Recently, small home saunas that you can make yourself have become very popular. At first, their appearance became a real boom, but today many manufacturers have already mastered the technology and began to produce zirconium emitters. They emit special waves from 2 to 5.6 microns, which have a beneficial effect on the human body.
Today, the infrared sauna has become an integral attribute of houses being built in the USA and Western Europe. But Russia is no longer lagging behind them. It’s quite simple to make an infrared sauna on your own, by studying certain literature and reading the relevant instructions.
Advantages and advantages
Before you start arranging a sauna in your home, you should understand all its main features, and first of all, its advantages.
- Easy to install, as no special skills or special skills are required.
- For the sauna to work, you only need an electrical connection.
- Such saunas can be used even by people with heart problems, since they use relatively low temperatures (no more than 50 degrees).
- Thanks to procedures in infrared saunas, you can restore strength, strengthen the body and make it resistant to viruses and various infections. In a word, the immune system is strengthened.
- Thanks to regular procedures, metabolism improves, and as a result, blood flow.
- Scientists have proven that a single visit to such a sauna leads to the burning of about 2.5 thousand calories, which go away along with waste and toxins.
Knowing the advantages of such structures, you become stronger in your decision to build a sauna in your own home.
Basic recommendations to consider when equipping a sauna
Since infrared saunas are not uncommon, a certain list of small recommendations has already been created that will help avoid the most common mistakes when creating such a room.
- Saunas with infrared devices do not require additional insulation. They just need to be well sealed so that there is no free circulation of air in the room.
- Installation of infrared emitters and lighting devices should be carried out only after thoroughly cleaning the fully finished cabin.
- You should start building an infrared sauna only after creating a carefully thought-out diagram, which will take into account all the aspects of the final design. This will help minimize the number of errors and eliminate time-consuming changes.
Work order
The entire process of installing a sauna can be divided into two main stages:
- Cabin installation.
- Installation of equipment.
First you should start arranging the box, and only then install the equipment.
Making box
Making a sauna cabin is the most difficult stage of construction. You should be careful when choosing wood, since not every species is suitable for such purposes. The best option would be linden; you can also use aspen or alder. During manufacture, you will need a wooden beam, as well as a sufficient amount of curved and straight lining.
First, the frame of the structure is made. Its size depends on how many people it is designed for. In most cases, a sauna is made for 1 person, maximum two. Therefore, most often the width will be from 1.2 to 2.1 m, the depth - 1.1 m, while the height will be from 1.8 to 2 meters. The shape of the frame is most often rectangular. Do not forget that at this stage a doorway should be provided. For this design, ordinary interior doors are ideal, which are installed immediately after the structure is assembled.
The final stage of construction is the framing of the sauna frame. For interior decoration, it is best to use natural wood, namely lining, and the outside of the room can be sheathed using OSB or chipboard. The most important stage will be the lining of the sauna from the inside, in particular the formation of special niches where the equipment necessary for work will be placed:
- Infrared emitters;
- Fans;
- Lighting.
Equipment installation
This is another functional step in creating your own sauna. There are special requirements for the electrical wiring for such a room, namely the wires must be double insulated and withstand voltages up to 400V and currents up to 15 A. To operate the sauna, you can organize a separate power source, or you can get by with a regular outlet.
It is important to choose the right infrared emitter itself. Here you should pay attention to the following characteristics:
- Select sizes according to the niches in the room;
- Pay attention to the presence of a ceramic coating on the heating elements;
- Choose the correct wavelength;
- Check the quality of the protective grilles;
- Provide for the possibility of installing devices in different positions.
When arranging the emitters, it should be taken into account that during operation they must create a single field that will uniformly influence a person. Most often used:
- Two rear ones, which are located behind the back;
- One foot;
- Two front ones that are installed in the corners.
After installing the emitters, you should correctly position the device control panel. Most often, it is located on the front side of the area, and temperature and humidity sensors are installed opposite it.
These are all the main points that will help you organize an infrared sauna in your own home. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this if you approach the work correctly and follow the instructions supplied with the equipment by the manufacturer. But in general, the creation process is quite simple if you first draw up a clear diagram with the dimensions and features of the proposed design.
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And the heater is not simple, but one that is almost free, with a minimum investment. Today, the most affordable and effective source of heat is a conventional incandescent lamp.
