Getting the Heat Right: Choosing the Best Infrared Wattage for Your Bathroom
When you’re picking out infrared lamps for a bathroom, it’s really just a balancing act. You want it to feel cozy and warm, but you don’t want your electric bill to skyrocket. These units are IP66-rated, which is a fancy way of saying they can handle a direct blast from a showerhead or a room full of thick steam without breaking a sweat. But being waterproof is only half the battle. If you get the wattage wrong, you’re either wasting power or leaving people shivering. How to size it for your space Bathrooms are tricky. Between the cold tiles and the exhaust fans pulling air out, heat vanishes fast. If you’re dealing with a tiny powder room—something under 4m²—a single 400W to 600W short-wave lamp does the trick. It hits your skin almost instantly. For a medium-sized bathroom (between 4 and 8m²), I’d suggest two 600W units or one big 1200W array. Once you cross that 10m² mark, you’ll probably need a few different heating zones to keep things even. Here’s the thing: if you go overboard with the wattage, you end up with “hot spots.” It’s that annoying feeling where one spot feels like a tanning bed while the rest of the room is still damp and chilly. On the flip side, if you go too low, the lamp struggles to hit the right temperature. It’ll just run at 100% all the time, which is a great way to burn out your filament way sooner than it should. The trade-off with those seals That IP66 seal is great for keeping moisture out, but it also traps a bit of heat around the base of the lamp. That’s why we use high-temp gaskets—so the housing doesn’t warp over time. Just a heads-up: make sure your circuit breaker can actually handle the load if you’re installing multiple units. The reason we stick with short-wave infrared is simple. It doesn’t bother heating up the air; it heats the person. This is a huge plus because you aren’t fighting against the exhaust fan. One last tip: keep an eye on your mounting height. The higher the wattage, the shorter the “throw.” If you hang a 1500W lamp too low, it’s going to feel way too intense for whoever is standing right under it.