Clearlight vs. Sunlighten Infrared Saunas: An Honest Comparison (2026)

If you’re researching infrared saunas at this price level, you’ve almost certainly come across both Clearlight and Sunlighten. Two strikingly beautiful saunas, but take a closer look and you’ll be suprised at the many differences. Clearlight and Sunlighten are the two most prominent names in the premium infrared sauna market, and on the surface, they seem comparable. But once you look closely at the engineering decisions – heater design, EMF safety, warranty, build quality, and therapeutic philosophy – meaningful differences emerge. This guide covers all of them.

At a Glance

Heater Technology: Hybrid Carbon-Ceramic vs. Carbon-Only

This is where the two brands diverge most fundamentally.

Clearlight’s True Wave™ heaters are proprietary, and the only ones of their kind anywhere in the sauna industry. Rather than using a carbon-only or ceramic-only design, Clearlight infuses high-quality carbon heaters with hundreds of thousands of ceramic particulates. The result is a heater that delivers the broad, even surface coverage of carbon with the intense, concentrated infrared output of ceramic. Emissivity, the efficiency with which a heater converts energy into actual infrared radiation, is exceptionally high as a result. No other sauna company makes a heater like this.

Sunlighten’s SoloCarbon® heaters are carbon-only. Sunlighten has invested in them heavily, but they don’t offer the performance characteristics of a carbon-ceramic hybrid design.

There are also important physical differences in heater construction. Sunlighten’s mPulse heaters are extremely thin, so thin that they can be folded in half like a sheet of paper. They’re covered with a dark bamboo cloth that gives the interior a finished look, but that cloth absorbs a portion of the infrared energy before it ever reaches your body. Clearlight heaters are left completely uncovered, with a wood framework that prevents contact while letting 100% of the infrared output reach the user unimpeded.

Sunlighten places heaters at and above the user’s head across all of their sauna models. This is a design choice worth thinking carefully about: infrared heat directed at the head can cause discomfort, accelerate the urge to exit the sauna, and isn’t advisable given that heat is not beneficial to neural tissue. It’s why traditional sauna users wear hats, to keep the head cool and extend the session. Clearlight heaters are positioned to maximize full-body therapeutic coverage, not head coverage. And for hair health, having heaters directed at your hair isn’t ideal either.

Full Spectrum Infrared: All Wavelengths All the Time vs. Programmable Presets

Both brands offer full-spectrum infrared, meaning near, mid, and far infrared wavelengths. But their philosophies around how to deliver it are fundamentally different, and it matters.

Sunlighten’s mPulse line is built around “wellness programs,” preset modes like “Detox,” “Cardio,” “Relaxation,” and “Weight Loss” that adjust the ratio of wavelengths during a session. This is marketed heavily as a sophisticated, research-backed feature. The reality is that these presets are not supported by clinical research. There is no peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating that cycling wavelength ratios according to a wellness goal produces better outcomes than simply delivering full-spectrum infrared consistently. It’s a compelling sales feature without a scientific foundation.

Clearlight’s approach is straightforward: deliver 100% near, mid, and far infrared wavelengths simultaneously, at full power, for the entire session. Every wavelength has its own therapeutic mechanism – near infrared supports cellular repair and skin health, mid infrared promotes circulation and muscle recovery, far infrared drives the deep-core heating and detoxification that infrared therapy is known for. There’s no reason to withhold any of them. The Sanctuary series delivers this through two 500-watt full spectrum heaters operating continuously throughout your session.

It’s also worth noting that Sunlighten does not disclose the wattage or power output of their near and mid infrared emitters. When a brand is using those wavelengths as a key selling point, the omission of output specs is notable.

EMF and ELF Safety: The Most Important Health Distinction

For health-conscious buyers, this is often the deciding factor, and it’s where Clearlight’s lead is most definitive.

Clearlight was the first infrared sauna company in the world to shield against EMF (electromagnetic fields), a distinction it pioneered over 20 years ago. But the more significant point is this: Clearlight is the only infrared sauna company in the industry that also shields against ELF (extremely low electric frequencies). Every Clearlight sauna, from the entry-level Premier line to the full Sanctuary series, includes both EMF and ELF shielding as standard engineering, not as an upgrade.

Sunlighten’s models do not include ELF shielding. The mPulse heaters are so thin that proper EMF shielding cannot even be applied to them, meaning each heater emits measurable levels of EMF. Independent testing of various Sunlighten models has recorded EMF readings noticeably higher than Clearlight’s near-zero levels. For buyers who are using their sauna daily as a therapeutic tool, the cumulative exposure difference over months and years is not trivial.

Clearlight’s founder, Dr. Raleigh Duncan, is a certified GEOVITAL EMF Consultant, GEOVITAL is the international Academy for Radiation Protection and Environmental Medicine. The EMF and ELF engineering in Clearlight saunas reflects genuine technical expertise in this area, not just marketing language.

Warranty: Lifetime vs. 7 Years

This is one of the most concrete differences between the two brands, and it’s often obscured by Sunlighten’s terminology.

Clearlight offers a full lifetime warranty on the entire sauna and all of its components, in writing. This is backed by commercial-grade construction and reflects genuine confidence in long-term durability.

