Key Points

• Personal appliances brought into the facility by employees are defeating facility energy-efficiency efforts.
• Many facility policies state that personal electrical appliances are only permitted for company/school-related purposes.
• Many businesses are implementing phase-out periods of roughly one month to remove personal appliances.

While many companies and organizations have gone to great lengths to minimize energy consumption in primary facility systems (HVAC, lighting, kitchen appliances, and so on), personal appliances brought into the facility by employees are defeating these efficiency efforts. The typical power rating and annual energy consumption in an office environment for each of these appliances is shown in the following table:

Annual Energy (kWh) = Power (kW) x Hours

How much does it cost to operate these personal appliances per year? Assuming an electricity rate of $0.10/kWh and a total annual energy consumption of 1,360 kWh, it would cost $136 per room or cubicle. If you assume a school has 20 instances of this per building and has 7 buildings in its district, the cost would be over $19,000 per year!

Some might argue that because their mini-fridge is an ENERGY STAR-rated appliance, it would make more sense for them to use it rather than a larger and older inefficient fridge available to everyone. However, a larger, older, worn-out fridge still uses about 20% less energy per cubic foot than the average ENERGY STAR mini-fridge.

Many facility policies state that personal electrical appliances are only permitted for company/school-related purposes. How do you determine whether your appliance is for company-related purposes? In general, things that are used for the direct benefit of customers/students are considered company-related. For example, fridges used in laboratories for experiments or a heater for an employee/student who has a condition requiring the room temperature to be outside of the standard 68°F to 72°F. Many businesses are implementing phase-out periods of roughly one month to remove personal appliances.

Some organizations have created a Request for Personal Appliance Form for special circumstances. The request comes with preconditions such as confirmation that you are dressing appropriately for the weather or certifying that an employee is physically unable to move between their desk and the nearest kitchen. The Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) in California is not banning personal appliances but simply charging employees for using them in their offices or classrooms. LUSD charges $25 for portable heaters, $55 for microwaves, and between $60 and $65 for mini-fridges depending on the size.

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and Progress Energy."