The light bulb converts all the energy consumed into light and heat. This is what the emission spectrum of an incandescent lamp looks like.
The figure shows the part of the spectrum that the human eye can see.
As you can see, the main radiation power lies in another spectrum - infrared.
If we consider a light bulb as a light source, then its efficiency is extremely low and is no more than 2-3%. But if you look at a light bulb as a heat source, then the efficiency will be as much as 97%, because we perceive infrared radiation as heat.
If you increase the voltage supplied to the light bulb, you can achieve a light output efficiency of up to 15%, but the light bulb will not last more than a couple of hours. And if you reduce the voltage by half, the light output will drop by 5 times, and almost all the energy consumed will be spent on radiation of the infrared spectrum. At the same time, the service life of the light bulb will increase from 1000 hours to almost 1,000,000 hours, that is, the light bulb will become almost eternal when compared with human life.
But more precisely, it will be able to work continuously for more than 100 years. If you connect two light bulbs in series, the voltage on each lamp will drop by half.
You can see how the light output dropped significantly with this connection. Let's measure how much such a bunch of light bulbs consumes. Current is approximately 290 mA.
The voltage in the author’s outlet is stable and equals 240 volts. This is because there is a substation nearby.
This means the consumption of two light bulbs is approximately 70 W. Due to the increase in resistance, consumption decreased, but the ratio of the amount of heat per 1 W of power consumption increased.
For comparison, let's measure the current flowing in one light bulb. It is equal to 420 mA. That is, the consumption is an honest 100 W.
For the homemade heater, the author bought 150-watt light bulbs, which, by the way, after the epic law banning the production of light bulbs with a power of over 100 W, are now produced under the guise of heat emitters. Tricky, isn't it?
When such lamps are connected in series, the radiated heat is immediately felt. And at the same time you can calmly look at them without squinting from the bright light. The current in this circuit is 410 mA. This means that the consumption of such a bunch of light bulbs is about 100 W, which is almost entirely used for heating.
Let's see what power infrared heaters come in and what area they are designed for. It is very easy to compare different models on the Internet.
As you can see, most heaters spend 100 W of electricity to heat one square meter. Purely for comparison, let’s take a look at what’s going on with oil radiators. The ratio is the same, the same 100 W per 1 m2 of area.
The author needs to heat a small working area of about 3-4 m². So he decided to build a 300W infrared heater. This will require 3 pairs of light bulbs.
To make the heater more or less durable, we will make a frame from an aluminum corner. The author has a couple of unnecessary scraps.
The light bulbs inside the frame must be positioned so that the distance between the axes of the light bulbs is equal to the distance from the axis of the outermost light bulb to the edge of the frame. It sounds kind of tricky, but in the picture, I think everything is clear.
The distance between the rows of light bulbs should be such that the light bulbs can be replaced after 100 years if they fail. That is, it is necessary to leave a gap between the flasks of about a centimeter. The author temporarily connects the frame parts with bolts. Of course, you need to use a square, otherwise it will turn out to be hell. Now inside the frame you need to fix two strips on which the reflector, that is, the reflector, will be attached.
After the author secured the aluminum strips with rivets, the frame became rigid. The corners are maintained and the bolts in the frame can be replaced with rivets. In addition to the bolts of one corner, we leave the opportunity to unscrew it, in case you can’t screw in the light bulbs.
Now comes the fun part. Making a reflector. A regular parabola-shaped reflector is not very effective. A reflector in the form of a biparabola is much more effective. A regular reflector reflects some of the light back into the lamp, but a biparabola does not do this.
To make the reflector, you will need aluminum from aluminum cans, because it is easy to process and has the desired bend.
After trying it on for a long time, the author came to the conclusion that it was better to make a bend approximately in the middle, so that there was a margin of a centimeter. And one more bend, with the help of which the two segments will cling to each other.
Rivets will help connect the two pieces together. But canned aluminum is very thin and breaks easily, so we’ll put a washer on both sides of the rivet. This design will be much more reliable.
Now you need to fasten the missing pieces in the same way. We put the reflector in the frame.
We fasten the reflector with rivets. First the central ones, without pressing them to the end, and then the extreme ones. This is done because the sheets fidget and constantly want to fold a little. And if you clamp the central rivets, the sheets may remain in the wrong position.
The reflector is fixed. Now you need to secure the lamps, so that they do not touch the reflector, but are separated from it at some distance, about a finger. Yes, let there be a finger.
