Welcome, winter .... and a seasonal 'service call' returns: We keep tripping the breaker in the office!

Naturally, we get there, to find that the office manager has decided to 'save energy' by setting the offic thermostat at 68 - and every desk has a little toaster-like space heater under it, sucking up the power. Pop goes the breaker!

Well, I have recently purchased one of these things: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/TRI-LITE-Electric-Flat-Panel-Heater-6YPX7?Pid=search .
They're made to fit right under the desk, and attach with Velcro.

It's not hard to find other vendors; I think I paid about $70 for mine.

The results?

Well, they draw 150 watts - much less than the usual space heater ... AND they work. They make quite a difference.

I would encourage customers to get these for the ladies. They're cheaper than service calls! (hmmm ... I wonder if we could sell them at the time of the call?)

Because, let's face it: you'll never convince management to give any value to the comfort of their staff.

Interesting item! There are a few other similar shown on the right col. of the link page. One made in the USA is $30+ more than the one you linked to.

I may have to get one for my desk, as soon as the contractor gets my home back together. I'm hanging out on the laptop at the dining room table.

We something almost exactly like those. They are call cozy legs. They also make one that is a floor mat called cozy toes.

Don't you have legislation on minimum workplace temperatures? Even as a 16 year old apprentice, if the Works didn't get up to 60F an hour after we clocked in, the blokes all downed tools and got the kettle brewin' up. It rarely happened. 'Old Harry' our laborer used to charge up the giant shop coke-stove real early when it turned nippy. By 9am you'd set your overalls on fire if you got within 8 feet of it! We heated our meat pies up near it too. Frightening to think that Harry and most of the old-timers who taught us how not to get tangled in the machines would now be over 110 years old!

From an OSHA letter

Alan, all I did was start a thread based upon reality. What it might say in a book somewhere is of little concern to me.

A typical office is likely to have one thermostat - with no consideration of how temperatures may differ around the place. You have 'generic' office suites, all designed by the lowest bidder.

I've lost count of the times where human discomfort and inefficiency were ignored by management - yet, that same management immediately spent fortunes should a piece of equipment be inconvenienced. Many times there will be HVAC for the machine, but not for the guy who operates it.

The end result is .... the winter service call. There must be a 'weak' breaker, because it keeps tripping. Or, the breaker tripped but we can't reset it.

You look around, and you see that every desk has a little space heater near it. Usually, when you're there, the heater is off and under a carefully placed coat and purse. You'll note a tamper-guard over the thermostat, and every lady wearing a sweater. Or two. Maybe even a shawl and a small blanket on their laps.

That's the reality; the ladies are cold - and trying very hard to be warm. One thing is certain: Scrooge isn't going to change the thermostat setting.

Typical US space heaters draw 2 amps, and can pose a fire risk. The one I posted at the start of the thread draws less than 2 amps, won't start a fire, and puts the heat right where the lady needs it - under the desk.

These things have been around forever, but only now have I been able to actually try one out. They work. They're worth it. Pass it on.

The record here seem to be big box stores. I've seen up to three quartz heaters per checkout terminal! And that wasn't on a particularly cold day (well above freezing).

The space heaters I used to see were more like the 1kw or 1.44 kw variety.

Greg,

I have my own way to keeping the secretary warm, but I think my wife wouldn't approve the idea.

These heaters are for when you are out of the office.

Correction: I meant to say that typical US space heaters draw about 12 amps; seems the keyboard stuck. Oops.