Sunlighten’s warranty is marketed as a “limited lifetime warranty,” but the actual coverage is 7 years on cabinetry and heaters, 3 years on controls, and just 1 year on glass doors and audio. After 7 years, you’re responsible for the most expensive components. It’s a reasonable warranty by industry norms, but calling it a lifetime warranty misrepresents what the coverage actually provides.

Red Light Therapy: Meaningful Output vs. Decorative LEDs

Both brands have incorporated red light therapy into their offerings, but the comparison is stark.

Sunlighten has added red light LEDs to some of its newer models. However, those LEDs are very low output, not strong enough to produce the photobiomodulation effects that red light therapy research is based on. They’re more accurately described as mood lighting than therapeutic red light.

Clearlight’s optional Red Light Therapy Tower delivers LEDs with more than 25 times the output of what Sunlighten incorporates. It’s also uniquely engineered with a built-in cooling system that allows it to operate inside a hot sauna without damage, something most standalone red light devices can’t do. If red light therapy is a meaningful part of your wellness routine, there’s no comparison between the two options.

Outdoor Saunas: Clearlight Has Them. Sunlighten Doesn’t.

This is a straightforward and important differentiator for many buyers. Sunlighten does not offer any outdoor sauna models. If your installation is on a deck, patio, backyard, or any exterior space, Sunlighten simply isn’t an option.

Clearlight offers two dedicated outdoor sauna models, the Sanctuary Outdoor 2 and Sanctuary Outdoor 5, engineered specifically for exterior installation with weather-resistant construction. For buyers with the space and the desire for an outdoor wellness retreat, Clearlight is one of the very few premium infrared brands that actually supports that setup.

Build Quality, Materials, and Floor Design

Both brands build high-quality saunas, and neither is cutting corners on the basics. But the details matter.

Clearlight uses FSC-certified wood exclusively, sourced from responsibly managed, sustainably harvested forests. It was the first infrared sauna company to require FSC certification across its entire product line. Sunlighten uses quality wood, but does not carry FSC certification.

The floor design is another meaningful difference. Clearlight uses solid wood floors with infrared heaters positioned beneath them- this is hygienic, simple to clean, and therapeutically effective as a heated floor surface. Sunlighten uses slatted wood floors placed over live heaters. Over time, those slats accumulate sweat, sloughed-off skin cells, dust, and debris in the gaps, as well as hard-to-retreive insects, making them harder to keep clean and less hygienic for regular use.

The People Behind the Brands

This context matters more than it might seem.

Clearlight was founded by Dr. Raleigh Duncan, a Chiropractic Doctor with an engineering background. Over 25 years ago, Dr. Duncan was recommending infrared sauna sessions to his patients and found the results compelling enough that he approached the leading sauna manufacturer of the time to improve their products. When they declined, he started Clearlight, building it from the ground up around safety, clinical effectiveness, and sustainable materials. Dr. Duncan is also a certified GEOVITAL EMF Consultant, which directly informs the engineering decisions that define the brand.

Sunlighten was founded by Aaron and Connie Zack, who were formerly sales representatives for the pharmaceutical division of Procter & Gamble. There’s nothing disqualifying about that background, but it’s a relevant distinction: one brand was built by a clinician who treated patients with infrared therapy, and the other was built by people with a background in selling pharmaceutical products.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Clearlight better than Sunlighten? For buyers focused on EMF/ELF safety, genuine lifetime warranty coverage, complete infrared delivery, and therapeutic design, Clearlight leads in every category. Sunlighten is a well-known brand with quality construction, but Clearlight’s engineering runs deeper.

Are Sunlighten’s wellness presets backed by research? No. Sunlighten’s programmable presets, “Detox,” “Cardio,” “Relaxation,” and others, are a marketing feature, not a clinically validated protocol. There is no peer-reviewed research demonstrating that adjusting wavelength ratios according to a wellness goal produces superior outcomes. Clearlight’s position is that delivering 100% of near, mid, and far infrared simultaneously, at full power, is the most therapeutically sound approach.

Does Clearlight shield against both EMF and ELF? Yes. Clearlight is the only infrared sauna company in the industry that shields against both EMF and ELF (extremely low electric frequencies). Sunlighten does not shield for ELF in any of its models.

Does Sunlighten offer outdoor saunas? No. Sunlighten does not make outdoor sauna models. Clearlight offers two dedicated outdoor models, the Sanctuary Outdoor 2 and Sanctuary Outdoor 3, built for exterior installation.

What makes Clearlight’s red light therapy different from Sunlighten’s? Clearlight’s optional Red Light Therapy Tower produces more than 25 times the LED output of the red light built into Sunlighten saunas. Sunlighten’s LEDs are too weak to produce meaningful photobiomodulation effects. Clearlight’s tower is also the only red light device engineered to operate inside a hot sauna without damage.

Does Clearlight offer a real lifetime warranty? Yes. Clearlight’s lifetime warranty covers the entire sauna and all components for the life of the original owner. Sunlighten’s warranty provides 7 years of coverage on primary components.

Interested in exploring Clearlight saunas? Browse the full lineup at healwithheat.com or reach out directly – every purchase is handled personally to make sure you get the right model for your space and goals.

Disclosure: We are an authorized Clearlight dealer. We’ve made every effort to represent Sunlighten’s products accurately – the distinctions described here are factual and verifiable, not simply promotional.