LED sauna lights

LED SAUNA LIGHTS

In a sauna, you want a soft, warm glow, not a ceiling light. And it has to last: heat and humidity wear out an ordinary LED strip fast. The CSP LED strip for spa and sauna is built exactly for that. Hidden under the benches or behind a backrest, it brings out the wood and transforms the feel of the cabin. The easiest way: our custom design tool. You enter your lengths, we build your fixture here in Saint-Hubert, and it arrives ready to install.

An LED strip built for sauna heat

A sauna runs between 70 and 90 °C (158 to 194 °F). A regular LED strip doesn't like that: it holds the heat and eventually fails. The CSP strip is built differently: it lets the heat escape instead of trapping it, and it is made to work up to 125 °C (257 °F). The result: lighting that lasts, instead of lighting you redo. It's the only strip we recommend inside a sauna cabin.

What it gives you, in plain terms: a continuous line of light with no visible dots (320 LEDs per metre); true wood colours that make cedar glow instead of turning it grey (colour rendering above 90); a strip that isn't afraid of water or steam (IP66); light you can dim (24 V low voltage); and a cULus certified product. Two warm whites: 2700 K, more amber, cedar glows; 3000 K, still warm, and the grain of pale wood reads better. No colour in this family: in a sauna, warm is what you want.

Where the strip goes in a sauna

The secret of a beautiful sauna: you never see the light source, only the wood it lights. The spots that work:

• Under the upper bench: the line lights the lower bench and guides your steps. The most common install.
• Under the lower bench, near the floor: the bench seems to float.
• Behind the backrest: a soft halo along the whole wall.
• In a ceiling cove: the outline of the room, with no glare.

In every case, the strip is set back and lights a surface, never the people. And it runs wall to wall: a line that stops before the end of the bench shows right away.

The custom design tool: your lengths, to the inch

No need to cut and connect a roll yourself. In our custom design tool, you enter the length of each bench and we build the pieces to that size, ready to install. The tool takes no payment: it sends you a detailed quote with the spec sheets. Unsure about a length or a choice? Write or call us and we'll go over it with you before you order.

The tool's first question: the strip alone, or the strip already mounted in an aluminum profile? Inside a sauna, we recommend the profile, and here's why: the light becomes a clean, even line (the diffuser hides the dots), the strip is protected from brooms, buckets and feet, the aluminum draws the heat away so the strip lasts longer, and you receive a finished, tested fixture, ready to screw in place and approved for a permanent installation. The strip alone keeps its advantages: it costs less and follows a curve. You can even mix both in one project.

STRIP mode: the strip alone, cut to your size

You pick the Sauna (CSP) category, the colour temperature, then your lengths in whole inches, up to 300 inches (25 feet) per length, as many lengths as you need. You receive strips already cut and already soldered, with their power wire. It's the right choice if you already have profiles, if the strip hides in a groove cut into the wood, or if the line has to follow a curve.

PROFILE mode: the fixture assembled in our shop (our recommendation)

This is the peace-of-mind option. You pick the profile, its colour, its diffuser, the CSP strip and the white, then your lengths to the sixteenth of an inch. We cut, insert the strip, solder, fit the end caps and test. The fixture arrives in one piece, ready to screw under the bench. Nothing to solder, nothing to improvise, and an approved fixture your electrician can connect without a second thought.

Strip alone or strip in a profile: what actually changes

The difference is not cosmetic. An aluminum profile does three things a bare strip cannot. It acts as a heat sink: the aluminum pulls heat out of the board and spreads it along the full length, which is far from a detail in a room that reaches 90 °C (194 °F). It carries a diffuser, an opaque lens that turns 320 points of light into one continuous line — without it, you see the diodes one by one the moment you look at the source from an angle. And it protects the strip mechanically: under a sauna bench, a bare strip takes the broom, the buckets and the feet.

The bare strip keeps two advantages: it costs less per inch, and it bends. If your line has to wrap a rounded corner or follow a curved backrest, aluminum will not do it. Our recommendation for the inside of a sauna cabin remains the profile — the protection and the heat dissipation are worth the difference. The strip alone makes good sense for a cove already machined into the woodwork, where the cladding itself plays the role of the profile.

Aluminum profiles for a sauna

Three profiles pair with CSP strip in the design tool, all with an opaque diffuser and rated IP66. The #85 profile is the most used surface profile: shallow and discreet, it screws directly under a bench or behind a backrest, and it is our default recommendation for a sauna. The #86 profile accepts both mounting styles, surface or recessed into a groove in the wood, which is handy when the cabinetmaker can machine the rabbet in advance. The #91 profile is the largest format, supplied in 10-foot lengths with its lens and two end caps included. We also stock the #90 profile, a 45° corner profile widely used for coves and ceiling backlighting.

What the tool adds to your quote automatically

This is the part people forget when they price a project themselves, and it is the whole reason the tool exists. From your lengths, it works out and adds the rest of the list on its own. The transformer first: it totals the wattage of each zone and picks the smallest model that exceeds that total by at least 20 % of headroom, because a power supply running at the top of its capacity heats up and ages fast. It adds the end caps, two per length of profile, one drilled for the lead and one solid. It adds the supply wire, the solder joints — one per strip cut — and the mounting brackets, calculated from the total length with a minimum of two per piece; if you prefer, double-sided 3M tape replaces the brackets.

