Getting Your Bathroom Heat Just Right
Nobody likes that shock of stepping onto a freezing tile floor first thing in the morning. But if you’re looking into infrared lamps to fix that, you can’t just grab the biggest one on the shelf and hope for the best. It’s all about balance. If you go too low on the wattage, you’ll end up with those annoying cold spots. But go too high in a tiny room? You’ll feel like you’re standing inside a toaster, and you’ll be throwing money away on your electric bill. Finding the right fit Think about the size of your space. For a small powder room—you know, the one guests use—a single 400W to 600W shortwave lamp usually does the trick. The secret here is that you aren’t trying to heat the actual air in the room; you just want that instant, cozy warmth hitting your skin. If you’ve got a medium-sized bathroom, you’ll probably want something in the 800W to 1200W range. For those massive master baths, one lamp won’t cut it. You’ll need a few of them spread out. This keeps things even so you don’t feel scorched in one corner and shivering in the other. It’s all about where you put it Here’s the thing: infrared doesn’t work like a space heater. It heats objects, not air. That means placement is everything. You want the lamp mounted so the heat “cone” covers exactly where you’ll be standing. We stick with shortwave emitters because they kick in fast. When you’re stepping out of the shower, you don’t want to wait twenty minutes for the room to warm up. You want it now. A few things to watch out for More power sounds better, but it comes with a catch. A 1500W setup will definitely heat things up quickly, but it puts a lot more pressure on your wiring. If your circuit isn’t up for it, you’re just going to trip the breaker. And a quick tip for the installers: don’t forget about the ceiling. High-wattage lamps get hot—really hot. If there isn’t enough airflow in the ceiling void, you can actually bake the surrounding fixtures. Just make sure your housing materials can handle the heat before you flip the switch.