If you’re considering a television for your sauna, you’ve probably wondered whether installation is complicated. For most saunas, it isn’t.

The framework for a traditional sauna is simple: first, pick a smart location away from the heater. Second, decide whether you’re wall-mounting, ceiling-mounting, or installing the TV in-wall. If you’re installing in-wall, your screen size determines the type of ventilation you need.

The framework for an infrared sauna is even simpler: you can install a TV in your infrared sauna in pretty much any location you like, including in-wall, without the need for ventilation. 

Watch This First: The Basics

The video above covers the essentials of installing a TV in a traditional, non-infrared sauna. The rest of this article fills in the details.

Detail One: Location, Location, Location

For the best Sauna TV experience, the recommended television placement is the wall opposite the heater, at eye level, no higher than six feet from the floor. That’s the most comfortable viewing position and the coolest spot in the room. 

Never install your TV above or directly next to the heater. Temperatures in those areas can exceed 176°F, which is the upper limit of what our TVs are certified to handle. This applies whether you’re mounting the TV or installing it in the wall. You must always keep the TV at least four feet from the heater.

Detail Two: Wall Mount, Ceiling Mount, or In-wall 

Our Sauna TVs are designed to be installed in-wall, and this is what we recommend.

But they are also able to be installed with traditional wall or ceiling mounts. 

How you install your TV into your sauna is really an aesthetic choice, but it does have an impact on whether — and how — you need to ventilate the air around the television.

Detail Three: Ventilation, or No Ventilation?

Why is TV ventilation required in some traditional saunas?

Our Sauna TVs are certified heat-resistant up to 176°F. The goal of proper ventilation is simply making sure the TV never gets pushed past that limit. 

Like any electronic device, a TV generates its own heat while it’s running. When a TV is installed in a sauna, it adds that heat to the room. In a hot enough sauna, that combination can push the air temperature around the TV past 176°F. When that happens, the picture may stop working until the TV cools down.

Ventilation solves this by giving that trapped heat an exit. When the TV is installed inside the sauna wall, a simple cooling duct can be created. Cool air comes in at the bottom of the duct, warm air escapes at the top, and the temperature behind the TV stays in line.

There are two instances when you will not need to ventilate the TV in your sauna:

1. Your sauna is an infrared sauna
2. You intend to keep your sauna temperature below 140°F

Ventilation for In-Wall Installations and On-Wall Mounting

Installing your TV flush into the wall is how the majority of our sauna customers go, even with smaller screen sizes. For in-wall and wall-mounted Sauna TVs, here are the ventilation requirements based on screen size:

24″–32″ screens 

A passive ventilation duct is sufficient. Cool air intake at the bottom, warm air exhaust at the top. No fans needed. This is a simple part of the in-wall installation process.

43″ and larger screens 

Powered ventilation with an external air intake is required. Larger screens generate more heat, so passive airflow isn’t enough to keep the cavity temperature stable. A fan-driven venting system handles it reliably.

What about a Magic Mirror TV in Your Sauna?

We don’t describe our Magic Mirror TVs as sauna TVs. They’re designed primarily for bathrooms and living spaces. But people do install them successfully in saunas all the time.

If you’re going that route, powered ventilation is required for any in-wall installation regardless of screen size and sauna temperature. The mirror in a mirror TV captures more heat than a standard screen, so passive airflow isn’t sufficient. You simply need to install a small fan at the in and out vents of your cooling ventilation duct.

Remember, however, that this additional powered ventilation is only required for Magic Mirror Televisions in your sauna.

Quick Ventilation Recap

Remember: This applies only to traditional saunas. In an infrared sauna, no ventilation is required. If you intend to keep your sauna temperature below 140°F, you also don’t need ventilation unless you’re installing a Magic Mirror TV.

Questions?

Not sure which installation is right for your sauna? Give us a call or send a note — we’re happy to help you plan.