In other words, you enter lengths and you come out with a complete, coherent list where nothing is missing on installation day. That is often what trips up a project put together piece by piece: the strip arrives, the transformer is a little tight, and two end caps are missing.

Electrical code, RBQ and certification: what custom fabrication changes

This is the point no product sheet ever mentions, and it is the one that saves you the most trouble. In Quebec, a permanent electrical installation must comply with the Quebec Construction Code, Chapter V — Electricity, and the work falls to a contractor holding an RBQ licence. Within that framework, a permanently installed light fixture must be approved by a recognized certification body: UL, ETL or CSA. And here is the good news: it is exactly what we ship you.

Here is the part few people know: adding up certified components does not produce a certified fixture. Our CSP strip is cULus certified, the transformers we sell are certified, the profiles are profiles. But if you buy those three parts and assemble them yourself, the result is a field-assembled fixture, and the approval does not carry over. Certification applies to the finished fixture, not to the sum of its parts.

That is the first reason to have your fixture built rather than assemble it yourself: a fixture meant to be permanently connected has to leave the shop approved, and delivering it that way is our job. When we cut the profile, insert the strip, make the micro-solder joints and fit the end caps in our shop, what ships to you is a finished fixture, approved cETLus. In very practical terms, that is what protects your installation and your insurance.

When in doubt, the question is simple: will this fixture be permanently connected? If so, let us build it. And if you have a commercial, institutional or multi-unit project, call us before ordering — that is the kind of file we enjoy, and we will get it right with you the first time.

Buying components individually: you can, here is what it means

Yes, every part can be ordered on its own, and plenty of electricians and cabinetmakers prefer to work that way. The CSP strip comes in a 5-metre (16.4-foot) roll. Profiles come in 8-foot lengths — the #85, the #86 and the #90 — and in 10-foot lengths for the #91. The #85 and #86 also come in 16 feet. The CSP strip installation clip is sold individually, and 12 V and 24 V LED transformers are chosen according to the total load of your installation.

One thing to know, and we would rather tell you up front than let you find out: if you do the assembly yourself, the resulting fixture is not approved under the electrical code and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec — an approval required in Canada and in the United States alike. The parts stay certified; it is the assembled fixture that is not.

For a temporary build, a mock-up or personal use, do it however you like and we will supply everything. For a fixture that will be permanently connected, let us build it: you keep exactly the same freedom on lengths, finishes and colour temperatures, our shop does the micro-soldering for you, and the fixture arrives approved cETLus. Same project, same look, and a compliant fixture.

Technical tips for sauna lighting

• The transformer never goes inside the cabin. It lives outside, somewhere dry and ventilated, and only the low-voltage lead enters the sauna.
• Hide the source, show the wood. The strip is recessed under a bench or behind a backrest, never facing the occupants.
• Allow 20 % headroom on the power supply. A driver running at 100 % of its capacity heats up and loses years of life; the design tool applies that margin automatically.
• One zone is enough for most saunas. Two zones make sense when the upper and lower benches must switch separately.
• Measure wall to wall. A line that stops short of the end of the bench is noticed immediately; it is the most common mistake.
• The strip cuts every 50 mm. Any intermediate length rounds to the nearest cut mark — unless we fabricate it for you.
• Stay at 2700 K or 3000 K. A 4000 K white in a sauna reads like a workshop and cancels the whole effect of the wood.

Frequently asked questions — sauna LED lighting

Can an ordinary LED strip be used in a sauna?

No. A standard strip is not designed for the temperature under the cladding of a hot cabin, and its components degrade quickly. CSP strip is rated for ambients up to 125 °C (257 °F), on a circuit board that sheds heat instead of holding it. That is the difference between lighting that lasts and lighting you redo.

What is the maximum length I can order?

One length of strip goes up to 300 inches (25 feet). A longer wall is handled with several lengths set end to end, and the design tool lets you add as many as you need within the same zone.

Does CSP strip come in colour?

No, it comes in two warm whites only: 2700 K and 3000 K. A sauna is experienced in low, warm light, and that is what these two temperatures give. If you want colour in the relaxation room or the adjoining shower, our other strip families allow it, and our team can point you to them.

Do I need a profile, or is the strip alone enough?

A profile brings three things: it dissipates heat, it carries the diffuser that turns the diodes into a continuous line, and it protects the strip from impact. For the inside of a cabin, that is what we recommend. The strip alone works when the cladding already has a rabbet playing the role of the profile, or when the line has to follow a curve.

How long does custom fabrication take?

Allow 5 to 7 business days in the shop once payment is received, plus transit. Custom-built fixtures are cut to your dimensions and are a final sale. Shipping is never a flat rate: it depends on the weight and dimensions of the parcel, and long pieces travel in a tube.

Can I have my project priced without ordering?

Yes, and that is the normal use of the custom design tool. It takes no payment: the quote is sent to you automatically, itemizing the pieces, the transformer and the accessories, along with the product spec sheets. It is not reviewed by someone here automatically, so if you have any doubt about a length or about which profile to use, get in touch and we will check it with you before you order. You decide afterwards.

Renovating a shower or a steam room too? See our LED shower lighting solutions, sealed and safe.