How to pick the right infrared heater for your bathroom
When you’re shopping for an infrared heater, it’s tempting to just grab the most powerful one on the shelf. But here’s the thing: more power isn’t always better. It’s really about the size of your room and how high your ceilings are. If you put a beast of a heater in a tiny powder room, you’re just wasting electricity—and you might actually make the fixture overheat. On the flip side, a weak lamp in a huge master bath is basically useless. You’ll be standing there shivering, wondering why you even bought the thing.
Getting the power right
For those tiny bathrooms (we’re talking under 4 square meters), a 400W to 600W lamp is usually plenty. They heat up almost instantly, so you get that cozy feeling the second you flip the switch without blowing a fuse. If you’ve got a larger space—maybe 8 to 12 square meters—you’ll want something stronger, like 800W or 1200W. But a little pro tip? Instead of one giant, blinding lamp, try two smaller ones. It spreads the warmth around the room much better, so you don’t have one “hot spot” and one “cold zone.”
A few things to keep in mind
Higher wattage gets you warm faster, but it’s harder on your home’s wiring. You’ll want to make sure your wires can actually handle a 1200W draw. Nobody likes a voltage drop or a flickering light. Also, remember that infrared is different from a space heater. It warms you, not the air. That’s why it’s great for damp bathrooms. Just be careful with the wattage in small spaces; the higher the power, the brighter the light. You don’t want to feel like you’re under a stadium spotlight while you’re brushing your teeth.
Saving a bit of cash
If you want to keep your electric bill down, hook your heater up to a timer or a motion sensor. Since these things hit peak heat in seconds, there’s no point in leaving them on. And one last thing: put them on their own dedicated circuit. You don’t want your breaker to trip just because the water heater and the infrared lamp decided to kick in at the exact same time. That’s a cold shower nobody wants.