Guide to choosing a sauna LED strip light
Can you install a LED strip in a sauna? Yes, but with certain restrictions. Here we go through the selection and installation of an LED strip in a sauna room.
Incandescent light bulb or LED strip for sauna?
In the past, the sauna was lit with an incandescent bulb, but nowadays a more typical solution is an LED strip light under the laute or on the backrest. I think you can still find an incandescent sauna lamp on the shelves of some supermarkets under the name of sauna lamp. Now there is a discussion in the forums around the topic "Sauna lighting with LED strip" and we open the topic here.
Will the LED strip last in the sauna?
The most common question about sauna led strip is related to the durability of the strip. Led bulb for sauna is not suitable, as it does not give off heat, but led strip for sauna is becoming more and more common when used correctly. Led strip lights typically last for extended periods of time at a maximum temperature of 60-70 degrees Celsius. Led cannot withstand hot temperatures (up to over 100 degrees) because led is a semi-conductor. The sauna is hot and the most commonly installed led strips are lower wattage, 3-7 W/m, as they generate less heat themselves.
In this category we present the most popular led strips for tiled ceilings. All our led strips can be found here.
The lights in the sauna are successful with led strip and the led lighting is perfect for the space, as long as it is not in the sauna ceiling. For example, we do not recommend installing an LED strip on the ceiling due to the high temperature. The most popular installation locations in the sauna are behind the backrest or under the ceiling. LED strips installed behind the backrest or under the laute will add a beautiful and atmospheric glow to your sauna with indirect light.
Sauna lighting with LED strip
There are many different options in the range, and it doesn't matter which LED strip light you put in your sauna. The most important feature is the IP65 rating of the strip, meaning it is water and dustproof. The voltage does not matter, but 12V has been replaced by 24V strips. Generally, the need for light is not very high in a steam room, but for cleaning purposes, more powerful lighting may be needed.
Monochrome led strip
The most popular of our monochrome led strips has long been the warm white 7.2W IP65 3000K led strip. This is because the sauna is for relaxation and the warm white light combined with the steam is soothing. In addition, the 3000K or warm white light colour temperature suits the most popular sauna materials, such as pine and larch. An equally effective strip for narrow installation spaces is the narrow SOLO 7.2 IP65 3000K, just 5 mm wide. Both of these strip types are also available in 4000K, a neutral colour temperature, if you prefer a fresher taste and lighter shades of materials. The most common led strip is 24V, but 12V models are also available.
The choice of colour temperature of the LED strip is therefore influenced by the colour of the materials and your own preferences.
Temperature adjustable LED strip creates a variable atmosphere
Temperature adjustable LED strip lighting is a popular solution and can be used to illuminate any sauna. You can adjust the Kelvin, or colour temperature of the light to match the shades of the materials. you can easily find the right shade and mood. The CCT LED strip light allows you to adjust the colour temperature between 2500 and 6500 Kelvin, depending on the type of strip. The most important feature of these temperature adjustable strips is the IP65 rating, i.e. water and dust proof protection.
Products with temperature control always require their own controls, as basic switches or dimmers do not control the colour temperature. We recommend wireless ZIGBEE devices for control.
Did you know that LedStore's sauna LED lights are Philips HUE compatible with our Zigbee devices! And remember, a led bulb for your sauna is not a good idea even if you can find colourful sauna lamps in the HUE menus.
Led strip power in sauna
Sauna is for relaxation and calming down, so the need for sauna light power is not very high. Modern saunas have a lot of glass, through which light easily enters the sauna room, and you may think that you don't need a separate light for your sauna. However, sauna lighting creates your own atmosphere in your sauna and the light output can be adjusted with a dimmer switch from a relaxed dim atmosphere to a brighter cleaning light, for example.
A 3.6W/m LED strip is sufficient for mood lighting. If the LED strip is installed indirectly under the ceiling and a headboard or grille is placed in front of it, it would be good to have more power, e.g. 7.2W/m. Another reason to choose a more powerful LED strip is dark surfaces. If you have a black sauna, you will easily lose 50% of the light output and the light in the sauna will be dim. So the colour of the sauna will affect the final result. 12V LED strip lights are also available.
Our most recommended type of led strip is the 3.6W SOLO CCT led strip, which is completely drip-free. The same ribbon with a higher light output is the 7,2W SOLO CCT led ribbon. If the led strip is hidden and the lighting is indirect, the 7,2W CCT led strip with dots is also suitable.
Where to put the LED strip?
The best place for the LED strip in terms of heat control is under the sauna ceiling, either at the front or back edge of the sauna ceiling. Distance from the heater is also important to consider, so that temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius do not affect the strip. Another popular location is behind the backrest as an indirect light upwards, with the focus of the light at the top of the room. The led strip behind the backrest can point downwards, for example, or both. The backrest support does not need to be thick, as the profile width is only 18mm.
