Want to Detox With a Low EMF Sauna?
You are looking for a safe sauna. Many brands claim they were the first to offer low EMF infrared sauna. Which brand really is the the best and how safe of a reading is needed?
We want this page (and website) to answer those questions clearly for you and save you hours of time. This entire website is based on 12 years on continual research and numerous discussions with company owners.
The industry’s Electromagnetic Fields (EMF), measured in milligauss (mG), range from <1.0mG up to an extremely dangerous 170.0mG on some cheap brands. Let’s look at how you can choose a safe one.
Which Low EMF Sauna is the Lowest?
Heavenly Heat and Clearlight. As of 2024 Heavenly Heat may have actually have the slight edge.
The short answer to this question used to be simply Clearlight.
They pioneered low emf far infrared saunas and shared their method via video two decades ago so others could duplicate the process. Dr. Raleigh Duncan founded the company 30 years ago to offer clean safe infrared in an industry which at that time had mostly dangerous and vastly inferior products.
Clearlight – All Models
- Pioneered Ultra Low EMF.
- Excellent Company – Founded by current owner Dr. Raleigh Duncan 30 years ago.
- Exceptional infrared penetration.
- Heaters – Patented True Wave II low EMF heaters are Innovators of Carbon/Ceramic Blended panels.
- True Lifetime Warranty – Excellent. The best in the industry. A true full lifetime warranty on everything including wiring and sound system.
- Wood – Clean Western Canadian Cedar – optional basswood.
Read Full Clearlight Sauna Review Here
Visit Clearlight Website Here
Heavenly Heat – All Models
- 2024 Heaters are Ultra Low EMF and Low ELF
- Company – Excellent. Quality Focused. The purest saunas anywhere. Small business with minimal sales pressure.
- Heaters – Excellent. Also offers Steam units and carbon/steam, wet dry combination units.
- Wood Cabin – Ultra Pure. Clean Hemlock wood. No wood glues. Extremely clean even for the chemically sensitive and ill.
- Warranty Is Excellent. 10 years and 6 years on Heater. One of the Best in the industry.
- Endorsed by the foremost authority in the world on chemical sensitivity and two highly regarded clinics for the chemically ill.
Read Heavenly Heat Sauna Review Here
Visit Heavenly Heat Website Here
Sunlighten
Sunlighten is an excellent, top rated brand. However, its focus is on using high technology and that technology keeps its EMF levels higher than the two above brands.
If you are not overly sensitive to Electromagnetic fields, you should definitely consider them.
Its Signature far infrared model has good readings, although still higher than the two best. Its mPulse is has readings 3.0 and higher.
Read Sunlighten Sauna Review Here
Visit Sunlighten Website Here
How to Interpret EMF Levels
Thankfully today many other have eliminated most of the toxic materials and have reduced their Electromagnetic Fields as well. You want to heal with infrared therapy using a sauna in a safe manner.
Very Important Note: It is critical to know WHERE the readings were actually taken and who did the testing. Levels drop quickly as you move away from the heaters. An acceptable mG number in the middle of the unit could still have massive levels near the heating element itself. The readings should be taken within 2 inches of the heating element surface.
Most companies that claim to have low EMF saunas have no evidence supporting this. We applaud Clearlight and Sunlighten for being two of the companies that post third party test results on their websites.
Health Mate also posts results but they are third party lab-tested in isolation with no wiring or connectors which negates the authority of any results.
This chart is the posted third party test results for Clearlight. It’s readings were taken within 2″ of the heater surface. Distance from the heaters is very important.
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One popular brand informed us that they has reduced their levels to 10mG (which is still high). However, after further research, we discovered those numbers were taken in the center of the unit. The company later confirmed to us that readings next to the heaters were 30mG.
What is Low EMF Sauna?
A Low EMF Sauna is an infrared sauna with a reading less than 3.0mG. Many brands will claim a low emf sauna is less than 5.0mG. The best readings will be <1.0mG and the very best will be 0.05mG. Once 3.0mG is reached, other considerations become important such as emissivity and Elf readings.
What Are Safe EMF Levels?