You will need strips of aluminum 9 cm long. The places where the cartridge is attached to the strips must be very accurately marked. Because if it’s crooked, you won’t be able to run the wire. The stripe is right next to each other in width.
We attach the strips to the frame using a square. We secure the cartridges using nuts with a nylon ring. They do not spin up due to vibration and do not need to be controlled. Do not tighten the nut too hard, as it will expand when heated and may crack.
Now the most important point - screw in the light bulbs. It's tight, but you can twist it.
Now the wiring. The author wired what wires he found. Be sure to put on the tips, and now the insulation. The wire must have at least 2 insulations. Especially if it touches metal.
We will install a two-key switch to divide the heaters into two lines. To do this, we attach a piece of plywood, on which we will then place a switch. We will use a three-wire cable to power the heater.
More recently, a relatively new device has appeared in various sports clubs and fitness centers - an infrared sauna. This modern construction, a visit to which is considered very beneficial for health, bears little resemblance to a real bathhouse. An infrared sauna looks more like a regular shower. One of its undoubted advantages is that it can be installed in almost any room. Many people install such saunas even in small city apartments. Since the design of the infrared bath is very simple, it is not difficult to assemble it, including with your own hands.
How it works
Actually, infrared is called completely harmless. This is exactly what comes from a heated oven or a working heater. That is, an infrared bath, in fact, can be called just dry heat. The main element of such a sauna is a heater of a special design, powered by a regular household network. Once turned on, this device becomes a source of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Such equipment is usually installed in a cabin made of natural wood or some other environmentally friendly material.
Infrared heaters for baths -The devices are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased today in almost any specialized hypermarket.Main featurethis equipmentis what it conveysheat directly to the human body without heating the air. To better understand the principle of operation of such heaters, you can simply imagine a room into which the sun shines through the window. Those objects that are hit by its rays will become very hot. In this case, the temperature of the air in the room will change only slightly.
What tools and materials will be needed
The easiest way, of course, is to purchase a ready-made infrared sauna in a store. It will not be difficult to install such a structure yourself. Ready It is simply installed in the right place in the apartment and connected to the power supply. These saunas look very prestigious, but at the same time they are expensive. With your own hands, meanwhile, you can make an equally beautiful infrared bath and spend much less money.
The following materials will need to be purchased to assemble such a sauna:
pine timber 5 0x 5 0 mm for the frame of the sauna box;
clapboard (linden or pine);
fire protection solution;
steel corners;
60x25 mm;
8mm tempered glass for door;
Tools you will need: a screwdriver, a tape measure, a hacksaw, a construction level, a large ruler.
What to do first
Baths and infrared saunas, as already mentioned, are installed not only in private houses, but also in city apartments. In the latter case, it is impossible to install such a structure just like that, at your own request. First you need to obtain permission from organizations such as:
BTI;
Fire Department.
Such permits are usually issued only when:
according to the project, the size of the sauna is at least two times smaller than the room in which it will be installed;
the distance between the walls of the cabin and the bathroom is at least 5-7 cm.
How to create a project
Of course, before you start assembling the sauna, you should decide on its dimensions and the number of heaters. In city apartments usuallyis installed, calculated to serve one person. In a country house you can assemble a larger model.
Heaters can be used in two types:
frontal;
corner.
When purchasing, among other things, you should pay attention to their power. For a small sauna, two corner models and three front models of 400 W each will be sufficient. These devices are installed according to the following scheme:
two in the corners on the front wall of the cabin;
two behind person receiving the procedure;
one under the bench (for the feet).
In bathrooms of small apartments it is often installed corner . In this case, four heaters are hung in the cabin - two on the walls on both sides of the door in front of the person receiving the procedure, one at the back - in the corner and another one - under the bench.
Whatever the design, all heaters should be located at the same level from the floor. The only exception in this case is the device under the bench. Insulate an infrared saunano need. Indeed, in this case, heat acts directly on the human body and practically does not spread throughout the cabin.
ABOUT Having decided on the design of the infrared bath and its configuration, you must definitely make a drawing of it. This procedure should be followed according to all rules. That is, indicating the dimensions of the elements, methods of fastening, etc. Of course, the drawing should be made in three projections.
