How to Pick the Right Infrared Lamp for Your Bathroom
Let’s be honest: there is nothing worse than stepping out of a hot shower into a bathroom that feels like a walk-in freezer. It ruins the whole mood. If you’re looking at infrared lamps to fix this, you’ve probably noticed a bunch of different wattage options. Getting this right is pretty simple—it’s all about how much space you’re trying to warm up. If you go too low, you’ll have those annoying cold spots. Go too high, and you’re just throwing money away on your electric bill (and potentially making the room feel like a sauna). Finding your sweet spot Here is a good rule of thumb based on the size of your room. If you’ve got a tiny powder room (anything under 4m²), a single 250W to 400W lamp is usually plenty. In a small space, the heat bounces off the walls quickly, so you don’t need a powerhouse to feel the warmth. For your average mid-sized bathroom (around 5-10m²), you’ll want to bump that up to 600W or 800W. And for those big master baths—the ones over 12m²—you’ve got options. You can go with one heavy-duty 1000W+ unit, but I actually recommend using two smaller lamps. Spacing them out often feels more natural and keeps the heat from just bunching up in one spot. The “magic” of infrared You might wonder why we use quartz glass and short-wave infrared. Here’s the thing: unlike a space heater, these lamps don’t bother trying to heat the air. Think about it. In a steamy bathroom, the humidity just soaks up the heat. Infrared skips the air entirely and goes straight to your skin and the surfaces around you. It’s an instant, cozy feeling the second you flip the switch. A few things to watch out for Bigger wattage means the room warms up faster, but it also puts more pressure on your home’s electrical system. If you live in an older place with dated wiring, just double-check your breakers before you install a 1000W beast. One last pro tip: put these on their own dedicated switch. And please, stay away from dimmer switches unless the box explicitly says they’re okay. If you try to dim a lamp that isn’t built for it, you’ll probably fry the filament and be buying a new one a lot sooner than you’d like.