Lucianne.com has a link to a Smithsonian article about creative things occupants do to foil energy-saving features of supposedly "green" new buildings. Such buildings, the article notes, almost never produce the expected energy savings.
The article doesn't mention my favorite - having a small, portable electric heater hidden in a desk drawer or the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet. It was perfect for when the building didn't stay comfortably warm in winter as the thermostats in our university offices were designed so we couldn't adjust them.
For years I had a small heater in my office, a thing not technically permitted. The only person likely to see and report it was the night janitor so I put it away when I went home.
Mine certainly wasn't the only one. There were likely a dozen or more in my building alone, one of a score of such buildings. Many offices, including mine, also housed a small refrigerator and a microwave. We couldn't hide these but nobody complained and I had cold soda or hot soup as needed.
