We understand that purchasing an infrared sauna can sometimes be downright confusing:
These are just some of the questions we have received over the last 22 years. We’ve put together this infrared sauna buying guide to help answer these questions. Feel free to give us a call at 02.8294.2322 We are happy to help guide you through the infrared sauna buying process.
The challenge for the consumer today is that unless you can see it in person, you cannot tell the difference between a quality infrared sauna and a cheap knock-off as the pictures on the internet can look basically the same. The questions below are some of the more common questions we receive and will help you make an informed decision so you can purchase a high quality, therapeutic infrared sauna.
Because they are. Many companies are importing containers of the same saunas or saunas with only slight variations. Look at the keypad to tell which are from the same factory; it’s somewhat amusing. We’re flattered that they’ve decided to knock-off the look that we pioneered many years ago.
Quality of design and construction coupled with superior and innovative heating technology. We start with the highest quality woods. All saunas are built by hand to our strict 48 point Quality Control. No sauna leaves the factory without being fully tested and approved by two levels of quality control.
With the ETL and CE certification, we are bound to provide a high quality product. We use no toxic glues. Our saunas are hand sanded, the handles and trim are hand crafted, the tongue and groove wood is color matched to look beautiful and all Clearlight Infrared Sauna modelsare designed to give you a lifetime of health and relaxation benefits.
Almost every other infrared sauna company uses industrial heaters that have been adapted to be used in an infrared sauna. Not willing to settle with industrial infrared heaters, we manufacture our own patented-pending infrared sauna heaters in our factory. We manufacture our True Wave combination Carbon/Ceramic far infrared heaters and full spectrum (near,mid,far) infrared heaters.
Being innovators in the infrared sauna industry, we have always set the trends that have guided the industry:
– Our True Wave™ far infrared heaters are the only infrared heaters on the market that combine both the high output of ceramic with the long wavelength of carbon to produce a sauna session that is unmatched. Our True Wave™ full spectrum infrared heaters deliver more near infrared, mid infrared and far infrared than any other infrared sauna on the market. These heaters are designed specifically to heat the human body.
– We are the industry pioneer of low EMF carbon based infrared heaters and offer the only low EMF full spectrum infrared sauna on the market.
– We are the first company to offer a low ELF infrared sauna. All Clearlight Premier™ Far Infrared and Clearlight Sanctuary™ Full Spectrum sauna models include our ELF canceling technology.
Our Clearlight Infrared Sauna® models are the only infrared saunas designed by a doctor. Dr. Raleigh Duncan has dedicated the last 20+ years to researching and developing technology to help heal the human body and he has been researching infrared therapy and its benefits for even longer.
Our years of manufacturing infrared saunas go into every Clearlight Infrared Sauna® model While our sauna cabins are exceptional quality, with hand sanded panels, high quality close grain wood and attention to detail, the therapeutic benefits are our main focus.
Our R&D department is always researching and testing new components for your sauna so when you buy a Clearlight Infrared sauna, you are buying the highest quality, most therapeutic infrared sauna available.
With our limited lifetime warranty for home use, we stand behind our saunas. This warranty covers the entire sauna; the wood cabin, heaters, controls and even the audio system. We will be here next year and five years from now should you need replacement parts or have any questions about the proper use or your sauna.
We believe that by committing to a lifetime warranty for our customers, it ensures that we build a high quality infrared sauna that will last. This informs every manufacturing decision we make as we know we will have to support your sauna for many years to come.
Far Infrared Heaters
When comparing far infrared sauna heaters you need to look at the size of the heater, the material that is producing the infrared heat, the quality of the heat and the surface temperature of the heater.
The two most common materials used in far infrared heaters are ceramic and carbon. Ceramic is a very efficient, effective material when heated to produce infrared heat. Ceramic has a very high emissivity rating, meaning it produces a lot of infrared heat. The drawback to ceramic heaters is that they tend to produce a shorter infrared wavelength. Shorter infrared wavelengths are not as readily absorbed by the human body so they are less therapeutic.
Generally speaking, Carbon infrared heaters produce a longer infrared wavelength. Carbon is very light so the heaters can be bigger and can run at a lower surface temperature. These low surface temperatures produce long wave infrared heat. Long wave far infrared heat is readily absorbed by the human body and will produce more desirable therapeutic results. The drawback of carbon heaters is that, while they produce high quality infrared heat, they do not produce a lot of infrared – they are weak. In technical terms, they have a lower emissivity rating as compared to ceramic heaters.
Most companies that use carbon heaters extend their heaters well up into the head region and almost to the ceiling in the sauna in an effort to try and get more heat into the sauna. They do this because of the low output of their heaters. This is wasted infrared heat as it is only heating the air over your head and not your body directly. We also believe heating the head directly is not recommended in infrared therapy.
Our True Wave™ far infrared heaters are the only infrared heaters that combine both carbon and ceramic into one heater for a truly exceptional infrared sauna experience. They are built by us and designed to heat the human body. True Wave™ Infrared Heaters produce the long wave infrared heat of a carbon heaters with the very high infrared output of a ceramic heater combined into one heater. It really is the best of both worlds and they are fantastic infrared heaters.
