With unseasonably warm weather outside and the continued blast from the heating system indoors, students in Old Johnson not only can’t cool off, many of them say they can’t sleep.
And not much can be done. Students will have to wait until mid-March, when the heating system is turned off and cooling switched on.
Head Resident Caroline Gallagher said the heating system in Old Johnson is old-fashioned compared to other recently renovated dorms. It is a steam-based system, and that allows warm air to flow even though the units are off, leaving rooms stuffy and uncomfortably hot even as the weather outside is mostly warm this winter.
Since the system is a bit antiquated, it cannot be easily turned off and on to account for the outside temperatures, and even when the process occurs, it takes several days, according to Gallagher.
Gallagher said the university generally makes the switch from hot to cold air only once a semester, and this semester’s switch is expected to take place in March.
All students asked said they were uncomfortable with the hot temperatures currently in Johnson. More than half of them said the heat interferes with a good night’s sleep.
It has become more of a problem this year because outdoor temperatures have risen and remained among the 60s the last couple of weeks, so students come in from the warm to cool and then get…hot.
In the past, a quick fix was to open the window and generate a nice breeze to cool things down, but now, opening the window offers little relief.
Plans call for Johnson’s heating and cooling system to be updated during summer 2012 to the style that Fanning and New Johnson have, which are units that let students monitor the temperature of their own dorm.
Until then, Gallagher recommends putting a fan in the room to cool things down.