How Much Does a Home Sauna Cost to Run? About $1.46 a Session; $1 in North Dakota, $3.71 in Hawaii
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US households paid an average of 18.19 cents per kilowatt-hour from January to August, up 6.8% on 2025. At the 8 kWh a 90-minute sauna uses, a twice-weekly habit costs about $151 a year.
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A home sauna session costs about $1.46 in electricity at this year’s US average price. That’s 8 kilowatt-hours, the figure Helsinki’s energy company Helen gives for a 90-minute sauna, at the 18.19 cents per kilowatt-hour American households paid from January through August, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which puts a twice-weekly habit at about $151 a year.
The same session costs $1.00 in North Dakota and $3.71 in Hawaii. Residential prices are up 6.8% from the first eight months of 2025, when they averaged 17.03 cents. The EIA’s October outlook puts the full-year average at 18.2 cents for 2026 and 18.7 cents for 2027, when a session would cost about $1.50.
Key facts
- One session about $1.46 at the 2026 US average of 18.19 cents per kWh
- Twice a week for a year about $151
- Cheapest state North Dakota, $1.00 a session
- Most expensive Hawaii, $3.71 a session
- A 6 kW heater at full power about $1.09 an hour
- Price change up 6.8% on January to August 2025
A session uses 7 to 13 kilowatt-hours, depending on the heater
A heater draws its full rating only while the room heats up. Harvia, the Finnish heater maker, says its heaters run at full power for the first 30 to 40 minutes, then at about half power to hold the temperature. For a typical evening of an hour’s heating and an hour’s bathing, it estimates 7 to 9 kWh with a 6 kW heater and 9 to 13 kWh with an 8 kW heater, in a well-insulated room with a heater sized for it.
Helen’s appliance consumption table puts a 90-minute sauna at 8 kWh, or 832 kWh a year at two sessions a week. At the US average price, Harvia’s ranges work out to $1.27 to $1.64 a session with a 6 kW heater and $1.64 to $2.36 with an 8 kW heater.
At full power, a 6 kW heater uses 6 kWh an hour, about $1.09 at the US average price, and about half that while it holds the temperature. Harvia says heating time also depends on the room’s size and materials, glass doors or windows, and the heater’s power. A glass-fronted room or an undersized heater runs longer at full power, and every extra half hour at full power on a 6 kW heater adds 3 kWh.
By Helen’s figures for new appliances, one session uses as much electricity as one and a half to four loads in a tumble dryer, or five to 16 dishwasher cycles. Two sessions a week come to 832 kWh a year, more than the 219 to 694 kWh Helen lists for a fridge-freezer.
Sauna electricity calculator
What your sauna costs to run
- Energy per session
- 8 kWh
- Per session
- $1.46
- Per month
- $12.61
- Per year
- $151.34
Assumes full power for the first 40 minutes of heating, then about half power, per Harvia. State prices are EIA residential averages for January to August 2026.
Hawaii pays 3.7 times what North Dakota does
Hawaii’s households paid 46.41 cents per kWh this year, the most of any state, which puts a session at $3.71. California (32.58 cents), Maine, Massachusetts and New York follow, at $2.34 to $2.61 a session. North Dakota (12.46 cents), Nebraska, Idaho, Utah and Louisiana are the cheapest, at $1.00 to $1.06.
Prices rose fastest in the District of Columbia, up 17.2% on the same months of 2025, New Hampshire (15.0%) and Hawaii (14.7%). Connecticut’s fell 9.1%, and Massachusetts and Rhode Island held flat.
