How Long Does a Sauna Take to Heat Up?
Most saunas are ready in 30 to 60 minutes. The heater, the stones and the weather decide where you land.
The short answer
Most saunas take 30 to 60 minutes to heat properly. An electric heater usually needs 30 to 45 minutes. A wood stove usually needs 45 to 60, because the stove and the stones have to warm up before the room does. Every sauna is a little different, so treat these as a starting point.
What changes the time
- Heater size: a heater too small for the room takes longer and may never reach temperature
- Stone mass: more stone heats more slowly, then gives softer heat that comes back quickly after the door opens
- Glass: large windows lose more heat than insulated walls
- Insulation: a tight, insulated room holds what the heater makes
- Weather: the colder it is outside, the longer it takes
In a Minnesota winter
Plan on 10 to 15 minutes more on the coldest days. Urban Sauna builds for that: mineral wool insulation in the walls, tempered insulated glass, and a heater sized to the hot room.
Start it before you need it
The HUUM Drop and IKI Pillar electric heaters have Wi-Fi control, so you can turn the sauna on from your phone and walk into a warm room.
With a wood stove, light the fire first and let it work. The stove warms in the first 20 minutes, the stones in the next 20, and the room after that.
How to tell it is ready
A sauna is ready when the heat is even from the bench to your feet and a ladle of water on the stones turns straight to steam.