Electrics
Water supply and sewerage infrared sauna in the apartment does not require. But extend the electrical wiring tocabin, of coursehave to. Under no circumstances should heaters be simply connected to an outlet. For an infrared bath, you need to run a separate cable from the panel.
Cabin assembly
Installing an infrared sauna with your own hands is quite simple. The frame is made as follows:
Assemble the lower trim. The timber can be joined using the half-tree method or using corners. The latter method is considered more convenient.
Install corner posts. Their length should be 20-25 cm less than the height of the ceilings in the room. The racks cannot be raised all the way to the top. The sauna must have its own ceiling. You can also attach the racks to the corners.
Once the racks are installed, you can begin assembling the top trim.
At the next stage, the racks are connected to each other with wooden slats. If desired, you can further strengthen them with jibs. If the ceiling height in the room is 2.5 meters, two such tiers reinforcing the frame will be sufficient.
Installing the lining. It is not necessary to fasten it to the crossbars with nails. This will greatly spoil the appearance of the structure. To fix the slats, it is best to use special hidden fasteners.
The cabin roof can also be made from clapboard. The bottom is usually filled with a floorboard.When assembling the cabin, you should carefully ensure that there are no gaps in it.
Sauna doors
This element of the cabin design can be made either solid wood or glass. In the first case, the door frame is assembled first. Then, just like the frame, it is sheathed with clapboard. Each sash should be hung with at least two hinges.
You can also make a glass door for an infrared sauna yourself. In this case, the design will look even more presentable. This door is assembled as follows:
install the floor rail;
install glass on it and make a mark on it in the area of the top trim;
cut using a glass cutter;
cut the second glass in exactly the same way;
install the top guide;
they put the glass into the rails.
Installation of heaters
In the bath d It must fill its entire space completely. Therefore, such an operation as installing heaters should be carried out in strict compliance with the required technology.
Such devices are suspendedin a sauna it is usually vertical. After all, in such a bathhouse people most often sit, rather than lie. Heaters are hung behind a person’s back at a distance of approximately 60 cm from each other. There should be a gap of approximately 7-12 cm from the top edge of all instruments to the cabin ceiling.
Optional equipment
It is best to connect infrared heaters to the network through a special control unit with a remote control. Such a device is quite expensive (around 9-30 thousand rubles). But if it is available, using the shower stall in the future will be much more convenient. Using the remote control, for example, you can regulate the time of procedures, the power of heaters, etc.
Infrared floors
This type of thermal radiation can, of course, be used not only in dry saunas. It has also found its application in ordinary baths. In such buildings, for example, infrared floors are often installed. In this case, a special film with carbon strips soldered into it is laid on the ceiling. This design works from a regular household network.Infrared floors in the bathhouseThey are placed primarily to increase the comfort of taking water procedures. Installing such structures is relatively easy. Therefore, you can also install them yourself.
If desired, film with carbon plates can also completely replace heaters in an infrared sauna. In this case, the material is covered not with the floor, but with the walls of the booth.
How to make a bench
The dimensions of this structure will depend on the width of the cabin itself. To assemble the bench you will need:
seat board;
bars (four for legs and crossbars and two for struts).
You can attach the bench elements to each other using screws or nails. Although the air temperature in an infrared sauna usually does not exceed 50 degrees, nail heads should be sunk into the wood. Before you start assembling the bench, you should make a drawing of it. This will avoid unnecessary mistakes.
Mount the bench in the following sequence:
cut lumber according to the drawing;
in the legs they make inserts for crossbars “half a tree”;
fasten the legs and crossbars;
screw the seat to the resulting structures;
The struts are secured with one end to the seat and the other to the lower crossbars.
What you need to know
There is no need to coat the wooden elements of an infrared sauna with varnish. Treating timber and boards with a fire-bioprotective solution will be quite sufficient. Although the air in such a sauna does not heat up too much, the varnish will certainly begin to release harmful substances during its use.
Do-it-yourself installation of a finished booth
As you can see, assembling an infrared sauna yourself is not that difficult. But, of course, it’s easier to purchase a ready-made model. Installation of factory infrared baths is carried out as follows:
- They are assembling the cabin.
Unpack boxes with components. It is better to carry out this operation at the place where the sauna is supposed to be installed.
Place the back panel vertically on top of the bottom panel.
Place side panels to the right and left.
Install backrests and seats.
Mount the front panel.
Screw fuses under the heaters.
Install a ceiling lamp.
Mount handles on the door.
