Choosing the Best Hot Tub for Your Home: 5 Brands Compared
Picking a hot tub is one of those purchases where the sheer volume of options can make the process feel more stressful than relaxing. With dozens of brands, hundreds of...
Infrared saunas and red light therapy now appear together in the same cabin, but they’re two separate systems doing two different jobs. Infrared heaters warm the air and your body directly, using panels built into the walls, bench, and back of the cabin. Because infrared warms you rather than just heating the surrounding air, these cabins run at lower temperatures than a traditional sauna, typically in the 45-65°C range rather than the 80-100°C common in conventional dry-heat saunas. That lower operating temperature is what makes infrared sessions feel more comfortable for longer stretches.
Red light therapy is a completely separate component: a dedicated panel, usually mounted on the front or side wall, that emits red and near-infrared light rather than heat. It doesn’t rely on raising the cabin temperature at all, and on both cabins in this range, you can switch it on independently of the heaters. This means a session can be heat only, light only, or both running together, whatever suits you on a given day.
Every model in this range is built for one to two people. It’s designed specifically for indoor use in a spare room, home gym, or dedicated wellness space with a dry, level floor and a standard household socket nearby.
Typical features across this collection include:
Cabin dimensions vary slightly by model, but you can generally expect an external footprint of roughly a metre square, with internal bench widths ranging from around 850mm up to just over a metre depending on whether the cabin is built for a cosier solo session or a more spacious two-person fit.
Red light therapy uses a panel of LEDs that emit light in the red and near-infrared part of the spectrum, visually a deep red glow, quite different from the white or warm-white light in the rest of the cabin. Unlike the infrared heaters, this panel doesn’t need to warm the room or your body to function. It’s a light source, not a heat source, and it can run with the sauna completely cold if you only want a light session. Protective eyewear is typically included with these panels, since the light is more intense than standard room lighting.
Infrared heat works differently from the steam or dry heat you might associate with a traditional sauna. Rather than heating the air in the room first and letting that warm air heat you, infrared panels emit energy that’s absorbed directly by your skin and the tissue just beneath it, similar to the warmth you feel from sunlight on your skin on a cool day, even though the surrounding air isn’t especially hot. That’s why an infrared cabin can feel comfortably warm at 50-55°C in a way that would feel quite mild in a conventional sauna, but still produces a proper sweat over a full session.
Once you understand how the technology works, the practical questions matter most when choosing a unit for your home. Here’s what to check before you buy.
Both cabins in this category use a standard 13A plug-and-play connection, which makes installation easy for most UK homes: no electrician required and no hardwired circuit to arrange. You’ll still want a dedicated socket that isn’t shared with other high-power appliances and isn’t run through an extension lead. Larger or more powerful units elsewhere in our range may require a dedicated circuit, so always check the electrical specification of the specific model before you buy, and consult a qualified electrician wherever a hardwired connection is required.
These cabins are built for one to two people. Also, they’re designed for dry indoor rooms only, not outdoor or wet-room placement, and you’ll want a little extra clearance around the cabin for ventilation and assembly access. If you’re set on a larger, multi-person or hybrid setup instead, our hybrid sauna range combines infrared and traditional heat sources in bigger cabins built for that use case.
We source all units directly from authorised suppliers, and every infrared sauna we sell comes backed by a manufacturer’s warranty alongside our own Heracles support. Heracles Wellness is a 5.0-star-rated specialist retailer with over 1,000 happy customers across the UK. If you have questions about which unit suits your space, our team is available by phone, email, or live chat, and you’ll speak to a real person, not a bot.
If you’re after red light therapy on its own, without the infrared heat component, our dedicated NuviBody red light therapy beds are worth a look too. And if you’d like to compare the full spread of infrared options before deciding, browse our complete infrared sauna collection.
Store specializing in wellness products with exceptional customer service. Keith and team provide expert guidance from purchase through installation. Fast delivery, professional installation teams, and responsive aftercare support. High-quality saunas and hot ...
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