Getting the Heat Right: Choosing Your Bathroom Infrared Lamp
Nobody likes that shivering feeling when you step out of a hot shower into a freezing bathroom. But here’s the catch: if you pick the wrong wattage for your heater, you’re either going to end up with annoying cold spots or a massive electricity bill. The magic of these lamps is that they don’t bother heating the air—they heat you. It’s direct, cozy, and fast. But to make it work, you’ve got to match the power to the size of your room and how high your ceilings are. How much power do you actually need? If you’ve got a tiny bathroom (under 5m²), keep it simple. A single 400W to 600W lamp is plenty. Any more than that and you’ll feel like you’re standing in an oven within five minutes. For those medium-sized spaces (between 5m² and 10m²), you have two choices. You can go with one stronger unit—somewhere around 800W to 1200W—or just use two smaller lamps to spread the warmth around. Then there are the big, luxury bathrooms. If yours is over 10m², don’t just buy one giant, overheating lamp. That’s a mistake. Instead, we suggest “zoning.” Put a few 600W lamps in different spots across the ceiling. It keeps the whole room feeling warm and avoids those weird pockets of cold air. Just a heads-up: don’t cram too much power into a small space. You might trip your breakers, or worse, burn out the lamp because there isn’t enough air moving around it. Where to put it (and why it matters) Think of infrared heat like a flashlight. If it can’t “see” you, it can’t warm you. If you mount the lamp too high, the heat loses its punch before it even reaches the floor. We’ve found that the sweet spot is usually between 2.2m and 2.6m. Also, bathrooms are wet. Obviously. That’s why the seal around the lamp is the most important part of the whole build. We use IPX4 rated enclosures because the last thing you want is moisture creeping into your electrical contacts. One last thing to consider Higher wattage means you get warm almost instantly. It’s great. But remember, high-power lamps pull a lot of current. If you’re living in an older house with old wiring, you might need to upgrade your wires before you try to run a massive 1500W+ setup. It’s worth double-checking your circuit capacity first so you don’t have any surprises.