Within seconds of sitting in any Clearlight Infrared Sauna® model, you can feel the difference in the quality of the infrared heat. You will not find this heating technology anywhere else. It is exclusive to Clearlight Infrared saunas models.
Full Spectrum Infrared Heaters
A full spectrum infrared heater emits all three infrared wavelengths: near (IR-A), mid (IR-B) and far infrared (IR-C). Some infrared saunas offer a combination of heaters to produce full spectrum infrared heat. The sauna may have one heater that produces far infrared, one that produces mid infrared and one that produces near infrared.
You will also see some infrared saunas that use low wattage (10-40 watt) LED’s to produce near infrared. Our belief is that LED near infrared light therapy is very effective for topical infrared treatments however, it is not suited for the sauna environment. You want to put the LED’s directly on your skin. The DPL Nuve by LED Technologies is a great example of an effective FDA approved near infrared handheld device. With LED near infrared embedded in the wall of the sauna, you would have to climb up on the bench to receive effective therapy as the LED’s should be right up against the area you are treating.
Clearlight Infrared Sanctuary Saunas utilize a halogen full spectrum heater. We have the halogen bulbs built to our specific wavelengths and standards. Our True Wave™ full spectrum infrared heaters emit about 1/3 near infrared, 1./3 mid infrared and 1/3 far infrared and each heater is a full 500 watts of full spectrum infrared heat.
By offering all three wavelengths the infrared heat will penetrate deeper past the Epidermis and Dermis into the Subcutaneous layer offering maximum effectiveness.
Low EMF Infrared Saunas
Our True Wave™ far infrared heaters are the original carbon based infrared heaters with virtually no EMF (Electromagnetic Fields). We pioneered this technology for use in infrared saunas. More and more research is being conducted into the harmful effects of EMF. That is why our R&D department spent over two years developing both patented and patent pending methods to eliminate virtually all of the EMF from our heaters. Many of our competitors still have EMF levels 20 to 50 times higher than our True Wave™ infrared heaters. With an average EMF level of less than 1milligauss (mg), when tested directly on the heater, it is well below the CDC’s recommendation of a maximum of 3mg.
Dr. David Carpenter, Dean at the School of Public Health, State University of New York, believes it is likely that up to 30% of all childhood cancers come from exposure to EMF’s. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns “There is reason for concern” and advises “prudent avoidance”.
Martin Halper, the EPA’s Director of Analysis and Support says “I have never seen a set of epidemiological studies that remotely approached the weight of evidence that we’re seeing with EMFs. Clearly, there is something here.”
Some health effects linked with EMF are:
Dr. Duncan, the founder and designer of Clearlight Infrared Sauna® models, has always ensured that the therapeutic results of your sauna are our number one priority. Seeing the research and information available on the harmful effects of EMF, we felt that if there was a chance that high levels of EMF can cause health issues, we needed to find a way to bring the levels down as low as possible. We were the first company to accomplish this with our True Wave II, far infrared heaters and True Spectrum, full spectrum heaters.
To find out more about EMF and its effects, please CLICK HERE.
Low ELF Infrared Saunas
ELF (extremely low frequency) is also referred to as the electric fields or dirty electricity. There are some people that are very sensitive to ELF and have various reactions including sleep disruption and agitation and there is some link to cancer as discussed in this Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bulletin: https://www.osha.gov/elf-radiation
All Clearlight Infrared saunas include our ELF canceling technology. While EMF is canceled in the heater itself, we have to go to great lengths to cancel the ELF from our saunas.
Western Red Canadian Cedar is considered by many to be the best wood to use for saunas. Other woods commonly used are spruce, basswood and redwood.
Western Red Canadian Cedar (WRCC) wood is often used for the following reasons:
Sauna users who are very sensitive to smells (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) may want to consider a sauna made of white woods like Basswood. These woods have less of a smell than WRCC and may be more comfortable for people with MCS.
We use Eco Certified grade “A” clear Western Red Canadian Cedar or Basswood. All of our Clearlight Infrared Sauna® models are available in both Cedar and Basswood. Our commitment to our customers is to provide the highest quality products. Our Eco Certified woods meet three sustainability standards as part of our green initiative
When buying an infrared sauna it is important to understand why a Limited Lifetime Warranty on the entire sauna is important. Our Limited Lifetime Warranty covers all of the parts of your sauna for manufacture defects for as long as you own it.
Almost every other infrared sauna is only covered under a 7-year warranty or less. If something goes wrong with your sauna in year 8 the manufacturer is not obligated to provide parts for saunas older than 7 years.
All Clearlight Infrared Sauna® models installed for home use are covered by our Limited Lifetime Warranty. Your sauna is warranted to be free from manufacturer defects for as long as you own it.
Be sure to ask when researching infrared saunas if the company offers a True Limited Lifetime Warranty.
If you are using your sauna in a commercial environment, we offer a complete 5 year warranty.