Picking the Right Infrared Heater for Your Bathroom
Nobody likes stepping out of a hot shower into a freezing bathroom. It’s a shock to the system. That’s why infrared lamps are such a lifesaver. Unlike those old-school heaters that try to warm up all the air in the room, these lamps send heat straight to your skin and the surfaces around you. It’s like stepping into a patch of sunlight on a winter day. Getting the wattage right The biggest mistake people make is just buying the most powerful lamp they can find. You don’t actually want that. If you’ve got a tiny powder room—something under 4m²—a 250W or 400W lamp is plenty. Any more than that and you’re just wasting electricity, or worse, overheating your fixtures. But if your bathroom is a bit bigger (around 6m² to 10m²), you’ll need more muscle. Go for 600W or 1000W. Why? Because tiles and mirrors are “heat sinks”—they suck the warmth right out of the air. You need enough power to create a cozy “heat zone” around you before the warmth disappears into the vent. The secret in the glass You’ll notice these lamps have a mirror-like coating on the glass. That’s not for looks. Without that coating, half the heat would just shoot backward into your ceiling. The Mirror reflects those rays forward, pushing all that warmth down toward you. It makes the whole thing way more efficient. Most of these use R7s or SK15 connectors, so swapping them out is a breeze. Just a quick tip: if you’re jumping up to a 1000W lamp, double-check that your wiring can actually handle the load. You don’t want to fry your sockets. A word of caution on “more power” Here’s the thing: bigger isn’t always better. A 1000W lamp hits you instantly, but it can feel a bit aggressive. If it’s mounted too low, you might feel like you’re being broiled on your shoulders while your toes are still freezing. If you want that perfect, even glow, try using a couple of lower-wattage lamps spread across the ceiling instead of one massive heat source. It feels much more natural.