ThermaSol Solaris Named One of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025
By Arlene Scott
Senior Wellness Correspondent & Hospitality Consultant
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Harvia’s US steam brand ThermaSol landed on TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025 list for the Solaris, which ThermaSol bills as the first fully off-grid, solar-powered sauna available in the United States.
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ThermaSol, the US steam and wellness brand Harvia acquired in July 2024, landed on TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025 list for the Solaris, a fully off-grid, solar-powered outdoor sauna. Harvia announced the TIME recognition as part of its Q3 2025 investor presentation on 6 November 2025. (See every Harvia product launch, earnings release, and M&A event in our Harvia News hub.)
What Solaris is
ThermaSol Solaris is billed as “the first fully off-grid, solar-powered sauna available in the U.S.” The sauna operates entirely without a power connection, drawing all operational energy from integrated solar collection. That lets an electric-style sauna go where there is no utility-connected electrical service: remote cabins, off-grid homesteads, mobile wellness installations, glamping resorts, rural properties where trenching power is impractical, and any outdoor wellness setting where utility hookup is not an option.
Harvia’s framing emphasizes “eco-conscious retreat in virtually any setting” and “freedom and flexibility” of placement. The product is marketed as a sustainability play (zero-emission operation, no grid electricity) and a practical deployment play (anywhere the sun shines). Complete US pricing, standard cabin sizes, solar array specifications, and session-per-day energy output numbers were not disclosed in the Q3 earnings materials. ThermaSol is expected to publish full specs on its website as Solaris becomes broadly available.
Why it matters: TIME Best Inventions is a marketing hit
TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions list is widely syndicated and read well beyond the wellness press. A mention in TIME translates directly into organic search visibility, press replays across mainstream consumer publications, and retail interest from hotel groups, resort operators, and direct-to-consumer lifestyle buyers. For Harvia, Solaris hitting the TIME list is a major North American marketing moment for the ThermaSol brand, a little over a year after the acquisition closed. It validates the deal thesis of combining ThermaSol’s American product and distribution platform with Harvia Group’s R&D depth on energy systems and sauna engineering.
The Solaris announcement is part of a broader ThermaSol product refresh under Harvia ownership. The Q3 2025 presentation also introduced the ThermaSol Astra, ThermaSol Fortis, and ThermaSol Ombra as part of a premium North American sauna collection. ThermaSol’s brand identity was refreshed in 2025 to carry both the expanded premium sauna portfolio and the continuing steam generator and smart shower business the company has built since 1958.
The energy-technology pivot
Solaris fits into a broader Harvia theme flagged in its Q3 2025 materials: “pioneering future energy technologies, including hydrogen and solar powered saunas.” The company signaled in investor communications that it is exploring alternative energy sources for sauna operation beyond grid electricity and wood, with solar and hydrogen as the two identified frontiers. Solaris is the first commercial product to come out of that program. Hydrogen-powered sauna prototypes have been mentioned but not yet commercialized.
The strategic logic is straightforward. Sauna is fundamentally an energy-intensive product (heating a room to 175-plus degrees Fahrenheit requires substantial wattage), and the long-term trend in consumer expectations is toward lower-carbon operation. Being early with a credible zero-emission outdoor sauna establishes Harvia’s engineering reputation and locks up intellectual property before competitors respond.
Solaris is the best press Harvia’s ThermaSol integration could have asked for. One TIME Best Inventions mention puts the brand in front of mainstream American consumers who have never heard of ThermaSol, never heard of Harvia, and never considered buying a sauna. The product itself answers a real market need (off-grid outdoor installation with zero operational emissions), and the recognition gives Harvia cover to price aggressively and expand distribution. Expect Solaris and the broader ThermaSol premium collection to show up in Q4 2025 and 2026 dealer channels, resort installs, and lifestyle editorial coverage well beyond the sauna trade press.
Correction, September 25, 2026: an earlier version of this article said Solaris was the first sauna to make TIME’s Best Inventions list and the first commercially available sauna that can be placed without utility electrical service. Neither TIME nor ThermaSol makes the first claim; ThermaSol’s claim is that Solaris is “the first fully solar-powered sauna available in the U.S.,” per ThermaSol. Wood-fired saunas, such as those heated by Lamppa’s Kuuma stoves, have long been installed without electrical service.
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