Infrared baths: the benefits and harms of visiting
What actually explains the enormous popularity of such designs? And although infrared saunas are small in size, they, of course, take up quite a lot of space in an apartment or house. And assembling an infrared bath (even with your own hands) is relatively expensive. So what makes people install such structures in their homes?
The popularity of the infrared bath is explained primarily by the fact that visiting it is considered very beneficial for health.The body of a person in such a cabin warms up several centimeters deep.This is precisely the main benefit infrared bath. For comparison: in a regular sauna the body warms up just a few millimeters deep.
Doctors, however, advise using an infrared sauna, like a regular bath, for healing purposes only for prevention. At the same time, according to experts, under no circumstances should people visit such a bathhouse:
with fungal skin lesions;
with infectious diseases;
for all types of malignant tumors;
during any illness in the acute stage;
for serious kidney diseases.
Making a sauna with your own hands is the dream of every home owner. But building a full-fledged Russian bathhouse will take a lot of time and effort, require serious financial costs, and you also need to have a lot of knowledge and skills to cope with this grandiose construction. If the dream of taking a steam bath at home does not disappear, you can try a compact, inexpensive and most healthy option for an infrared saunarium.
The popularity of this type of steam room has long crossed the borders of Japan, where the first infrared cabin was created in 1967. At first they were used as medical equipment for medical procedures. Later, in the 90s of the last century, the device began to be called an infrared sauna and its area began to be used every day as a home steam room. The innovation was first picked up in the USA and Western Europe, and later fashion moved to the east. Currently, in Russia there is a real boom in the popularity of infrared saunas. They have long ceased to be an attribute of a fitness club or beauty salon; many owners are trying to install such cabins in their homes and even apartments.
In this article we will find out what an infrared sauna is, what its advantages and healing properties are, and consider the possibility of arranging this comfort item at home with your own hands.
Compact and comfortable
An infrared sauna basically looks like a parallelepiped with a base of 1000x1000 mm and a height of 1950 mm. Although, in principle, the size of the base can be increased. It all depends on the availability of free space in the room for a sauna and the number of people steaming at the same time. Installing a single sauna cabin in an apartment is considered the best option. Equipping an infrared bath with an acoustic system, an air ionizer and a phytotherapeutic unit increases the comfort of your time.
Principle of operation
To understand how the heating process occurs in an infrared sauna, you need to remember the section on methods of transferring thermal energy from a school physics course. These are thermal conductivity, convention and radiation. In the case of a sauna, it is the method of heat transfer by radiation that works. On a winter day, the rays of the sun passing through the glass of the window heat up the objects in the room. Subsequently, they give off heat and heat the room. The steam process in an infrared sauna is based on this principle. Waves of infrared radiation emanating from special heaters heat the human body. Infrared heaters are placed in the front, back and legs to ensure uniform heating of the tissues of the entire body.
There are two types of infrared heaters: ceramic and carbon. Ceramic devices have a simple structure, high efficiency and are easy to maintain. When they are used, the human body in an infrared sauna heats up less. But due to constant use, they are less economical than carbon emitters. Infrared carbon heaters heat the sauna much more, so they are equipped with temperature sensors that can turn off the device when the set temperature is reached. It is the intermittent operating mode that makes it possible to save energy.
To turn on the infrared sauna, a regular household voltage of 220V is sufficient.
Advantages of an infrared sauna over a Russian or Finnish bath
Infrared saunas are the technologies of the future, and they are superior to their predecessors in many ways:
- the temperature in the infrared sauna is only 40-55ºС versus 100-120ºС in a regular bath, which has a more comfortable effect on the human body;
- the consumed electrical power of IR heaters ranges from 1.5 to 4 kW, in contrast to conventional saunas, where this figure is 17 kW or more;
- when installing an infrared cabin, it is enough to plug it into the network and have a shower cabin nearby, while a traditional bathhouse requires a special power supply, water supply and ventilation system;
- The preparation time for an infrared sauna takes 10 minutes, versus 1-1.5 hours in a regular sauna;
- The duration of the procedure in the IR cabin takes half an hour, and in a simple bath it takes up to 10 or 15 minutes in several stages;
- in infrared saunas, unlike traditional baths, there are no age restrictions, and the list of health prohibitions is much smaller;
- Almost any room can be used as a place to place an IR cabin: an apartment, a house, a medical facility or a sports facility; a regular sauna requires a separate building or room; installation in an apartment building is impossible;
- in an infrared sauna, along with the healing properties of a regular bath, six times more toxins are removed from the body and an excellent healing effect is observed;
- body temperature under the influence of infrared radiation rises above 38ºС, which helps to suppress the activity of pathogenic bacteria; in a conventional sauna, an increase to 37.2º does not give the desired result;
- visiting an infrared sauna, perhaps, every day, but it is advisable to go to a regular bath once a week, maximum two.
