How to pick the right infrared lamp for your bathroom (without wasting cash)
Here is the secret: bigger isn’t always better. If you just grab the highest wattage lamp you can find, you aren’t necessarily getting a “better” heater—you’re likely just paying for electricity you don’t need. The trick is matching the heat to the actual size of your room. We use short-wave infrared because it doesn’t bother trying to heat up all the air in the room (which is a waste of time). Instead, it beams heat directly onto you and the floor. It feels like stepping into a patch of sunlight on a cold day. Getting the wattage right If you’ve got a tiny bathroom—think under 4m²—stick with something between 250W and 400W. Any more than that and you’ll turn your bathroom into a sauna in about two minutes. For those medium-sized spaces (4m² to 8m²), you’ll want to bump it up to 600W or 800W. And for the big master baths? You’re looking at 1000W or even a couple of lamps working together to make sure there aren’t any cold spots. But be careful. If you go too heavy on the wattage, you might trip your breakers or just see your electric bill spike. On the flip side, if the lamp is too weak, it has to run forever to keep you warm, which just burns out the filament faster. The gear side of things We usually go with quartz glass tubes filled with halogen gas. They’re great at keeping the heat tight and focused. Most of these use R7s or Sk15 connectors, which is a win because they’re a breeze to swap out when they eventually die. Just a heads-up: high-wattage lamps get hot. Really hot. Make sure your fixture can actually handle that kind of heat without warping. Also, if you’re installing a 1000W tube, give it some breathing room. If the housing can’t vent properly, the lamp is going to burn out way sooner than it should. A few pro tips for your setup Want to save some money? Hook your lamps up to a timer or a motion sensor. There is nothing worse than realizing you left the heater running in an empty bathroom for three hours. One last thing: look at the reflector. A gold or aluminum coating is your best friend here. It pushes the heat straight down toward you, meaning you don’t need as much power to actually feel warm.