How to heat a cold bathroom without adding a new electrical line
Adding a standard bathroom heater requires running a dedicated 20-amp circuit, which is extremely difficult or impossible without an attic or accessible subpanel wiring. This electrical constraint prevents people from installing the heating they need, forcing them to deal with freezing showers.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Using a plug-in portable ceramic heater near the floorDid this help you?
- 2Running a dedicated 20-amp circuit from the subpanel to support a heated exhaust fanDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“If you add a heater you need a 20 amp dedicated line. I’m in a manufactured home with no attic. So that could be a problem.”source ↗
“Yes, I had to run a 20A circuit out of the subpanel for hers. I can shower in a cold bathroom; my wife cannot.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2How to insulate a drafty floor over a basement or porch
- 12How do I use and maintain an oil heating system?
- 2Why is my bedroom hotter than the rest of the house at night?
- 6Why is my attic apartment so hot in summer and cold in winter?
- 7Mini-split can't keep house warm when it freezes outside