How to Pick the Right Infrared Heat for Your Bathroom
When you’re picking out infrared lamps for a bathroom, it’s easy to think “the more power, the better.” But it doesn’t actually work like that. It’s more about finding that sweet spot where you’re warm, but you aren’t wasting electricity or cooking yourself alive. Since bathrooms are wet, we use IP66-rated housings. Basically, that just means the guts of the lamp are sealed tight so steam and splashes don’t fry the circuitry.
Getting the wattage right
Here is the thing about infrared: it doesn’t bother heating up the air in the room. It goes straight for the surface—your skin or the floor. It’s an immediate, cozy feeling. If you’re dealing with a tiny powder room (under 3m²), a 400W to 600W lamp is plenty. If you go overkill here, you’ll likely overheat the unit and burn the lamp out way faster than it should. For larger bathrooms (6m² to 10m²), you’ll need more punch—something in the 800W to 1200W range. But here’s a pro tip: instead of one massive, scorching lamp, try two smaller ones. It spreads the heat around better, and if one bulb happens to go out, you aren’t left shivering in the cold.
The trade-off with sealed units
Those IP66 seals are great for safety, but they do create a little problem. Because the chassis is airtight, the heat stays trapped inside the housing. This means the internal parts run hotter than they would in an open fixture. Just make sure your wiring is up to the task. You don’t want high-wattage lamps pulling a constant current through thin wires that can’t handle the heat.
A quick cheat sheet
If you’re staring at a catalog and aren’t sure what to grab, try this: ***Tiny bathrooms (<3m²):**400W-600W. Keep it targeted. ***Medium bathrooms (3-6m²):**600W-800W. ***Large bathrooms (>6m²):**1000W+ or a few 500W zones. Avoid the temptation to put a 1200W beast in a tiny closet of a bathroom. The thermostat will just click on and off every few seconds. We call that “short-cycling,” and it’s a great way to kill your lamp’s lifespan. Just match the power to the size of the room. Keep it simple.