Heating tips for your residence hall
As fall transitions to winter and we experience colder temperatures, you may find yourself wanting to heat up your room to stay warm. Here are a few tips on how to operate the heating systems in your hall and general tips to save resources and reduce your energy use.
If you live in Hallett, Willard, Cheyenne Arapaho or Libby:
General heating tips
- Keep furniture, carpeting and clothing from blocking air vents, so air can flow freely.
- Make sure your windows are sealed to prevent heat loss.
- Use passive cooling and heating with the sun. At altitude, the sun makes a big difference in temperature. To cool your space easily, keep the windows and blinds closed while the sun is up.
Radiant heating tips
These buildings are heated by radiant heating. Steam is radiated through pipes to heat your room.
If your room is too hot, try passive cooling by keeping the windows and blinds closed while the sun is up, or submit a Fix-It request.
Don’t use open windows to “fix” heating issues!
- If you leave windows open in these buildings, often the heating system will ramp up to compensate for the dropping temperature—wasting a lot of energy. As a rule, this means you shouldn’t open a window to try to regulate hot temperatures unless you absolutely must (often, it will make the problem worse).
- If heating becomes a problem, submit a Fix-It request and share the things you’ve already tried to fix the problem—this will speed up the process.
If you live in Sewall, Farrand or the Quad:
General heating tips
- Make sure your windows are sealed to prevent heat loss.
- Use passive cooling and heating with the sun. At altitude, the sun makes a big difference in temperature. To cool your space easily, keep the windows and blinds closed while the sun is up.
Radiant heating tips
These buildings are heated by radiant heating. Steam is radiated through pipes to heat your room.
- You have thermostats in every room, usually connected to the dial at the base of the radiator.
- These dials have a number range like “1-10,” with the middle of the range always indicating the most comfortable temperature (72 degrees).
- If you live at the end of the hall, you may need a higher temperature setting.
If you live in Baker, the Kittredge Neighborhood or Williams Village:
General heating tips
- Keep furniture, carpeting and clothing from blocking air vents, so air can flow freely.
- Make sure your windows are sealed to prevent heat loss.
- Use passive cooling and heating with the sun. At altitude, the sun makes a big difference in temperature. To cool your space easily, keep the windows and blinds closed while the sun is up.
Tips for fan coil heating
These buildings are heated by fan coil heating. This means they have individual fan coil units that will heat the room based on the outside air. If the outside air is lower than 50 degrees, the heating is available. The air from the fan coil unit is heated and sent to the room to warm it up. The control temperature during heating is 65-70 degrees.
Does the thermostat setting differ significantly from the experienced temperature?
If the temperature in the room is significantly higher or lower than the set point by several degrees, submit a Fix-It request.