Sauna Lighting: What Is Suitable and What Is Not

A sauna means 90 °C and high humidity, in a cycle that repeats hundreds of times. An ordinary light fitting is not made for that, and this is not a question of looks but of electrical safety.

What a light fitting must be able to do

Heat resistance confirmed by the manufacturer, not “should be fine”. In the sauna a light works under conditions in which ordinary plastics soften and seals go hard and crack.

Proper protection against moisture. The steam from pouring water gets in everywhere.

A cover, so that nobody can touch the light or smash the glass. In a dark sauna you stand up and reach around by reflex.

The best solution: LED strips

LEDs hardly get warm and can be fitted under the benches or behind the backrest, where nobody goes and where it is cooler than under the ceiling.

Light reflected off the wood gives a warm, soft mood, and that is the whole point of sauna lighting. It is not about seeing; it is about not sitting in complete darkness.

The power supply goes outside. It is the only delicate part and there is no reason to leave it in the heat. We offer an IP65 LED lighting set as an option; with assembly by our crew it is included in the assembly price.

Fibre optics: the premium option

The light source sits outside the sauna and only the fibres go in, and they conduct neither electricity nor heat.

The safest solution there is, and the most expensive. Worth it for rental saunas or where children use the sauna.

Where to put it

Under the bench or behind the backrest, pointing down or towards the wall.

Never directly at eye level. In the sauna you lie back and look up, and a lamp above your head turns relaxation into glare.

Not directly above the stove, where it is hottest.

The switch always outside or in the changing area, never in the hot zone.

How much light

Less is more. The sauna is not a reading room: bright, cold light ruins the mood and makes it harder to switch off.

A warm colour temperature, below 3,000 K. Cold, bluish light in a wooden sauna feels like a hospital.

Even better with a dimmer. A different brightness suits stepping in than suits the session itself.

What to avoid

An ordinary bulb in an ordinary ceiling light.

An extension lead run into the sauna “just for a moment”.

LED strips with no approval for high temperatures, bought at a DIY store for cupboard lighting.

A switch inside.

What it costs

A sauna-rated LED set with a power supply is the cheapest good solution and the one fitted most often.

Individual sauna lights with a protective guard cost somewhat more, fibre optics considerably more.

Outdoor light counts too

In winter you come out of the sauna in the dark, heated and barefoot. Light at the door and along the path is not about looks but about safety.

A few solar lights along the path and one fitting over the entrance are enough. It costs almost nothing and changes every winter evening.