Getting Your Bathroom Heater Wattage Right
When you’re picking out infrared heating for a bathroom, it’s easy to just grab the most powerful lamp on the shelf and call it a day. But it’s not really about the lamp itself—it’s about how much heat you actually need for the size of the room. And since bathrooms are basically steam rooms, we use IP65-rated gear. It’s just a fancy way of saying the electrical bits are sealed tight so moisture doesn’t sneak in and cause a disaster. Picking the right power Here’s the thing: if you put a massive heater in a tiny room, you’re just throwing money away. If you’ve got a small powder room (under 4m²), a 400W to 600W shortwave lamp does the trick. It feels great because the heat hits your skin instantly. You aren’t waiting for the air to warm up; you just feel the glow. For those bigger master baths (8m² to 12m²), you’ll want to move up to 800W or 1200W. Actually, my advice? Install a couple of lower-wattage units instead of one giant one. That way, you don’t end up with one scorching hot spot and a freezing cold corner. Where to hang it Shortwave heat is different. It travels in a straight line. If you mount a 1000W lamp too high up near the ceiling, the heat loses its punch before it even reaches you. Aim for a height between 2.1m and 2.4m. That’s the sweet spot where it feels like a warm hug the moment you step in. The downside of going too big Sure, higher wattage heats up faster. But there’s a catch. Your circuit breakers have limits. If you wire three 1200W units onto one home line, you’re probably going to trip the breaker right when you’re mid-shower. Not exactly the vibe you’re going for. Plus, these things get hot. Really hot. If the IP65 housing doesn’t have a good way to let that heat escape, the internal wiring can start to fry over time. Stick to what the room actually needs. Overloading a small space won’t make it feel “warmer” faster. It just wastes power and burns out the filament way sooner than it should.