Saunum Drops the Air 10 in North America. The Air L Fills the Gap.
By Arlene Scott
Correspondent, Research and Industry
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The 10kW Air heater is gone from the North American catalog. Saunum now sells the Air in 5kW and 7kW only, each with an open or closed stone basket. For larger rooms, the Air’s next step up is the Air L, whose rock basket sits eight to nine inches lower and which fits under a lower ceiling (73 inches minimum).
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Saunum has removed the Air 10 from its North American lineup. The company’s US product page now lists the Air heater in 5kW and 7kW only, each with an open or closed stone basket. For rooms that once called for the 10kW model, the Air’s next step up is the Air L, a higher-capacity line that starts at 10kW and keeps its rock basket eight to nine inches lower than the discontinued unit.
The change simplifies Saunum’s residential lineup and moves large-room Air buyers into a heavier-duty heater.
- What Saunum discontinues the Air 10 (10kW) heater in North America
- New lineup Air now available in 5kW and 7kW only; Air L covers 10kW, 13kW, and 15.2kW
- Key difference Air L rock basket top sits at 33 inches vs. 41 to 42 inches on the Air 10
- List prices Air from $2,895; Air L 10kW from $3,895, with stones sold separately (Saunum US site)
- Source us.saunum.com
The Air now comes in 5kW and 7kW
The Saunum Air product page now shows two heater sizes. Saunum’s current US installation manual rates the 5kW model for rooms from 106 to 212 cubic feet and the 7kW for 177 to 318 cubic feet. Both are offered with an open stone basket or a closed one that keeps the stones fully enclosed.
The Air 10, which served rooms from 247 to 424 cubic feet, is no longer listed. That leaves a gap in the Air line for builders and homeowners designing larger saunas.
The Air L sits lower
Within the Air family, that range now falls to the Air L, which Saunum calls ideal for “a more intensively used sauna.” The Air L 10kW covers 283 to 494 cubic feet, overlapping most of the discontinued Air 10’s range and extending well beyond it. The 13kW and 15kW models push capacity to 812 cubic feet, according to the Air L manual (Saunum’s product page labels the larger one 15.2kW).
The Air L also brings one structural change. The top of the rock basket sits at 33 inches, compared to 41 to 42 inches on the old Air 10, depending on its body, in Saunum’s installation drawings.
Air blending, and a lower ceiling minimum for the Air L
Every Saunum heater uses a built-in blending module that draws superheated air from the ceiling and mixes it with cooler air near the floor. By Saunum’s figures, a traditional sauna set to 176°F runs roughly 146°F hotter at head level than at the feet, and Saunum’s system compresses that gap to around 47°F. The result, Saunum says, is heat that feels even from head to toe, rather than scorching near the ceiling and tepid at the ankles.
Saunum hasn’t published figures on what the lower basket does to the blend. The measurable change is the ceiling: Saunum’s manuals call for at least 73 inches with the Air L, against 80.5 inches for the stainless-cage Air 10 and 88.9 inches for its solid-steel version.
The Air L 10kW lists about $700 above the largest Air
On Saunum’s US site, the Air lists at $2,895 to $2,995 for the 5kW and $3,095 to $3,195 for the 7kW, depending on the basket. The Air L lists at $3,895 for the 10kW, $3,995 for the 13kW and $4,195 for the 15.2kW, and its product page notes that the stones are sold separately.
For former Air 10 buyers, that puts the Air L 10kW about $700 above the largest Air. The Air L is also a heavier-duty product: a stone load of 180 to 190 pounds in Saunum’s manual (versus 110 to 130 pounds for the Air), and Saunum pitches it at more intensively used saunas.
On the electrical side, both lines run 240V single-phase, but the Air L needs a heavier circuit: Saunum’s manuals list a 50-amp breaker and #6 wire for the Air L 10kW, against 40 amps and #8 wire for the Air 7kW.
Where the Air Perfect and Leil fit in
The Air and Air L are not the only options in Saunum’s North American catalog. The company recently launched the Air Perfect, a self-contained model that handles air equalization entirely inside the heater body rather than through an external chimney-style flue. The Air Perfect is available at 7kW ($4,770) and 10kW ($4,970), which prices it above both the Air and the Air L, in exchange for the simplest installation path of any Saunum heater, with no flue to route to the ceiling.
Saunum has also continued refining its Leil climate control system with software updates for steadier AutoLeil humidity control, fan management, and a smoother in-session user experience.
UL listing and the US temperature cap
All Saunum heaters sold in North America are UL-listed and capped at 194°F, the top of the 140 to 194°F operating range in Saunum’s US manuals. Saunum’s European manual allows up to 212°F.
The SaunaLife G6: Saunum in a turnkey cabin
Buyers looking for a complete sauna rather than a standalone heater have one more path to Saunum’s technology: the company sells its Classic cabin in North America through a partnership with SaunaLife, marketed as the SaunaLife G6. The G6 is a fully assembled outdoor sauna for five to six people, with a thermo-aspen interior and a black-painted thermo-pine exterior, built in Northern Europe. US dealers list it at about $25,000 for the cabin alone, and the heater is a separate purchase.
A factory-assembled unit like the G6 typically needs to be craned or forklifted into position. In exchange, joints, vapor barriers, and interior finishing are done under controlled factory conditions rather than on a job site.
