How to pick the right infrared lamp for your bathroom
Here is the thing about infrared lamps: more power isn’t always better. I see it all the time. Someone buys the most powerful unit they can find and shoves a 1000W lamp into a tiny powder room. It feels great for about thirty seconds, but then the unit starts cycling on and off like crazy because it’s just too much heat for such a small space. That’s a fast track to killing your lamp way before its time. Getting the power right It really comes down to how much space you’re trying to warm up. If you’ve got a small bathroom—we’re talking under 4 square meters—a 400W to 600W shortwave lamp is usually plenty. These are great because they warm you up directly, rather than trying to bake the entire room of air. For those mid-to-large bathrooms (around 6-10 square meters), you’ll probably want to jump up to 800W or 1200W. If you go too low here, the lamp will just run at full blast constantly, trying and failing to hit the temperature you want. That’s how you burn out a filament. Watch your wiring Sure, a high-wattage lamp gets you warm faster. But it also pulls a lot more from your electrical panel. Before you go overboard, check your wiring. If you try to plug a few 1000W units into an old bathroom circuit, you’re probably going to trip the breaker. Not exactly the vibe you want when you’re stepping out of a hot shower. The “Hotspot” Problem There is a bit of a trade-off here. High-wattage lamps are instant, but they can feel oppressive if they’re too close. If you put a massive lamp too low in a cramped room, you’ll end up with intense hotspots that feel more like a heat lamp at a buffet than a cozy bathroom. Think about your ceiling height. A 600W lamp at 2.2 meters often feels way more comfortable than a 1200W beast at the same height in a tight space. When you’re shopping, look at the total volume of the room, not just the floor space. It makes a world of difference.