Benefits of infrared sauna
Some people, who are reluctant to accept everything new, claim that infrared radiation is harmful and has a negative effect. But in fact, this is a far-fetched theory that has no scientific evidence. The sun's rays, under which all living things live, including humans, create just such radiation. Of course, everything should be in moderation. The beneficial properties of an infrared sauna have been proven by scientists. They are undeniable. After regularly taking an infrared sauna:
- the body's immune system is strengthened;
- the cardiovascular system is strengthened, blood pressure returns to normal, and cholesterol levels in the blood decrease;
- metabolism in the body is normalized, waste and toxins are eliminated;
- the skin is cleansed, the healing processes of wounds, burns, and frostbite are accelerated. Scars after surgical interventions literally dissolve before our eyes;
- muscle tissue and tendons become more elastic and are better stretchable;
- flexibility and mobility of the musculoskeletal system increases;
- the nervous system calms down, nervousness goes away, irritability and insomnia disappear;
- Metabolism improves, which leads to weight loss.
There are not so many contraindications to the use of an infrared sauna and they do not differ from the prohibitions on taking procedures in an ordinary Russian bath or Finnish sauna. These are colds and viruses in the presence of high fever, cancer tumors and external or internal bleeding, kidney and liver diseases, heart disorders, diseases of the blood, joints and endocrine system.
DIY IR sauna
After studying all the advantages and useful properties of an infrared sauna, an irresistible desire appears to get such a device into your home. Building an infrared sauna with your own hands is a very real undertaking.
Stage No. 1. Design
Specifications
When designing an infrared sauna, the following technical conditions should be taken into account:
1. IR heaters are installed in the cabins with an operating temperature of the heating element equal to 230-260ºС. A lower temperature will not provide the required level of infrared radiation.
2. Air humidity in the sauna should be in the range from 40 to 60%, and the temperature in the range of 37-47ºС. A decrease in temperature will lead to a cooling of the human body, and an increase will lead to a deterioration in his well-being.
3. The procedure is performed while sitting. This is due to the need to constantly remove sweat secretions, because sweat reduces the effect of infrared heating, and the technical complexity of making a lying cabin, since it is difficult to ensure a uniform distance of 10-15 cm from the heating element to the human body.
4. To thermally insulate the interior of the cabin from the influence of the external environment, the internal surfaces are made of natural wood not subject to treatment with oils or varnishes.
5. IR heaters should be installed on all sides of a person, ensuring uniform heating. However, their number should not be increased, as this will cause an increase in the air temperature in the cabin, which is unacceptable.
6. The corner or front heating element is mounted on the sauna floor in a vertical position to heat the lower legs and feet. The foot heater is installed under the bench to warm up the calf muscles. Rear IR heaters are installed behind the seated person.
Design requirements
When designing and further constructing an infrared sauna, it is necessary to take into account the requirements for the cabin design:
The walls, floor and ceiling of the IR sauna must be secured so that the structure as a whole is strong and reliable, but can be easily disassembled and dismantled if necessary.
No gaps are allowed between the surfaces of the IR structure. All joints must be sealed, otherwise there will be penetration of cold air from outside.
External surfaces made of solid wood are varnished to avoid contamination.
The flooring and shelves are made from natural wood with a mandatory water-based varnish coating. This is explained by the need for regular wet cleaning of the sauna room.
The electrical part of the infrared sauna must be made in accordance with the electrical safety requirements of the PUE and state standards.
IR sauna drawings
This section presents IR booth projects that can be installed in any room based on your needs. If necessary, it is possible to adapt a standard project to the specific dimensions of the existing room.
Projects of single infrared saunas
Double IR cabin
Triple infrared steam room
Several non-standard solutions for constructing an infrared sauna
Material for making infrared saunas
As a material for the interior decoration of the IR cabin, it is best to take lining made of linden, aspen or alder. These rocks do not contain essential oils and perfectly absorb moisture, which will have a beneficial effect on the microclimate in the sauna during the procedure. In addition, essential oils can make breathing difficult, and in some cases even cause allergic reactions.