A safe level of ElectroMagnetic Fields is considered to be anything less than 3.0mG (less is better). Levels between 3.0mG and 5.0mG are marginal. The safe emf levels you should look for in an infrared sauna are discussed at the end of this page.
What is a High EMF Reading?
A high emf reading is 10.0mG up to 100mG and above. We have found one infrared sauna with a reading above 170mG which is extremely high. While it is not absolutely critical to drop much less than 3.0mG, 30mG and above is very dangerous.
So which popular industry names make the cut?
Low EMF Sauna Brands with Safe mG Levels?
Heavenly Heat Dry/Wet Combination
All models of Clearlight and Heavenly Heat pass this test. However, Heavenly Heat’s newest heaters as of March 2024 reduce the amount even further and also dramatically address the ELF dangers as well.
Saunacore’s higher end models are safe but the cheaper end units may not be. Vital Health has reduced their levels to less than 3.0.
Sunlighten has also substantially reduced the Electric Magnetic Fields readings over the past decade. Their levels are below 3.0 on their long standing line of Signature Series but their newer mPulse has reported levels of over 10.0 milligauss. Our readings were 3.5-5.0 mG on the mPulse.
These are all listed in the following table.
Heaters are the Most Important
You want to purchase a well built product by a great company with a good warranty. But once you own the unit, what you then need is heating elements that will offer deep penetrating infrared. There really is no company that has a completely no emf infrared sauna. But as long as the levels are at the safe readings, the difference between 2.0mG and 0.05mG is not as critical.
With that said, the brand we have at our home is Clearlight. This one was chosen 4 years ago after a few months of research and discussions with several doctors and owners of several companies. Once we knew all the differences between brands, Clearlight was a very easy decision.
Low EMF Levels Chart – Infrared Sauna Ratings
Full comparison table including company history and features can be found here.
- Which brand has the lowest readings?
- Is Infrared Emissivity and Infrared Penetration more important?
- What are acceptable levels?
- Shown is a Table listing popular companies and their stated and proven levels.
| Company Name | Heater Rating | Electromagnetic Levels | Warranty Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearlight | Excellent Heating Panels of Carbon Panels infused with ceramic fibers. These offer the strongest detoxification of any Carbon Panels. | Ultra Low Average levels are 0.05 and results are posted on their site. | Full Lifetime on everything. |
| Heavenly Heat | Heavenly Heat now uses Ultra Low EMF and ELF Carbon heaters as of 2024. These replaced its longtime 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic. The company also Offers Dry and Steam Combo units and customization. | Extremely Low 2024 Test | They offer a 10 year warranty on the sauna itself. The infrared heaters carry a 6 year warranty. One of the best in industry. |
| Vital Health | They have upgraded twice in 7 year history. Their new third Gen panels are proprietary Carbon called Vital Rays Gen III. These have safe levels with high emmisivity. | Good. | They offer an excellent warranty with lifetime on wood, controls and heaters and 1 year on other parts. |
| Sunlighten | The Signature Series uses Standard Carbon. mPluse has Standard Carbon plus Near IR lights. Their patent in 2010 is for ceramic powder panels named Solo Carbon. | Signature is less than mPulse has reported readings of 10.0mG+. Our readings on the mPulse were 3.5-5.0 mG. | Carries a limited Lifetime of max 7 years on most of the parts. This covers parts only with a one year coverage on sound systems and chromotherapy. |
| SaunaCore | This company uses 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic Elements. They offer Standard Carbon in cheaper end products. | less than
Cheaper carbon product reading is uncertain. | Lifetime on their heaters and 5 years on other parts. Fiin-Core has less coverage. |
| HealthMate | Steel Ceramic Rods with Patented Alloy. New in 2015 the company now offers a lower end unit that adds carbon panels as well. | They have low readings of 3.0-10.0mG. They post these numbers on their website. | Waranty varies with the Tecoloy Heaters having lifetime coverage. Everything else has 5 years coverage. Warranty is lesser on the lower end lower-body only units |
| Rocky Mountain | These are standard, average Carbon and low emmisivity. | Their levels have been reduced to
Company has stated that it does not see the importance of low Electromagnetic Fields. | Carries a lifetime on wood and wiring. Limited to lifetime Service warranty on Heaters and a 90 day to 1 year on the electronics. |
| Finnleo | Uses average standard carbon panels. | Levels are uncertain. | Warranty is 1-5 years on carbon panels, controls & wood. |
Is Heater Emissivity More Important Than Ultra Low EMF?
