Housing

Heating & Cooling the Residence Halls

Most of our residence halls have what is called a two-piped system, making it difficult to switch back and forth from heating/cooling modes, like you can do in a typical home. 

Because of this, since we essentially only get one chance to turn ON/OFF the air/heat we look at many things before UHDS and Facilities Management make the decision to turn on the air conditioning/heat.  These decisions include looking at both the short term and long term forecasts, and use the following as guidelines:

For Air Conditioning to be turned on: There must be at least 3 consecutive days of 80 degree weather or higher and for the night temperature not to drop below 50 degrees.

For Heating to be turned on: There must be at least 3 consecutive days of the weather to not go above 60 degrees and for the night low temperatures to not go above 45 degrees.  

Please note that these above protocols are just guidelines.  

Some helpful tips to keep your room as cool as possible before the AC is turned on:

  1. Open windows
  2. Keep doors open (This will help circulate the air)
  3. Cover the vents (Outside air should be the only thing coming in at this point)
  4. If you feel like your room is extremely hot, continue to take temperature readings and if continually high temperatures, fill out a Fix It! request
  5. Remember that outside elements play a role in the temperature of your room (i.e., sun rises, sunset). For example, if you room faces east and is warm in the morning, then it will be cooler in the afternoon.