Nowadays installing a sauna in your home couldn’t be easier: all you need is a small space, like a bathroom or a room with all the necessary connections, and you’re good to go.
Home saunas are easy to use, cosy and always ready when you want them, an affordable luxury that brings relaxation and health to your everyday life.
When building a sauna in your home, you need to follow a couple of key steps.
First you need to decide how much space you’ve got andthe best location for the sauna.
Then you have to choose the kind of home sauna you want. There are lots of different saunas on the market, all with different designs, from more traditional models to more sophisticated ones. So, as well as deciding how many people will be using it, you also need to choose a sauna that will match the décor of your home.
The Effe team will help you choose the most suitable model for your house or apartment: it can advise on plumbing and electrics, ensure you have proper ventilation in the rooms and recommend the right lighting. You can contact us or download our handy guide to buying a sauna for your home.
There are no limits to where a home sauna can be installed, as it fits perfectly into any space.
The only preparation needed is an electrical connection able to take the power used, which will vary with the size of the sauna.
We recommend somewhere with good ventilation and access to an external air inlet to ensure there is plenty of fresh air in the space.
The cost of a domestic sauna varies considerably depending on a number of factors, including the type of sauna, size, materials, installation and location.
There is also a difference in the cost of a sauna, bio-sauna (which needs more steam) and an infrared sauna.
The type of wood you choose for your home sauna will also impact the overall expense. Quality woods, like walnut or heat-treated Canadian hemlock, are more expensive than others but will last longer over time and are truly beautiful.
Glass walls on more exclusive saunas require thick toughened glass to ensure safety and thermal insulation.
We always recommend a sauna is installed professionally by the manufacturer: it will become an important part of your everyday life, so must be assembled properly and be safe.
How much a home sauna consumes depends first on its size and second on how long your sessions last and how energy efficient the actual sauna is.
The heaters in Effe saunas go from 2 kW (infrared sauna for 2 people) to 12 kW (bio-sauna for 6-8 people). In Effe home saunas, the safety thermostat built into the heater and the electronics enable smart management of the three heating elements to optimise power consumption. All our high-tech research is aimed at delivering maximum quality and reliability. Every sauna is fully tested for operating efficiency and safety before being delivered to the client.
One of the first things you need to consider when thinking about installing a home sauna is the power you will need to run it and how much energy it will use.
The power you will need depends primarily on two factors:
As a general rule, a home sauna requires:
Thanks to modern technologies, consumption nowadays is very affordable: you can expect to pay something in the region of Euro 1 - 3 for one hour, depending on the power of the sauna and the length of your session. That’s quite surprising, given that the benefits of just one session are on a par with those of a strenuous cardiovascular workout and detox therapy.
Many clients wonder: “Will my current electricity supply from the grid be able to cope?”The answer is yes, in most cases. Saunas up to 6 kW should run on your current electricity supply, but above this, it may be a good idea to upgrade your supply or use a three-phase system.
Another important aspect to bear in mind is sauna maintenance. A well-designed sauna is built to last for years but it will need regular maintenance to keep it looking beautiful and working efficiently.
You’ll be surprised how low the annual cost of maintaining a home sauna is. If you calculate the cost of your cleaning products and minor maintenance operations, you’re talking of an average of Euro 100–200 a year. Your professional sauna check-up can cost from Euro 150 to 300, but it’s an expense you incur every couple of years only.
You can do a lot of the work on your own if you follow a couple of simple rules:
Looking after your sauna isn’t just a necessity: it’s a ritual that prolongs the wellness experience and preserves that feeling of purity and authenticity that a sauna brings to your home.
Having a sauna in your home offers more than just wellbeing benefits. It can have a positive impact on different aspects of your life: your health, the aesthetic of the room and the value of your property.
Several studies, for example, have shown that regular use of the sauna can have many beneficial effects on our health. For instance, it naturally flushes out toxins through deep sweating. It also improves blood circulation and reduces stress, improving the quality of your sleep. These actions combine to strengthen the immune system.
As well as the health benefits, a home sauna is a sound property investment. More and more house buyers see wellness spaces as an added bonus that increases the value of the property. A sauna that complements the design of the home can be a great selling point.
Contemporary home saunas add style to any living space. Whether you own a large villa or a city apartment, you can find a custom solution to match the existing décor. Clear glass, light wood and uncluttered lines elevate your sauna cabin to a contemporary design object.
Thanks to the wide range of Effe saunas by famous designers such as Rodolfo Dordoni, you can choose a style and size that best suits your home. The Effe design team are on hand to help you with your custom project.
One of the most common questions we are asked is how much space you need to install a home sauna. The good news is that nowadays there are solutions that will fit any space, even the smallest.
When installing a sauna in your home, you must bear in mind:
Thanks to its modular design, a home sauna can be made to measure to ensure it fits perfectly into its surroundings. Choosing a home sauna means embracing a new way of living your home: it is no longer just a place to lay your head, it is your own personal wellness temple. From a practical point of view, consumption is sustainable, maintenance easy and costs affordable. From an emotional standpoint, your health, mood and the value of your home will all feel the benefit.
A home sauna is really easy to clean.
You need to clean the benches, walls and floor grille with a cloth lightly moistened with neutral detergent suitable for wood, and then dry them.
We recommend removing any hair, dust and other dirt from the benches and the floor beforehand.
The natural wood used for the sauna has not been treated, therefore it must not absorb any detergent.
If there are any stains on the wood, these should be removed by lightly sanding the surface down with sandpaper and then removing any dust this creates.
Effe puts a great deal of care into the design of its saunas, calling on the vision of talented architects able to enhance the aesthetics of the sauna with large glass panels, extreme attention to detail and clever use of lighting, producing designs that are the perfect marriage of the ancient and modern, the hallmark of all Effe products.
