Some students would agree that Sinclair Community College seems too cold or too hot in some areas.
However, Director of Facilities Management Woody Woodruff, and Supervisor of Sinclair’s HVAC system Jim Butts said that Sinclair’s temperature has set points of 71 degrees for heating and 74 degrees for cooling.
These are the set temprature points in order for Sinclair to comply with House Bill 251 — a bill regarding energy conservation in public buildings.
“[House Bill 251] requires energy reduction of 20 percent by 2014, based on the 2004 baseline year for Ohio institutions,” Woodruff said in an email.
However, the set points are allowed to be two degrees above or below the set point temperatures.
If an individual were to call facilities concerning to the temperature of a particular room, it would be inspected. If it is compliant with these guidelines, they investigate no further. However if it is not, appropriate action will be taken.
“In the event of a temperature room call, the room is checked for set point compliance. If it is at set point, plus or minus two degrees, no action is taken,” he said. “We investigate all calls, but please appreciate that every person has a different internal idea of what is warm or cold.”
Some students may get confused into thinking that the air conditioning is on when it is not. Woodruff said this is due to circulating air in the buildings, which is also a law that Sinclair must comply with.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning requires that “the air is circulated approximately 20 plus times per hour, which includes adding fresh air into the buildings,” he said.
According to Woodruff, Sinclair has taken other actions in order to keep the campus warmer, such as cleaning and sealing building envelopes, putting new air dampers on air handlers in mechanical areas and changing air handlers and related equipment for effective control.
If an individual has a concern over any facilities-related matter, such as a room temperature, they can call 512-3090.