To finish the ceiling and door opening you will need wooden corners and cornices.
And the door itself. It is preferable that it be glass.
In addition, you will need a 40x40 beam to assemble the frame and a 20 board to make a bench
IR heaters, temperature sensors, lamps, sockets, wires and various fasteners.
Tool for making your own IR booth
Building an infrared sauna does not require much effort. A little skill in working with power tools and a hammer and everything will work out. To complete the work you will need:
Pencil or marker.
Measuring tool.
Building level.
Screwdriver Set.
Screwdriver.
Power saw.
Jigsaw.
Electric drill.
Step-by-step instructions for making an infrared sauna with your own hands at home
Step #1
For a room for a sauna, we select a room with dimensions of 1150x3060x2400. This size is quite suitable for a three-seater cabin. First, we attach plastic film to the walls. This is necessary to ensure waterproofing.
Step #2
Let's start attaching the frame. For this we use 40×40 pine timber.
Step #3
Initially, using our drawing, we determine the location of the IR heaters and perform electrical wiring to them using silicone heat-resistant cable inside the wall and under the shelf (bench), not forgetting about lighting.
Step #4
After this, we lay insulation in order to obtain a “thermos” in a separate room. The ideal option would be rock wool Sauna Butts from Rockwool, which does not contain components that release phenol formaldehyde when heated. But this is an extra precaution, since in an infrared sauna the temperature does not exceed 55ºС, which means that the material will not warm up to a temperature dangerous to health.
Step #5
Step #6
The next step will be covering the ceiling and walls with linden clapboard.
Step #7
We install ventilation in the ceiling. For this, an aluminum corrugated pipe Ø100, which we connect to the ventilation shaft, is quite sufficient. We install a ventilation grille on the ceiling. IR saunas do not create steam or high temperatures during operation, and therefore do not require the installation of forced ventilation.
Next, we will begin installing Harvia IR heaters. We install six heating elements along the long wall, one at a time along the short side.
Step #9
After this we will equip the shelves. There will be three more heaters in it, so we bring out the wiring.
Step #10
We install the power supply and control panel outside. It is advisable to make the connection via a separate line from the panel. Carrying bags are not permitted.
Let's move on to the process of sewing up the shelf (bench).
Step #12
We cut out the seats for the IR heaters and install them.
Step #13
We install lamps with light sources made in tropical design UT 1.5. They are able to withstand temperatures up to +60ºС.
Step #14
We attach the backrests.
Step #15
We install a door with heat-resistant, impact-resistant glass.
The result is an infrared sauna in the apartment. This steam room is in no way inferior to purchased models, but provides great savings on the family budget.
We offer another budget option for a DIY IR saunarium
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Relatively inexpensive and, at the same time, healthy, infrared home saunas are becoming more and more popular every day. In this article with photos, we will try to tell you in as much detail as possible about how to make an infrared sauna with your own hands.
In Russia, such baths are becoming more and more relevant. Although this type of thermal radiation was discovered more than two hundred years ago in England, scientists who drew attention to the fact that temperature increases behind the red light of the solar spectrum. The idea soon became interested in the Japanese, who put their health in one of the first places.
Half a century ago, their doctors came up with a method for deep penetration of heat while warming the body with such radiation. Soon zirconium emitters were invented, producing waves of 2-5.6 microns. It is this length that has the best effect on the human body.
Let’s take a closer look at how to make an infrared sauna with your own hands, and what its advantages are in comparison with simple steam rooms.
Maximum efficiency in minimum footprint
The design of an infrared sauna is currently a simple cabinet with dimensions of 1000x1000x1950 mm. But there are also larger saunas that can accommodate several people.
Existing infrared saunas are equipped with a control system that allows you to adjust the acoustics system, turn on an air ionizer or a color therapy device.
Operating principle of an infrared sauna
The radiation spectrum of the heating elements is such that when it hits the human body, it is deeply heated. As a result, blood flow improves, fluid circulates better throughout the body, metabolic processes are restored, and cells are better supplied with oxygen.
