna needs a and room for air to move.

Where it can go

Spare room or garage: the usual choice. A garage floor is solid and easy to clean.
Loft: check headroom, the stairs and whether the floor can take the weight (often 150 to 300 kg for a cabin). Ask a builder if unsure.
Bathroom: a sauna heater next to a shower brings special wiring rules. That is a job for a registered electrician.

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Wooden benches inside a sauna — Photo: Mo Khalil on Unsplash

Power

Infrared cabins up to about 3 can run from a 13 A socket where the seller says so. Use a wall socket, not an extension lead. Traditional heaters need a : electrics explained.

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Ventilation and moisture

Infrared cabins give off little moisture. A traditional sauna with steam needs the air vents the heater maker sets out, and the room around it should be able to take some damp air. Follow the installation manual.

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Getting it in

Check the size of the largest panel against your doors, stairs and turns. Assembly usually takes two people a few hours. See every indoor and infrared sauna in the table, or only the ones that plug in. Infrared or traditional?

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Common worries

"My garden's too small."

The smallest garden saunas we list take 1.20 × 1.20 m, about the size of a garden shed. No garden at all? Infrared cabins fit in a spare room, and a cold plunge needs less than a metre square. Saunas for small spaces →

"The electrics sound like a nightmare."

It is one visit from a registered electrician. Every sauna page says what power it needs, and we add a typical cost to the price (£450 for a new circuit). 8 saunas we list plug into a normal socket, and 46 garden saunas take a wood stove with no electrics at all. Sauna electrics, explained →

All ten sauna worries

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