Getting Your Bathroom Heat Just Right
When you’re picking out an infrared lamp for your bathroom, your first instinct might be to go for the most powerful one on the shelf. But here’s the thing: more power isn’t always better. It’s really more about finding the “sweet spot” for your specific room so you aren’t burning money on your electric bill or turning your bathroom into a sauna. Matching the power to your space If you’ve just got a tiny powder room—you know, those little half-baths under 4m²—a 250W to 400W short-wave lamp is plenty. It gives you that instant, cozy warmth right where you need it without putting too much stress on your wiring. Now, if you’re dealing with a larger master bath (over 8m²), you’ll want something beefier, like a 600W or 800W lamp. These have a wider “throw,” meaning the heat spreads out further to cover more of the floor. But be careful. If you cram an 800W lamp into a tiny stall, the room will overheat in seconds. Your thermostat will be clicking on and off constantly, which is a great way to burn out the lamp filaments way faster than they should. Where to put it (and what to watch for) Ceiling mounts are usually the way to go. Just make sure there’s some breathing room between the lamp and the ceiling material. I’ve seen high-wattage lamps warp cheap PVC or plastic ceilings, which is a mess nobody wants to deal with. Also, keep an eye on your ceiling height. Heat travels, but it also fades. If you have those fancy high ceilings, you’ll lose some of that warmth before it ever reaches you. In those cases, bumping up the wattage helps bridge the gap. A smarter way to save If you want to be really efficient, don’t just install one massive heater. Instead, try wiring up two smaller lamps on separate switches. It’s a simple trick, but it works. You can just turn on the heat exactly where you’re standing. No more wasting energy heating up a corner of the room that nobody is using.