January 26, 2012
Some students complain rooms are too hot, others too cold. Many rooms can control their own heating, but not cooling. There are even rumors that the heat in the Kirner-Johnson building (KJ) is controlled in Europe. Though Physical Plant controls the heating system in KJ from Clinton, they work with a team in Germany to troubleshoot, when needed, over the Internet.
Associate Vice President for Facilities and Planning Steve Bellona, stated that the goal is maintain temperatures of 68 degrees during the winter and 78 degrees during the summer.
Each residence hall has its own heating system. These systems can range from geothermal pumps, to electrical heat, to hot water boilers and many others. Some residence halls, namely the Dark Side dorms, have zoned heating with hot water baseboard based on outdoor air temperature and a preset water schedule. This means that there are hot and cold zones throughout the building, often depending on the number of open doors and windows, building design, etc. Hamilton uses natural gas for the majority of its heating needs but uses fuel in some of the residence halls.
These systems are not perfect. Jane Rouse ’12 said, “The heat is so dry that when I wake up in the morning, the insides of my nose and mouth feel as though they’ve never been moist before.”
Physical Plant continues to work to reduce our environmental impact and energy use at Hamilton. According to Mr. Bellona, “Physical Plant rebalanced the heating systems in South and Carnegie halls, which has allowed us to reduce the water temperatures…going to the rooms. We added insulation to the Bundys last year and reduced the energy use there by 25 percent. We installed new lighting systems in the Field House, Sage Rink, Alumni Gym and Burke Library (third floor), which improved lighting levels while significantly reducing our electrical use. We recently installed new LED lighting in Saunders Residence Hall, the Molly Root House and a number of other buildings on campus. Last spring, we completed a retro-commissioning of the Science Building, which has saved approximately 12 percent on that building’s overall energy consumption.”
Paige Cross ’13 said, “Though I often find my room is too cold, I can appreciate the efforts of Physical Plant to reduce our environmental impact.”
Through these initiatives and others, Hamilton spent $1.2 million less on electric and natural gas in 2011 than in 2007. To continue this work, students can help Physical Plant further reduce costs and energy consumption through easy and painless tasks.
According to the Hamilton Climate Action Plan, published in August 2009, 27 percent of green house gas production in 2008 is from heat fuel use. Though Hamilton has started the Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions, the community at large can help by doing minor things to reduce heat costs. Keeping windows closed, maintaining thermostats at lower settings and reducing hot water use will help lower overall fuel consumption.