What an 8 kWh sauna session costs at each state’s average residential electricity price, January to August 2026
| State | Cents per kWh | One session | A year, twice a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 46.41 | $3.71 | $386 |
| California | 32.58 | $2.61 | $271 |
| Maine | 30.23 | $2.42 | $252 |
| Massachusetts | 30.19 | $2.42 | $251 |
| New York | 29.26 | $2.34 | $243 |
| Rhode Island | 29.05 | $2.32 | $242 |
| Connecticut | 27.47 | $2.20 | $229 |
| Alaska | 27.32 | $2.19 | $227 |
| New Hampshire | 26.91 | $2.15 | $224 |
| District of Columbia | 24.86 | $1.99 | $207 |
| New Jersey | 24.09 | $1.93 | $200 |
| Vermont | 23.93 | $1.91 | $199 |
| Michigan | 21.73 | $1.74 | $181 |
| Maryland | 21.31 | $1.70 | $177 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.13 | $1.69 | $176 |
| Illinois | 19.23 | $1.54 | $160 |
| Wisconsin | 19.05 | $1.52 | $158 |
| Ohio | 18.81 | $1.50 | $156 |
| Delaware | 17.98 | $1.44 | $150 |
| Indiana | 17.04 | $1.36 | $142 |
| Virginia | 16.95 | $1.36 | $141 |
| Colorado | 16.80 | $1.34 | $140 |
| Alabama | 16.51 | $1.32 | $137 |
| Minnesota | 16.44 | $1.32 | $137 |
| Texas | 16.03 | $1.28 | $133 |
| South Carolina | 15.90 | $1.27 | $132 |
| West Virginia | 15.58 | $1.25 | $130 |
| Georgia | 15.48 | $1.24 | $129 |
| Oregon | 15.46 | $1.24 | $129 |
| Arizona | 15.36 | $1.23 | $128 |
| New Mexico | 15.34 | $1.23 | $128 |
| Florida | 15.32 | $1.23 | $127 |
| Kansas | 15.26 | $1.22 | $127 |
| Mississippi | 15.06 | $1.20 | $125 |
| North Carolina | 14.94 | $1.20 | $124 |
| South Dakota | 14.58 | $1.17 | $121 |
| Iowa | 14.55 | $1.16 | $121 |
| Washington | 14.42 | $1.15 | $120 |
| Missouri | 14.28 | $1.14 | $119 |
| Kentucky | 14.20 | $1.14 | $118 |
| Montana | 14.13 | $1.13 | $118 |
| Wyoming | 14.01 | $1.12 | $117 |
| Oklahoma | 13.81 | $1.10 | $115 |
| Tennessee | 13.80 | $1.10 | $115 |
| Arkansas | 13.74 | $1.10 | $114 |
| Nevada | 13.36 | $1.07 | $111 |
| Louisiana | 13.27 | $1.06 | $110 |
| Utah | 13.19 | $1.06 | $110 |
| Idaho | 13.02 | $1.04 | $108 |
| Nebraska | 12.92 | $1.03 | $107 |
| North Dakota | 12.46 | $1.00 | $104 |
Prices are the EIA’s average residential prices for January to August 2026 (Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B, released October 23, 2026). A session is 8 kWh and a year is 104 sessions. The state figures are free to reuse with credit: download the CSV.
Commercial rooms pay about 14 cents per kilowatt-hour
Commercial customers paid an average of 14.04 cents per kWh from January to August, up 5.6% from 13.29 cents a year earlier. At that price, every hour a heater runs at full power costs about 14 cents for each kilowatt of its rating, or $3.37 an hour for a 24 kW heater. On the revenue side, gyms charge members $15 to $169 a month for recovery access, as we found in our look at gym recovery pricing.
Use your own rate per kilowatt-hour
The EIA average is total residential revenue divided by kilowatt-hours sold, so it spreads fixed charges and delivery fees over every kilowatt-hour (EIA glossary). The price of one more kilowatt-hour on your bill can be higher or lower, especially on a tiered or time-of-use plan.
To price your own sauna, put the rate from your bill into the calculator above, or multiply the heater’s rating in kilowatts by the hours it runs at full power, add about half the rating for each hour it holds temperature, and multiply the total by your rate per kWh. The rating is on the heater’s data plate and in its manual. For the up-front side of the budget, we tracked what sauna wood, kits and heaters cost this fall.
