How to Choose the Best Infrared Sauna (And Why I Chose Clearlight®)

glass door looking inside of an infared sauna

October 24, 2023

Ask Jen, Infrared Saunas

Updated April 2026

Finding the best infrared sauna for your home is one of those decisions that can send you straight into analysis paralysis. Dozens of brands, hundreds of models, and enough conflicting claims to make your head spin before you ever step inside a cabin.

I’ve been in the health and wellness space for a long time and the infrared sauna industry is one of the noisiest ones I know. Companies come and go. Marketing claims float around without much to back them up. And people end up more confused than when they started researching.

So let me cut through some of that noise for you.

I discovered Clearlight® Saunas years ago at a health conference in California. Not through an ad or through an influencer, but by walking up, having a real conversation, and stepping inside one. I was deep in a heavy metal detox at the time and on a serious search for something that was both effective and safe. Within minutes, I knew. The radiant heat was different. It penetrated differently. It felt different.

And after years of working in this space, recommending saunas to clients, and owning several Clearlight models myself I still feel exactly the same way.

Here’s what I look at when evaluating the best infrared sauna, and why Clearlight continues to lead the pack.

What Actually Makes the Best Infrared Sauna

Start With the Heaters

Not all infrared heaters are created equal, and this is often where I see people get tripped up.

Most companies use either carbon-only or ceramic-only heaters. Both have their strengths, but they also have trade-offs. Carbon heaters emit a wide, even heat but can run at lower temperatures. Ceramic heaters run hotter and produce more intense infrared energy, but the heat can feel uneven.

Clearlight solved this with their proprietary hybrid carbon-ceramic heaters, a combination that truly offers the best of both. They infuse high-quality carbon panels with thousands of ceramic particulates, creating a heater that produces consistent, deep-penetrating infrared energy across the full surface. No other sauna company offers this. It’s genuinely one of the things that puts them in a class of their own.

Heater Placement Matters More Than You’d Think

Something that often gets overlooked when people are comparing models: where the heaters are placed inside the cabin matters just as much as what kind of heaters they are.

Infrared light travels in a straight line, similar to sunlight, and it only enters the body if you’re sitting directly in front of it. So if a sauna has heaters missing from the front wall, side walls, or under the bench, you’re simply not getting full-body coverage.

I also pay attention to whether heaters extend above head level. That’s a design flaw worth knowing about. Infrared should penetrate your core body, not radiate directly onto your head or into empty airspace above it. Clearlight’s heater layout is specifically designed to surround the body completely and that matters for real therapeutic results.

Safety Is Non-Negotiable

EMF and ELF—Know What You’re Sitting In

This is a big one, and it’s where I see a lot of brands get quiet.

EMF (electromagnetic fields) is a legitimate concern in infrared saunas because the heaters require electricity to operate. Clearlight was actually the first sauna company to address this. They pioneered EMF reduction in the industry and were the first to have third-party laboratory testing verify their low EMF levels. Their CEO, Dr. Raleigh Duncan, is a Certified Geo-Vital Consultant, which means EMF mitigation isn’t just a marketing point for them, it’s an area of genuine expertise.

They also shield for ELF (extremely low electrical frequencies), which is a form of energy pollution that can radiate from electrical wiring inside a sauna cabin. As far as I know, Clearlight is the only company addressing both.

And they were the first to do independent lab testing showing no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) off-gassing from their wood or materials. When you’re sitting in a hot, enclosed space, what’s not in the air matters just as much as the heat itself.

The Details That Separate Good From Great

Wood, Floors, and Construction

Clearlight saunas are built with either Okoume Mahogany or North American Basswood. Both are FSC Certified and sustainably harvested. No particleboard and no veneer. Solid wood, made to last.

One thing I appreciate that most people don’t think about until it’s too late: the floor. Many sauna brands use slatted wood floors over live heaters which, over time, become a collection site for sweat, hair, dust, skin cells, and everything else you’re sweating out. Clearlight floors are solid wood with infrared heaters positioned beneath the floor, making them easy to clean and keep sanitary.

Full-Spectrum Infrared

For their Sanctuary line, Clearlight includes vertical 500-watt Full Spectrum heaters that emit all three infrared wavelengths: near, mid, and far infrared. Each wavelength penetrates the body differently and supports different therapeutic outcomes. It’s also available as an add-on for Premier models.

The Extras That Add Up

All Clearlight saunas come equipped with chromotherapy lighting and a Bluetooth sound system with Nakamichi speakers. That might sound like a small thing, but when you’re spending 30–45 minutes in your sauna, being able to listen to a podcast, a guided meditation, or your favorite playlist without fiddling with outdated audio setups makes a difference. A lot of competing brands are still offering aux cord connections or have an outdated flip down, car stereo.

The Warranty Tells You Everything

I’ll say this simply: a company’s warranty is a direct reflection of how much they believe in their own product.

Most sauna brands offer warranties in the range of one to seven years and if you read the fine print, their electronics are often excluded or limited. Clearlight offers a lifetime warranty on all components. Not just the wood. Not just the heaters. All of it.

They’ve been in business since the ’90s. That kind of longevity doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t happen without a product worth standing behind.

The Bottom Line on Finding the Best Infrared Sauna

There’s a lot to weigh when you’re making this kind of investment—heater type, EMF safety, wood quality, construction, warranty. I’ve watched companies come and go in this industry, and the ones that disappear usually cut corners in one of those areas.

Clearlight doesn’t. That’s why I recommended them when I was in the middle of my own detox journey, and it’s why I still recommend them today.

If you want to dig deeper, head over to my Infrared Sauna page where I’ve got specs, model comparisons, and current pricing in one place. If you have questions, reach out directly. That’s what I’m here for.

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