New cost-saving policy will affect workplace temperatures
Duke Today
During her workdays at Duke, Carol Rush said she typically feels like she’s burning up in the winter and freezing in the summer because of temperature settings in the Thomas A. Langford Building.
For her and other Duke employees around campus, that will change soon.
As part of ongoing administrative reform efforts to reduce expenses, Duke has adopted a new policy for building temperatures during regular and off-hours in university buildings on the central control system. The new policy will also discontinue the use of portable space heaters by employees at work. In all, the plan is expected to save Duke more than $600,000 a year.
The energy savings idea received support after suggestions were submitted through Duke’s “Enduring a Troubled Economy” website. Along with Rush, other faculty and staff members cited reducing energy consumption as an easy way to save money.
“Running my own household, I’m always concerned about the temperature,” said Rush, a staff assistant with the External Relations Office of the Divinity School. “I keep trying to change my kids’ mindset that they can’t just come home and flip on the heat or air conditioning because it can get expensive.”
By the end of November, Facilities Management will finish implementing the policy, which will regulate temperature in buildings on the Central Control System, which monitors buildings throughout Duke, including the Duke Chapel, East and West unions and the Allen Building.
Current building temperatures typically fall in the 70 to 76 degree range, said Steve Palumbo, energy manager for Facilities. The new temperature policy won’t be far from those settings:
--Where possible, temperatures in university buildings that are on the central control system will be set at approximately 68 degrees in the winter and 76 degrees in the summer. Those temperatures will be used during regular business hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday.
--Off-hour temperatures of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends will be set as low as 60 degrees and up to 80 degrees.
--Actual room temperatures can be within two degrees (plus or minus) of the new set points.
--All major units and schools will be contacted by Facilities Management staff to discuss individual details.Other buildings, including libraries and research buildings, will have individual heating and cooling settings different from the rest of Duke in order to preserve materials and equipment. Buildings in the Health System will not be affected because they’re managed by different temperature control systems.
“This is an easy way to get some cost savings for the university,” Palumbo said. “It’s simply a common sense thing.”
In addition to saving money, the new changes will also help Duke lower its carbon footprint, which is part of its Climate Action Plan.
“Since departments pay for what they use,” said Kemel Dawkins, vice president for Campus Services, “this is an opportunity for everyone at Duke to help cut costs and contribute to a sustainable goal.”