FIR Saunas

Key Benefits

• FIR (far-infrared) heats the body more directly & faster than warm air does
• Low air temperature range than traditional saunas of 90F-130F
• Infrared intensity control panel (essential for safety)
• Microcirculation is increased significantly & quickly
• For most, a stronger sweat is produced (compared to a traditional sauna)

Features of Our FIR Saunas

The key characteristics of infrared are that it is well-absorbed by the body and fast-acting. Its rapid, efficient body-heating creates lower temperature saunas and accelerates the detoxification process. A safety concern with FIR saunas is that speedier detox is not always desirable. So, to assure both comfort and optimal safety - especially for children, ill folks, and beginners, Heavenly Heat takes the invaluable precaution of making the intensity of the IR from each key heater fully controllable from within the sauna.

Intensity control lets each bather minimize their FIR exposure initially, to acclimate gradually and safely, and lets them increase it incrementally as they adapt. Once acclimated, they can utilize constant, comfortable full-power FIR exposure – regardless of the sauna’s air temperature! This innovation helps assure both safety and optimal detoxification benefits, while enjoying a level of infrared exposure tuned to personal comfort.

In FIR saunas, the intensity of the infrared exposure is the primary body-heating factor and the sauna’s air temperature is secondary. It is critical that the strength of the infrared from the closest heaters can be controlled by each bather from within the sauna. In other FIR saunas, this can’t be done, but in all of our saunas, it can: interior dials are within easy reach from the bench, allowing immediate control of key heaters.

A common weakness in FIR saunas is their poor venting. Since infrared itself does not heat air, it is difficult to allow much fresh, cooler outside air into the sauna to replace the stale air. Heavenly Heat channels outside air around the heaters, so that warmed fresh air constantly enters the sauna, displacing the contaminated air. There is no need for noisy fans or air cleaners, which are indicators of inadequate ventilation. Good ventilation is another key for healthful sauna detox, and it’s included in all of our saunas.

The Far-Infrared Models FIR1

The FIR1 is a personal sauna that surrounds the bather with 6 FIR heaters for full exposure. Other FIR saunas do not this degree of body coverage. There are 3 heaters just for the legs, with direct exposure in front of, and behind, both lower legs. A 4th heater is at the back, plus 1 for each side of the upper body. There are 2 windows - 1 by your side and another in the end wall which you face, above the 2 leg heaters. Optionally, you can omit one or both windows.

The FIR1 is very comfortable: all 3 upper body heaters have intensity-control; the seat is extra-deep; there is over 20” of leg room; and a sloped footrest keeps your feet near the base of the heaters rather than in the cooler air below them.

This model plugs into a standard, grounded, 15-amp, 110V outlet.

The small circles are air vents where warmed fresh air is entering the sauna. Similar venting is found in each FIR model.

FIR2

Available in two versions (not counting customizations):

1. The FIR2DX provides FIR energy for 2 with 6 heaters. A small heater is at the end of the seat, in the side wall, so a sole bather can stretch out and retain FIR at their back. Most 2-person FIR saunas have no side heater to warm the back in this comfortable position. This model is larger than most 2-person FIR saunas and must plug into a 20-amp, 110V outlet. Pre-wired stereo speakers with metal-grills are included, mounted under the seat, away from the hottest air.
2. For those without a 20-amp circuit, the FIR2 model has same interior layout but the end-of-bench heater is omitted so it can be used on a common 15-amp, 110V outlet.

FIR3

At almost 6’ long, the FIR3 is a very spacious 3-person FIR sauna. A single bather is able to recline on a 5’7” long bench. It includes 8 FIR heaters. A 20-amp, 110V circuit is required.

FIR4

The 4-person sauna is 54” deep by 73” side-to-side. It plugs into a 20-amp, 120V* grounded outlet. The foot room is about 21” across. There are 8 heaters – 4 above bench, 4 below. All 4 uppers are intensity controllable. This is a great unit for family & clinical use.

* 240V volt heaters can be substituted, and larger 240V saunas can be built to-order.

Our Heaters

Far-Infrared

We used ceramic emitters for 20 years but switched to ceramic-covered stainless steel as they are much larger and more durable, and they emit FIR energy at an even higher rate than the small emitters. They maximize FIR body coverage to create the most-effective detox saunas.

The ceramic is made of clay and an ideal mix of minerals based on zirconium oxide, the key ingredient of the first FIR sauna heaters patented in Japan. It is baked-on to form a hard glaze.

Consumers should be wary of claims that carbon FIR heaters provide more FIR than other heaters due to their larger surface. That may seem logical, but in reality, spreading roughly the input electric power over a larger area only dilutes the output, creating weak heaters that emit a lot less FIR per area than ceramics. While promoted as “state-of-the-art” heating, the bottom-line criterion for assessing FIR heaters and FIR sauna design, is the amount of FIR energy they provide to the bather. All else is hype!

We compared our heaters to ceramic emitters used in other brands at full power. Our “peak wavelength” was about the same as the others. Therapeutically, this is not meaningful, and it’s mentioned only because there is so much misinformation online about heater’s wavelengths in sauna brands, and that certain wavelengths are especially important, etc. Please feel free to contact us for reliable technical information.

Near-Infrared

One can add near-infrared heaters into our saunas with the "NIR" option. While

While far-infrared is a better sweat prod than NIR is, near infrared heating can add to the overall level of infrared energy the body receives and can "target" parts of the body that  typically are not addressed directly in FIR saunas.