Small Appliances in Office

Status
Not open for further replies.
Q

qtq8607

Member
Where I work, many employees are bringing in their own personal small appliances such as, small refrigerator, toaster, space heater and etc. and plug into duplex receptacles in their office. Are there any NEC code and/or Safety code (OSHA) against using these small appliances in an office environment?

Thanks,
QQ
 
Re: Small Appliances in Office

Yes a circuit must not be loaded more than 80% of its rating. You will have a tough time enforcing this though. Where I work we provide small electric space heaters, but first we disconnect all but the 600 watt element, so its 600 watts on all positions. Otherwise two 1500 watt heaters on high will overload a 20 amp branch circuit.
And we don't tell the persons using the heaters about the modification.
 
Re: Small Appliances in Office

Originally posted by qtq8607:
Where I work, many employees are bringing in their own personal small appliances such as, small refrigerator, toaster, space heater and etc. and plug into duplex receptacles in their office. Are there any NEC code and/or Safety code (OSHA) against using these small appliances in an office environment?

Thanks,
QQ
Click to expand...
I don't beleive there is any violation of any code in using the appliances themselves, however you could potentially overload a CB. In my office I have 2 four bangers and still have power strips hooked up. Can't ever seem to get enough outlets.
 
Re: Small Appliances in Office

If the wiring is installed properly, there is no NEC code violation. When the load(s) exceed the OCPD, the device will open - exactly what the code is designed to do.
There may a building code/ ordinance that does not permit this, that I am not aware of.

Pierre

[ October 03, 2004, 02:37 PM: Message edited by: pierre ]
 
Re: Small Appliances in Office

The NEC applies to those of us who design, build, and inspect. It does not apply to the homeowner. Once all the electrical professionals have left the building, they take the code book with them. At that point, there is no point in asking the question, ?Are there any NEC violations?? But as others have pointed out, local codes and other constraints might exist.
 
Re: Small Appliances in Office

Jimwalker, we've never had a complaint.
Once I had a service call that a heater cord cap had melted in the receptacle. The person had run the heater on high for a really long time. It was the city council secretary so there wasn't much I could do other than replace the receptacle.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top