An infrared sauna makes a person sweat no worse than in a regular bath. Together with sweat, fats and toxins are removed from the body, and the process itself is 2-3 times more effective than in a regular steam room! This type of sauna is universally recognized as so beneficial that it is used for athletes in the preparatory stages for competitions, as well as as a restorative measure after their completion.
Advantages of infrared saunas compared to a conventional sauna
Before you build an infrared sauna with your own hands, it is worth studying its main advantages compared to a Finnish sauna.
In Russia, infrared saunas are loved because:
- Such a sauna has significantly lower energy consumption, because there is no need to warm up all the air. Heating elements are very economical.
- There is no chance of getting burned, because all dangerous elements are hidden in the wall of the cabin.
- The minimum number of contraindications, unlike the Finnish sauna. This is especially true for those who were previously unable to steam and enjoy this process - in an infrared sauna you can pamper yourself with warmth for a long time. This is because wave heating has a better effect on the cardiovascular system, in contrast to incredible humidity and air that burns the body and internal organs.
Building an infrared sauna with your own hands
There are, of course, ready-made cabins of this type, however, due to their exorbitant cost, it is better to make an infrared sauna at home with your own hands. You just need to decide on a location and start assembling. The good news is that all the necessary equipment is already built into it, and the temperature in it warms up to 40 o C in a modest 5-10 minutes.
The finished system will consume 1.8-2.2 kW, which is comparable to an average iron, so you will always fit into the requirements of the electrical network.
Alternatively, you can make an infrared sauna with your own hands - you can always get the drawings. The main thing is that it can accommodate 1-2 people, and its dimensions, as a rule, are 110x213 cm.
Calculation of the electrical network for a sauna
Arranging an infrared sauna in an apartment with your own hands should begin with laying out the wiring, which must first be correctly calculated. The most important thing is the wire; it must be double braided. This rule is described in the relevant documentation for the operation of electrical installations.
The wire must withstand 400 V at a current of more than 15 A. It is better if it is single-core and has a cross-section of 1.5 square. If you are going to lay stranded wire, then a cross-section of 0.75 square will be enough. The length of the cable is determined individually, depending on the dimensions of the booth - as a rule, it is 15-30 meters.
Ventilation arrangement
It is very important to consider proper ventilation. In this case, since we have an infrared sauna, it is not necessary to build a separate ventilation system, because you can ventilate the room by simply opening the doors.
In this case, it is advisable to make the walls from hollow materials so that the heated air from infrared heaters can easily rise and be removed.
Mounting infrared emitters
Special emitters for saunas can be purchased separately at one of the hardware stores, and then installed in a regular sauna. Thus, therapeutic measures can be carried out alternately. The only condition is that they cannot be combined, since moisture is a barrier to such rays. Therefore, we can only talk about building a sauna on our own, and not a bathhouse, because infrared heating is used only for arranging saunas.
It is best to place infrared heaters vertically, because in saunas people are usually in a sitting position. If the sauna is designed for one person, then installing five heaters is enough, the main thing is that in the end they emit a single favorable field. To do this, it is better to place them in the following sequence: 2 pieces on the back wall, 2 in the front corners, and the fifth under the bench, so that the lower extremities are heated, but horizontally.
The gap between the heaters on the rear wall should be 50-60 cm, and their distance on the rear wall from the ceiling should be 7-12 cm. It should be taken into account that all emitters, except for the one located at the feet, are installed at the same height.
The lower heater should be positioned so that the canopy rises slightly less than 2 cm above it. The emitter must be placed clearly in the middle of the side paneling of the canopy. Regarding the emitters in the front panel, they are usually installed at 45°, which corresponds to the middle part of the cabin.
The determining factor in the correct installation of infrared saunas is the correct installation of the heaters themselves.
Finishing the infrared sauna from the inside
It is not necessary to painstakingly insulate the walls of this type of sauna, since the radiators will generally heat only the human body, without heating the walls and air. The sauna is traditionally lined on the outside and inside with wooden clapboard, which, when heated, will release beneficial phytoncides that have a beneficial effect on the body and produce an antiseptic effect.
The best species are pine, linden and Canadian cedar. The material for the shelves in the sauna is not so important; everyone chooses it for themselves individually, based on their preferences.
And at the last stage, before making the infrared sauna completely, you need to install a modern glass door. The result will be very beautiful and impressive, and the IR sauna will look 100 percent, and it doesn’t matter where it is located, in a bathhouse or in an ordinary apartment.