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Original poster

Fan heaters in the office

58 replies

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 10:51

AIBU to ask a colleague to turn off the fan heater blowing at her feet?
i am genuinely unsure. If it was cold I would have sympathy but it is not. I have struggled with it many times but today is the second time I've asked her to turn it off. It's too hot regardless of which of the free desks I sit at. She got the hump and moved herself and her heater to a different corner of the office (I have to sit in the specific area, she doesn't)
am I being unreasonable saying please turn off the fan heater in the office?

OP posts:
MargaretThursday · 11/03/2025 19:09

And had it been pat tested...If not it's illegal to use in the office.

PAT testing is not a legal requirement. An office can choose to make it a requirement, but it isn't illegal.

And I'll bet that in the same office there are people using things like phone chargers that haven't been tested, which are also a fire risk.

No. The law simply requires an employer to ensure that their electrical equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger. It does not say how this should be done or how often. Employers should take a risk-based approach, considering the type of equipment and what it is being used for

From the government's health and safety webpage.

Jabberwok · 11/03/2025 18:02

SP2024 · 11/03/2025 13:57

Fan heaters are fire risks. Ever office I’ve worked in have confiscated them!

And had it been pat tested...If not it's illegal to use in the office.

I worked in an office without ac and opening windows. One winters day a young woman complained of the cold and threaten to go home. I pointed out that the legal minimum is 16 degrees and that she was wearing a mini skirt.

If your cold put a vest on. Was she wearing trousers, long John's etc?

MargaretThursday · 11/03/2025 17:59

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 17:50

I have sympathy, my DH has reynauds in his fingers. But if your fan heater was making someone else uncomfortable would you insist on it?
You can buy electric feet warmers by the way, for around £30. I was looking on Amazon for alternative solutions as suggested by a PP!

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Personally I would expect there to be a discussion on how both can be comfortable. Which might be something like the working spaces being moved further apart. My colleague runs hot, but she says the heat doesn't reach her, because I point it straight at my feet. We're in a small room with only room for two desks and a printer, so not a long way apart.

Are you genuinely saying that your comfort in not having a fan heater on trumps someone else's discomfort due to a medical condition? Because that comes across as pretty selfish.

Switch it round:
If a fan heater was reducing someone's pain would you insist on it being turned off?

EmpressaurusKitty · 11/03/2025 17:57

Fan heaters are banned in my office now after the cleaners found one left on & just starting to smoulder.

Ilovemyshed · 11/03/2025 17:52

PAT tested or not, they are still a dangerous fire hazard. Wonder if the building insurers are aware/ approve them?

Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 17:50

MargaretThursday · 11/03/2025 17:47

I have Renaud's. There have been times I have put a fan heater on my feet at work because although it isn't particularly cold, my toes have decided to shut off the blood supply. It's pretty uncomfortable.

Yes, I am wearing thermal tights and sometimes 2 pairs of socks on top (or underneath).

I have sympathy, my DH has reynauds in his fingers. But if your fan heater was making someone else uncomfortable would you insist on it?
You can buy electric feet warmers by the way, for around £30. I was looking on Amazon for alternative solutions as suggested by a PP!

OP posts:
MargaretThursday · 11/03/2025 17:47

I have Renaud's. There have been times I have put a fan heater on my feet at work because although it isn't particularly cold, my toes have decided to shut off the blood supply. It's pretty uncomfortable.

Yes, I am wearing thermal tights and sometimes 2 pairs of socks on top (or underneath).

BurntBroccoli · 11/03/2025 17:08

You are definitely not being unreasonable- fan heaters make the air so dry and used to make my eyes really sore.
Why don't they invest in an electric throw instead? Cheaper and bothers no one else.

Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 16:58

Aussiegold · 11/03/2025 16:50

So she brought in a non PAT tested fan heater from home and the company allows it?

Many years ago, worked in a 6 storey office block. Idiot on top floor brought own heater in, it blew heated dust out as well as hot air and set the fire alarm off, hundreds evacuated and several fire engines sent.

The company is insane to allow this.

No she didn't bring it in - someone here has bought them. I don't know who. But they aren't pat tested and I checked with facilities manager and he's aware of them! I don't get it

OP posts:
Aussiegold · 11/03/2025 16:50

So she brought in a non PAT tested fan heater from home and the company allows it?

Many years ago, worked in a 6 storey office block. Idiot on top floor brought own heater in, it blew heated dust out as well as hot air and set the fire alarm off, hundreds evacuated and several fire engines sent.

The company is insane to allow this.

Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 16:38

Ilovemyshed · 11/03/2025 16:27

Obvious questions here:

Fire hazard and environmental hazard so why have H&S not removed/ banned them. Plus they cost a fortune to run, amazed that's not been picked up.

If the building has climate control the fan will mess that up so it doesn't work properly.

All round they are a bad idea.

I've contacted facilities today - queried that the heaters I can see here aren't Pat tested and as you say are a fire hazard. Apparently the heating system is going to be fixed this week (!) and all the appliances Pat tested. If they pass they won't be removed until May when it warms up (!!!) I suggested buying a couple of convection heaters instead but they wouldn't be able to be pat tested. Why they have supplied us with bloody fan heaters I don't know.
Typical local government nonsense really. Fixing the heating in March - probably waited to see if there was any money left in the budget. If they do fix the heating I'm going to confiscate the fan heaters and pretend facilities did it. Can't imagine having heating on full blast plus those things!