As long as the ElectroMagnetic Fields readings are in the safe level, Emissivity and Efficiency are more important. So what is emissivity?
This is basically asking what amounts of infrared are being emitted by he heating element and how much of it penetrates your body. The entire purpose of infrared is for it to penetrate 2″ into the body. This is what heals tissues and cause toxins to be released and eliminated from your body.
A low emf far infrared sauna with poor emissivity provides very little benefit for you. We are surrounded by magnetic fields all day long in our modern electric world from cell phones to computers. The key is to reduce when we can and to avoid long tern exposure at higher levels. So trying for a fully no emf sauna with a stated level of zero is not necessary. And no one truly has zero Electromagnetic Fields.
Can We Have Both Low EMF and High Emissivity?
Fortunately some companies have product lines offering us both low emf saunas and highly efficient heaters.
Again, Clearlight seems to be the front runner with 30 years of history. It’s unique blend of carbon panels with ceramic fibers has the most penetrating infrared of any brand. Heavenly Heat, which uses 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic, has levels of below 3.0mG and heater efficiency of 96%. Saunacore also uses 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic with the same great ratings, although we do not recommend that brand due to other concerns.
Many companies have poor heating efficiency ratings of 50%. That is due to using cheap rods that were originally designed for drying paint or other industrial uses.
Low Emf Sauna – Why Safe Levels Are Important
Choosing a low emf sauna is a critical factor when making your purchase decision. Carbon has many advantages over Ceramic when used for healing therapy. However, carbon inherently emits higher Electromagnetic Fields. While there is still no truly no emf sauna, we are all fortunate to have companies which have reduced the levels emitted from their carbon panels.
While both the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Sweden Agencies consider levels below 3.0 milligauss to be safe, many brands currently on the market have levels of 10-30 milligauss and a few are even emit over 100 milligauss. So is sauna emf dangerous? The levels are important and extended exposure at these levels can be dangerous to your health and should be avoided.
What is EMF?
Let’s actually now have a technical definition of what there are. EMF are Electromagnetic Fields. Electromagnetic Fields are electric energy waves at frequencies below 300 cycles per second. We encounter electromagnetic fields on a daily basis emitted from hundreds of electrical devices including power lines, cell phones, television and computer screens, fluorescent lights and even house wiring.
So what does all of this mean for us? With modern electricity, we are daily exposed to emf sources in home meaning we cannot avoid it entirely. The important thing is to put distance between yourself and the electric device when possible and avoid excess and unneeded exposure. Even using a cell phone exposes us to the fields. In the case of an infrared sauna emf levels can be researched and we have the choice to avoid those products with readings beyond the safe level.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has created a program called the California Electric and Magnetic Fields Program to study and educate regarding these potential health risks of continued exposure.
You want all of the health benefits infrared saunas offer including improved skin, weight loss and pain reduction. These healthy benefits can all be obtained by safely increasing your body temperature using natural infrared heat therapy.
Conclusion
The Earths magnetic field will always create fields of energy and some studies have been inconclusive on the level of this danger. However, it is easy to decide between two extremes.
When choosing between a full spectrum low emf infrared sauna and one that has stated levels of 30-175 mG, it makes sense to strongly consider the one you know will not pose any risk. This is especially true when these same brands also have the best penetrating infrared, offering the highest levels of health and detoxification benefits. It was those considerations, combined with the recommendations by Whitaker Wellness Clinic, Hippocrates Institute and others that promoted me to purchase a Clearlight for my personal use.
The smaller the cabin, such as in a one person infrared sauna, the more the levels will increase in a cheap unit with cheap carbon panels. As mentioned, we also discuss the important of a low elf sauna. Heavenly Heat and Clearlight would be your best choices for this.
We recommend you read some of our individual review page and choose a brand that is safe and effective without risk.
While a cheap price is certainly a cheap product with little benefit, a very high price does not always mean your best choice.