Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Heating and air conditioning complaints should be reported on ext. 8617 or 8675.
Note - The NYC Department of General Services and the CUNY Budget Office, prohibit the operation of buildings at more than 68 in the winter or less than 78 in the summer. (The use of electric heaters is absolutely forbidden).
Most buildings on campus (with the exception of the Science Building) are now served by a central heating plant which provides HTHW (High Temperature Hot Water) heated well above the boiling point and confined in liquid form at high pressure), and a central cooling plant which provides chilled water at a temperature of 42 to all buildings depending on outside relative humidity.
These plants are both located in the NAC. Both systems rely on the NAC boilers as a source of energy for operation.
The HTHW and chilled water that is generated in the NAC central heating and cooling plants are piped into each building. Within each building there is an array of heat exchange, heat distribution, air distribution and control systems and other equipment that uses either of these streams of water to heat or cool the building. The design, sophistication and condition of this equipment varies from building to building.
Problems normally occur during change over from heating to cooling and back. Much manual work and supervisory attention are required to accomplish this task.
The heating and cooling plants in some buildings are not fully efficient pending major renovation work by the Dormitory Authority.
Many heating and air conditioning problems are a result of thermostats in an area that are not set properly. Although guards are placed over many wall thermostats, in many other cases the wall thermostats are available for the occupants to adjust.
In most cases a single wall thermostat control temperature conditions in 2 to 3 rooms. A compromise by the occupants in adjacent rooms on thermostat setting are often necessary. The cost of providing an independent thermostat for every room has been prohibitive.