OP posts:
Ilovemyshed · 11/03/2025 16:27

Obvious questions here:

Fire hazard and environmental hazard so why have H&S not removed/ banned them. Plus they cost a fortune to run, amazed that's not been picked up.

If the building has climate control the fan will mess that up so it doesn't work properly.

All round they are a bad idea.

Ddakji · 11/03/2025 13:58

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:25

A fan would blow cold air in her direction 🤷🏼‍♀️ it would not counterbalance the effect of hot air being blown in my direction it would just make us both uncomfortable.

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A small desk fan wouldn’t make it colder (and would barely reach her unless you’re sitting in each others’ laps), but it might make it feel a bit fresher. £10 from Amazon.

SP2024 · 11/03/2025 13:57

Fan heaters are fire risks. Ever office I’ve worked in have confiscated them!

Xiaoxiong · 11/03/2025 13:45

We have the same with a couple of people with fan heaters and there's something about the hot air they blow that makes me feel sick as well, @NooNakedJacuzziness !!

They're also not brilliant for the environment - it's always better to heat the person not the air. There was some talk about getting company branded bodywarmers a while back, I may revive that and make some of them heated gilets for the cold people in the office!

LivingDeadGirlUK · 11/03/2025 13:31

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:25

A fan would blow cold air in her direction 🤷🏼‍♀️ it would not counterbalance the effect of hot air being blown in my direction it would just make us both uncomfortable.

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Fans don't make air cold, it would be blowing her hot air back in her direction.

Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:25

AsdaCafeWriter · 11/03/2025 13:23

fair points , what about windows or doors open ?

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It's a huge open plan office. And the windows are automatic and either all open or all closed. Opening the windows would have made her much colder and probably made everyone else in the office chilly too!

OP posts:
Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:25

Thelnebriati · 11/03/2025 12:57

Can the office provide her with a heated pad and an electric foot warmer instead? They would use a lot less electricity as well.

That's a good idea thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:25

Ddakji · 11/03/2025 12:56

Cold feet (ie a floor draught) can’t be dealt with using a hot water bottle!

I think if she’s got it under her desk directed at her feet there’s not much you can do.

I do sympathise as it’s horrible to work somewhere too hot or too cold, for the both of you.

Can you get a small desk fan?

A fan would blow cold air in her direction 🤷🏼‍♀️ it would not counterbalance the effect of hot air being blown in my direction it would just make us both uncomfortable.

OP posts:
Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:24

Kattuccino · 11/03/2025 12:49

Does she have her own allocated desk, or do people just sit wherever they can find a space?

I'm always cold and currently have a fan heater blowing on my feet 😬It would be tricky for me to move desks but I'd make the effort to move if I was making a colleague very uncomfortable. As long as they asked me politely and weren't rude/dismissive (e.g. saying IT'S NOT COLD when my hands are a weird white-ish purple colour and covered in chilblains!)

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It's an open plan shared working environment. We have a large bank of around 32 desks for my part of the service and a lot more desks for other parts. However she's not attached to a specific team so could work anywhere in the office while I have to work in one half of the bank of 32. So I had no option but to be in the same space as her heater. I didn't say it wasn't cold, I said 'I'm so sorry, I can't handle the fan heater being on, it's way too hot for me to work in this temperature' and she got all huffy about being cold so I got a bit defensive and said as it's march now I didn't think it was reasonable to have a fan heater on. Which was probably U of me.

OP posts:
AsdaCafeWriter · 11/03/2025 13:23

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:21

It's because it's a fan heater and it blows hot air. It's not like a convection heater. The feeling of hot air being blown into the space is just horrible. It makes me feel itchy and suffocated if I'm honest. Maybe if she had a small convection heater with a thermostat it would be more manageable.

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fair points , what about windows or doors open ?

Original poster
FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 13:21

AsdaCafeWriter · 11/03/2025 12:22

i can sorta understand but i dont see why or how the heater alone will make an overall temp difference ? what about a temp gague thingy on your desk so you can know if it does make a differece in temp ?

It's because it's a fan heater and it blows hot air. It's not like a convection heater. The feeling of hot air being blown into the space is just horrible. It makes me feel itchy and suffocated if I'm honest. Maybe if she had a small convection heater with a thermostat it would be more manageable.

OP posts:
Thelnebriati · 11/03/2025 12:57

Can the office provide her with a heated pad and an electric foot warmer instead? They would use a lot less electricity as well.

Ddakji · 11/03/2025 12:56

Cold feet (ie a floor draught) can’t be dealt with using a hot water bottle!

I think if she’s got it under her desk directed at her feet there’s not much you can do.

I do sympathise as it’s horrible to work somewhere too hot or too cold, for the both of you.

Can you get a small desk fan?

Kattuccino · 11/03/2025 12:49

FortyElephants · 11/03/2025 12:35

She did move. But I would feel more awkward about asking someone to move than about asking them to turn the heater off!

Show quote history

Does she have her own allocated desk, or do people just sit wherever they can find a space?

I'm always cold and currently have a fan heater blowing on my feet 😬It would be tricky for me to move desks but I'd make the effort to move if I was making a colleague very uncomfortable. As long as they asked me politely and weren't rude/dismissive (e.g. saying IT'S NOT COLD when my hands are a weird white-ish purple colour and covered in chilblains!)