# Grrr...office just banned mini-fridges. Are they worse than space-heaters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716 "2013-01-10T03:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/21 "2013-01-11T15:01:29Z")
What a real engineer would do is invent a mini-fridge that’s powered by heat (e.g. a Stirling engine), and then plug in a space heater to power it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/22 "2013-01-11T15:41:17Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > If everyone who uses the community refrigerator assumes a proportionate amount of responsibility for keeping it clean, it won’t be filthy. That’s quite a hypothetical you’ve got there. It never, ever happens. It’s difficult to get it to happen just in an apartment with two or more roommates, and you will _never_ see it happen in an office with a dozen or more people. Unless you schedule it so that everyone takes their turn thoroughly cleaning the fridge. And then every person will apply their own standard of cleanliness when it’s their turn. And some people will not be happy with other people’s standards of cleanliness. And people will grumble and bitch to their friends about it, rather than making waves by bitching to the people whom they feel are not putting forth an adequate cleaning effort when it’s their turn. We have fridges in our office lunch room. The building’s cleaning staff takes care of them; there are signs indicating that the fridges will be cleaned out on Wednesday night, and anything left in them at that time will be discarded. The fridges are heavily used, reliably clean, and there’s a formal, anonymous mechanism for feedback (to the cleaning staff) if anyone is not happy about the condition of the fridges. The system works pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/23 "2013-01-11T18:01:25Z")
The same email is sent out every year at our company, and every year we ignore it. YMMV, of course 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/24 "2013-01-11T21:24:03Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > But a 1500W space heater might only be on for 2 hours a day. Its “time-averaged” power consumption would be around 125W. My cube neighbor has a rather significant space heater. She turns it on when she gets in and turns it off at the end of the day. It runs while she’s at lunch. She comes in, _takes off her shoes_, and puts her bare feet by the heater. :rolleyes: And she’s not the only one. Heck, there’s one in the ladies’ room! I am almost always cold - even in the summer. I keep an extra sweater or jacket in my cube. I wear socks and shoes and pants. I’ve been known to sit on my hands to warm them up. But I refuse to bring a fire hazard into the office. Worse than that - if several are fired up all at once, they’ve been known to trip a breaker - heaven help the engineer or draftsman who’s been working and neglected to hit “Save” every few minutes. Yeah, I hate space heaters. My husband figured in the company’s small building, they spend about $800 per month just because of space heaters. I guess the company is doing well - they don’t seem to mind paying it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/25 "2013-01-11T21:33:38Z")
> [@treis](#): > > The difference is that every watt a space heater uses is one less watt that the heating system needs to heat the building. Not true, because the space heater would raise the room temperature higher than the central A/C would. (Otherwise why would you have a space heater?) And some of it will be lost to the outside instead of warming up the rest of the building. Also a fridge warms up the room in winter too. But you’re right about the fridge adding to the A/C load in summer. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/26 "2013-01-12T01:17:15Z")
[quote=“scr4, post:25, topic:646716”] Not true, because the space heater would raise the room temperature higher than the central A/C would. (Otherwise why would you have a space heater?) And some of it will be lost to the outside instead of warming up the rest of the building. Also a fridge warms up the room in winter too./QUOTE] I am aware of this, which is why I called my post a simplification. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/27 "2013-01-12T23:43:54Z")
I use a midsized Igloo cooler…all my stuff fits in it. > **[Playmate Elite 16 Qt Cooler](https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/playmate-elite-16-qt-cooler)** > > Tried, true and loved around the world, this versatile 30-can cooler keeps your food and drinks cold with style and the grab-and-go convenience of our iconic tent-top design. Coffee, Creamer, Bread, Bagels, Snacks, Chocolate, Cookies, Salt /Pepper/Mayo/Hot sauce, Yogurt, Juice…3 Blue Ice Packs on the bottom, silverware and napkins. If you have a little walk , use a wheelie travel carrier, and you can put other junk on top of it too. > **[Ice Chest Coolers & Hard Coolers | Igloo](https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/hard-coolers/marine-ultra)** > > Igloo hard coolers are the most durable ice chest to fit your every need. From wheeled coolers to the best boating coolers. Perfect for any adventure. F’ the community fridge. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/28 "2013-01-13T05:12:09Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > The same email is sent out every year at our company, and every year we ignore it. YMMV, of course 🙂 We’re a littler wussier than you. We take ours home for a week, then reinstall it under cover of night (well, ok, 6 pm…). It’s amazing how you can lean a big envelope and a binder against the front of a mini-fridge that’s shoved way under the far corner of your desk and it’s invisible! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/29 "2013-01-13T20:33:55Z")
