What Makes the Linear Different
Most wood-burning sauna stoves are round or square columns. The Linear isn't — it's a wide, rectangular body with a broad front face, and that shape is the whole point. It gives you a big glass door and a wide view of the fire, and it sits flatter against a wall than a round stove. If the look of your sauna matters as much as the heat, the Linear is Harvia's modern answer to the traditional round stove.
The wide body isn't just styling. A broader firebox takes longer logs and gives the flames more room to spread across that front glass, so the fire is part of the room rather than tucked into a corner. This is the line for buyers who want the wood-burning experience but don't want it to look like a cast-iron box from 1970.
One thing to get straight up front, because it's the most common point of confusion: the Linear family includes a clean-burning option called GreenFlame. GreenFlame isn't a different stove — it's the same Linear 22 body with Harvia's efficient, low-emission combustion design built in. So when you browse this collection you'll see both the standard Linear and the GreenFlame variants. They share the silhouette; they differ on how the wood burns. We'll sort out which to pick below.
Why Wood-Burning Instead of Electric
Plenty of buyers default to electric, and for an indoor home sauna with easy panel access, that's often the right call — faster to heat, no chimney. But wood-burning earns its place, and the Linear makes the case in a modern package.
No electrical hookup is the big one. No dedicated 240V circuit, no electrician bill for the heater, no breaker to trip mid-session. That makes the Linear a natural fit for cabins, off-grid builds, and backyard saunas where running a circuit is more trouble than it's worth. Fire and stones, nothing else.
Then there's the experience. Building the fire, the crackle, the smell of woodsmoke, the flames moving across that wide glass — an electric heater hits the same temperature but it can't give you the atmosphere. For a lot of people that ritual is the entire reason to own a sauna. The Linear just frames it better than a round stove does. If you want the side-by-side against electric, browse the full wood-burning sauna stove range to see where each line lands.
The Linear Models in This Collection
Harvia Linear 16 (WK160C), 17.9kW. The standard, full-burn Linear. It heats sauna rooms from 212 to 565 cubic feet, which covers a wide span — compact 2–3 person indoor saunas up through 5-person outdoor cabins. Holds 80 lbs of stones. This is a conventional high-quality wood stove in the wide Linear body, no clean-burn tech, and it's the right pick if low emissions aren't a concern for your build. The Linear 16 also has a matching protective sheath (the WL475) for installs where wall space behind the stove is tight.
Harvia Linear 22 GreenFlame (WKLI22GM), 15.7kW. The clean-burning Linear. Same wide body, but with Harvia's GreenFlame combustion for a more complete, efficient, low-smoke burn. Rated for 317 to 635 cubic feet — so it starts where larger rooms begin and reaches further than the 16 at the top end. Holds 88 lbs of stones. The Linear 22 GreenFlame is the one to buy if you want the modern look and a cleaner burn, especially in areas with wood-stove rules.
Harvia Linear 22 GreenFlame ES (WKLI22GESM), 15.7kW with water tank. The GreenFlame, plus an integrated water tank. The same fire that heats the room heats the tank, giving you hot water without a separate system — genuinely handy for an outdoor sauna with no plumbed hot water. Same 317–635 cu ft range, same clean burn. The Linear 22 GreenFlame ES is the pick when warm rinse water near the sauna is part of the plan.
Sizing the Right Linear for Your Room
The Linear 16 covers 212–565 cu ft; the Linear 22 GreenFlame models cover 317–635 cu ft. Those are the published Harvia ranges, and the stove performs when you stay inside them. For a small-to-mid indoor sauna, the 16 is usually right. For a larger room — or if you specifically want the clean burn — the 22 GreenFlame steps up and reaches further.
A few practical adjustments. Cold climate, lots of exterior wall, or a big glass door? Treat your room as effectively larger than its raw cubic footage and size up, because heat escapes faster and you want the stove working in the middle of its range rather than maxed out. Tight, well-insulated indoor room? You can comfortably sit at the upper end of a model's range. If your sauna runs smaller than 212 cu ft or larger than 635, the Linear body isn't the right tool — look at the round Legend or Pro lines below, which span a different set of room sizes.
One detail worth checking before you order: confirm your firewood length. A wide firebox is forgiving, but every stove has a maximum log length on its spec sheet. If you're splitting your own wood, cut it to fit the door rather than fighting it every time you load.
Chimney, Clearances, Stones, and What Else You Need
The heater alone isn't a complete install. You'll need a chimney kit sized to the stove, plus roof flashing, lead-through insulation, and a rain cap. Clearances to combustible walls are mandatory on any wood-burning heater, and they're larger than people expect — the exact figures are on each product page's spec sheet, so read them before you frame the room. The Linear 16's WL475 protective sheath helps where rear wall space is tight.
Stones are sold separately. The Linear 16 holds 80 lbs and the GreenFlame models hold 88 lbs — Harvia Olivine Diabase is the right match, available from our sauna stone collection. Skip generic landscape rock; it holds moisture and cracks under the repeated heat cycling of a wood fire. Pack the basket to spec for the steam to come off the way the stove was designed to deliver it.
For foundation, venting, and the prep work first-time wood-sauna builders underestimate, our sauna installation walkthrough covers it. Always use a licensed professional for any electrical work, and follow Harvia's model-specific clearance and venting requirements — local fire code varies by jurisdiction.
Linear vs. GreenFlame vs. Legend vs. Pro
Harvia makes four wood-burning lines and they get confused all the time. Here's the honest breakdown.
Linear and GreenFlame are the same family. The Linear is the wide rectangular body; GreenFlame is that same body with Harvia's clean-burning combustion built in. The Linear 16 is the standard full-burn stove; the Linear 22 GreenFlame burns cleaner and more efficiently. They're not rivals — they're two combustion options on one silhouette. Pick the 16 if clean-burn doesn't matter for your build, the 22 GreenFlame if it does. The whole GreenFlame story lives on the GreenFlame collection if you want to dig in.
The Legend and Pro are a different shape — round bodies, not rectangular. The Legend is Harvia's flagship: the heaviest build and the largest stone mass, which buys you the softest, longest-lasting steam in the lineup. The Pro series is the mid-tier workhorse — solid output, moderate stone load, no frills, priced under the Legend. Choosing between the round lines and the Linear family comes down to looks and stone mass: the Linear/GreenFlame body carries 80–88 lbs of stone, less than a fully loaded Legend, so if maximum löyly is the priority the Legend wins, and if the modern wide-face look is what you're after, the Linear wins.
Linear Heater Packages
If you'd rather buy it all matched and pre-bundled, we offer Harvia wood-burning heater packages that pair the stove with a compatible chimney kit and stones sized to the model. Usually a little cheaper than buying piece by piece, and you avoid ordering a flue section that doesn't fit your stove.
