Personal heaters

Thanks Nicole, Norm and Jo. That is excellent advice, and it should be part of any initiative to tackle the issue of personal heaters in the workplace.

Regards,

Brian

Brian MacNamee
energyXchange.eu
www.energyXchange.eu

This is the 'foot warmer mat' I spoke about.

If the feet are warm, the body is warmer.

This one is only 90 watts (as opposed to up to 1500 watts for space heaters).

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/foot-warmer-heated-mat/839159?gclid=CMiA0Yuoi7wCFQlgMgodgjoAbQ&ef_id=Uts7LgAAAC2Fir2h:20140119224337:s

Norman Ruttan
i-WasteNot Systems
Canada

(1) Find out details of particular problems and give staff a respected and reliable point of contact in the work area who will report problems, stay on top of them, and report solutions. Provide a quick read thermometer to the POC, so the person can document real problems. (Often there are real problems.)

(2) Work diligently with building engineers to solve problems & report to employees via the point of contact. Examples I've encountered:

-- Heat was turned down on weekends and not started back up 'til 7am Monday, so workers were always cold when they arrived (and room temp could be documented at under 60 degrees). Solution: Earlier startup on Monday morning.

-- Leaky windows. Solution: Weatherstripping and cute "draft snakes."

(3) Create an office culture that welcomes sweaters, lap blankets, etc.

(4) Persuade employees who need extra heat to switch from space heaters to heating pads (65 watts on highest setting, on average, per informal google research). A heating pad can be moved around as needed -- back, lap, feet -- and it's cozy. It gives heat fast. Also, it doesn't affect other employees, who may have a different comfort level. Automatic timed shutoff reduces energy consumption and other risks.




Jo Brooks
United States

Hi Brian,

I'd make sure first that there aren't any issues with the building in terms of drafts, cold spots, etc. I once worked in a building in Ontario, Canada built in the 1960's with an adequate heating system, but the problem was it had been built on a concrete slab foundation with no insulation beneath the floor. So the clerks feet were always cold, and the space heaters appeared as a result.

So I arranged to have an 'insulation mat' put on the floor and then ordered a special 'foot warming mat' from a company that made them just for this sort of instance.

So then the feet were warm, and the space heaters disappeared.

There is also the issue of 'space heat' and 'radiant heat'. My office currently is cold, so rather than heat the whole room, we employ radiant heaters near each of us, to warm us up, but with the office cooler.

My experience with living in a cold climate for almost 70 years now is that people are people and if they're cold, they're miserable.

So fix the problem of why they're cold.

Norm

Norman Ruttan
i-WasteNot Systems
Canada

Hi Brian,
I worked with an organization who used a thermometer to measure the temperatures in the different offices spaces of staff members. If a staff member complained it was too cold (which would lead them to use the space heater), the facility manager would come with a thermometer and if the temperature fell into their set 'energy efficient' range, no adjustments were made (such as thermostat adjustment or allowing a space heater).

I'm not sure if that helps but it was just one idea that I learned while out working in the field.

Nicole

Nicole OConnor
Education Program Manager
Energy Outreach Colorado
United States