Putting an infrared heater in a bathroom is basically a battle against steam. Water and electricity don’t mix, and standard home wiring just isn’t cut out for this. If you want to make sure everything stays safe and dry, you have to obsess over where the power feed hits the lamp terminals. Keeping the water out Here’s the thing: water vapor gets into almost everything. To stop moisture from jumping between the live terminals and the chassis, we stick with IP65-rated enclosures. You’ll want to seal those connection points with high-temp silicone or some solid gaskets. If you’re using an R7s or Sk15 connector, make sure the socket is tucked away and shielded from any direct spray. If you leave the terminals open to the air, condensation will build up on the ceramic base and—pop—you’ve got a short circuit. The gear that actually works We use quartz glass and ceramic insulators because they’re great at stopping current leakage. In a steamy bathroom, you need more “breathing room” on the surface of your insulators to keep the electricity where it belongs. We prefer reinforced alumina ceramics since they don’t soak up moisture like a sponge. And please, for the love of everything, wire the chassis to a dedicated ground. That way, if something does go wrong, the breaker trips instantly instead of turning the metal casing into a live wire. The tricky part There’s a bit of a catch here. If you seal everything too tightly to keep the water out, you trap the heat inside. If the unit can’t breathe, the internal drivers will basically bake themselves and burn out way too soon. It’s all about finding that sweet spot between a tight seal and a bit of venting. Oh, and a pro tip: put a drip-loop in your wiring. It’s a simple little bend in the cable that stops water from running straight down the wire and right into the socket. Lastly, double-check your GFCI specs. You can have the most perfect insulation in the world, but if you don’t have a fast-acting leak protector on that circuit, the whole setup is a gamble.