The Led strip on the sauna ceiling is unlikely to last for many years, but there are so many types of sauna heaters and saunas that we cannot give absolute guidelines. If the strip stops working, it is easy to replace it to the same profile and with the same controls.
If you want to get by with a single LED strip, choose a strip with a power rating of 7.2W/m. It is ideal for mood lighting and cleaning and if you add a dimmer to the strip you can adjust the light to suit all situations.
How to mount the LED strip?
We recommend always mounting the LED strip on an aluminium profile, which gives the strip important extra protection, cools better and keeps it in place. In addition, the protective cover of the aluminium profile diffuses the light. The LED strip will not stay in wood, as wood is porous and will get wet and swell in the sauna.
The LED strip should always be installed on a metal surface. There are 5 reasons for this:
- Most importantly, the led strip cools down and gives it a long life
- The Led strip light is beautifully even in a profile with a lid
- The led strip will have a water and dust proof protection
- The waterproof and durable mounting ensures that the light is waterproof and water resistant
- Stylish appearance
Choosing the right aluminium profile
Which led profile to choose? Our most popular profile models are
Low and narrow profiles behind the backrest or under the ceiling:
Waterproof IP65 profile in silver
SLIM height 7mm and width 18mm low profile white, silver or black
In the sauna, under the ceiling for corner installation:
19x19mm corner profile silver
If you want to flush mount in the ceiling, you can use our waterproof IP65 flush mount profile, silver
Fora special installation location with 5mm SOLO 7,2 W/m LED strip with 12mm SLIM profile, silver
Sauna led lighting installation
The installation of sauna led strip can be largely done by yourself. Here is a quick guide to the installation steps. In our experience, it takes about 1 hour per profile.
Check out our ready-made sauna strips HERE.
- Decide where you want to install the lights. The most popular installation location is under the ceiling, at the front edge.
- Look where you can get the electricity, usually the old light is under the laute, so a natural place for the transformer is in a watertight mounting box. It is a good idea to use an electrician for the assessment.
- Choose the control method, i.e. transformer and controller.
- Measure the mounting lengths for the profiles and connecting wires for the transformer, once you know where to pull the LED strip wires.
- Cut the led strip, usually with a 5 cm or 10 cm cutting spacing.
- Always make the led aluminium profiles at least 2cm longer than the led strip.
- Solder the joints and finish the ends ( corner wires and connecting wires to the transformer).
- Fix the led strip to the profile if you are fixing the profiles with their own surface fasteners. OR if you drill the profiles from the bottom to the target then fix the profiles first.
- For backrest installation, drill a small through hole in the panel for the wire (7mm).
- Screw the profile brackets into place in the mortar below.
- Press the led profile into the brackets.
- Route the wire to the transformer (in the backrest installation, the wire goes inside the wall and you can get it from under the panel to the floor border).
- Connect the transformer to the mains (electrical work!)
- 100% Turn on the lights and enjoy.
Good to know before installing a sauna led strip
Order the aluminium profiles from our LedShop ready for installation if you wish, but here are a few tips to help you:
- The led profile is splash-proof (IP44), and the led strip is always IP65, which means you can install it wherever you want.
- In the Led aluminium profile, the supply cable always comes from the end with the hole in it. Waterproofing should be ensured during installation.
- If the length of the soldering strip is e.g. 180cm, the size of the finished led profile should be 172cm, i.e. 170 cm of led strip and 2 cm longer than the length of the strip, so that the soldering end fits properly inside the profile.
- You can connect more than one profile wire to the same transformer.
- The LED strip profile for the sauna is usually fixed with its own surface fasteners which are simply screwed into the bottom of the ceiling every 50-80cm.
- Corners are well done, by making a corner connection wire / jumper wire of about 10 cm between the led profiles in the corner.
- I would avoid corners that come up to the surface of the raft, as the joint is always the weakest point and standing water can get into the seams like hell.
- All joints should be soldered with tin solder to make a durable joint.
Led tape installed in the sauna
Forget the light bulb in the sauna. Did you know that LedStore also offers sauna lights installed in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
Sauna lighting made to measure
You can also calculate and play with our kitchen partition light calculator even if it's a sauna... We manufacture and deliver even within the next day.
With the calculator you can calculate the prices of profiles made to measure at once for 3 locations using an idea like this:
- Kitchen partition light (backrest?)
- Kitchen plinth light (under the ceiling?)
- Kitchen cabinet top light (second light under the backrest?)
Add the products to your shopping cart or ask for help from customer service.
Need ideas?
Led ribbon sauna in our gallery with lots of pictures of installations made with our products.
Visit the LedStore Blog for more information and ideas
A comprehensive guide to Led strip lighting -article
What is the difference between COB (fully spotless) and SMD (spot) led strip lights? -article