the large fridge is cleaned once a month in our office. it seems to work well. on the heater issue… i do dress like i work in a frozen tundra, all year 'round. as cold as it is in the winter, it is colder in the summer! it is not just the women either, one conference room was set to south pole, year 'round people would go into meetings in winter coats. parka guy was very entertaining. at least it gave people a way to store those bulky winter coats in the office, cutting down on clutter at home! ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/30 "2013-01-14T15:16:35Z")
You may want to check with the property/building owner. Many of them have bans on portable space heaters because of the fire risk. A quick walkthrough by a fire inspector who knows the owner bans them and they’ll be gone. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/31 "2013-01-14T15:56:23Z")
[Disguised](http://www.thegreenhead.com/2012/07/man-tables-mini-fridge-end-tables.php) [mini](http://www.geekologie.com/2007/09/hidden-beer-fridge-perfect-for.php)-[fridges](http://www.genuinehotrod.com/itemgroup/tool-box-fridge?ibanner=GHHHP1301001). ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/32 "2013-01-15T17:39:19Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [Disguised](http://www.thegreenhead.com/2012/07/man-tables-mini-fridge-end-tables.php) [mini](http://www.geekologie.com/2007/09/hidden-beer-fridge-perfect-for.php)-[fridges](http://www.genuinehotrod.com/itemgroup/tool-box-fridge?ibanner=GHHHP1301001). There must be a way to disguise one to make it look like a space heater. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/33 "2013-01-15T18:52:20Z")
If you go out of your way to ban space heaters and actually succeed, then you’re going to have to put up with either: 1. Skinny chicks bitching about how cold the office is, _constantly_. 2. Roasting your ass off when the heat is cranked ridiculously high to compensate. This is not a cross worth dying on. Besides, this decree came from the CEO’s admin? Unless you work in a tiny office and are on a first-name basis with the CEO, any complaint along these lines would likely fall under insubordination. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/34 "2013-01-15T19:18:07Z")
I would recommend keeping it anonymous. Just put together a spreadsheet with use comparisons, and perhaps fire statistics, related to the use of each. Then slip it under the boss’s door on a weekend. Mind you, you will not succeed in getting the use of mini-fridges re-instated. You will only succeed in getting the space heaters banned. Then enough people will complain about the cold that the heat in the whole office will be turned up, thus creating a huge market for personal fans. Buy up the local supply of [ice-driven](http://kooleraireac.com/KoolerAire25.htm)personal [coolers](http://www.gizmosforgeeks.com/iceflow-personal-air-conditioner) and cash in, bayyy-bee! My personal response to a heater ban was to buy a [heated throw blanket](http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-Luxurious-Blanket-Settings-Auto-off/dp/B009EDOG8Q), which is widely coveted throughout the office. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/35 "2013-01-15T19:28:53Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > If it’s a real safety issue then it’s not just a corporate pissing match but a matter of OSHA compliance, along with regulations for flammable storage cabinets for those chemicals, sprinkler maintenance, GFI outlets, etc. etc. if the space heaters put your facility in violation, they have to go. > > I know some of you are saying “don’t make waves, your employer will find a way to get revenge.” But government bodies look very sternly on retaliatory action. Well, for beginners, the government bodies will not give a hang if there is no violations, which seems to be the case in the OP. Re-reading it, the phrase is that “the offices are surrounded by labs with”… Sounds like a vague attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill. Wow! Offices are actually surrounded by…labs? And in these labs are…combustible materials? Actually separate workplaces that hold something that may catch fire? A regular inferno in the making. I’m pretty sure that this place is safer than a firehouse from the threats of the space heater, and the OSHA would kick the crap out of any ‘whistleblower’ with a P & M about this. ---
**Author:** ![smee\_goan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@smee\_goan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smee_goan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/36 "2013-01-15T20:50:22Z")
My Micro Manager resolved a “dirty microwave oven” complaint to the union (Teamsters) was to remove the microwave oven. In two days it was back. Our business is transporting people on busses so diesel fuel is a large slice of the pie. Yesterday, I left work four hours early (my choice). Had to go buy a tire. …and make home-made pizza, 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716/37 "2013-01-15T21:00:30Z")
Tardis “[sculpture](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f0f4/?srp=1)” . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrr-office-just-banned-mini-fridges-are-they-worse-than-space-heaters/646716.md?page=1)