Can an Outdoor Sauna Be Used in a Canadian Winter?

Yes. Winter is when most people want a sauna most, and a properly built outdoor sauna is made for it. What matters is that the room is well insulated, the heater is sized with cold weather in mind, and you allow a longer warm-up on a cold day. Our 8kW and 9kW heaters exist for exactly this.

What changes in the cold

• Longer warm-up. Starting from well below freezing takes longer than starting from a mild day. Use the built-in 3-hour timer and start it earlier.
• The heater works harder. More heat escapes to the cold outside, so the heater cycles more to hold temperature.
• Sizing matters more. A heater that is fine for a mild autumn evening can struggle in February. This is why we point outdoor and cold-climate installs at the 8kW or the 9kW.

Building for winter

A sauna that performs through a Canadian winter comes down to the build.

• Insulation. The single biggest factor in whether a winter sauna is a pleasure or a fight.
• A tight room. Well-fitted boards and a good door seal keep the heat where you want it. This is one of the practical arguments for cedar, which stays dimensionally stable so joints stay tight.
• A solid, drained base. Ground that heaves or holds water is a winter problem. See sauna foundations.
• Cedar on the outside. Western red cedar resists rot naturally and takes snow, rain and sun without chemical treatment.

Using it in winter

• Keep the path to the door clear and safe, since you will be walking it barefoot.
• Start the heater early rather than opening the door repeatedly to check.
• Let the room dry out afterwards, same as any other time of year. See cedar sauna maintenance.
• The cold plunge into snow afterwards is entirely up to you.

The short version

A well-insulated cedar sauna with a correctly sized heater is a genuine winter pleasure in this country. Build it right and size the heater for the cold, and the weather stops being a problem.

Procraft builds Western red cedar saunas and makes four CSA-approved electric sauna heaters from 4.5kW to 9kW. See the heaters, read about Western red cedar, or see how installation works.