As cold weather approaches, the question that always arises is “when will the heat be turned on?” However, turning on the heat is more than just flipping a switch. Most buildings on campus are heated in the winter by circulating hot water through the building and cooled in the summer by circulating chilled water through the building. The University has two different types of water circulating systems; two-pipe systems and four-pipe systems. The two-pipe or four-pipe designation refers to the type of distribution system that carries the water through the building. So why is this important? A two-pipe system can heat and cool a building, but not at the same time. In a two-pipe system, the entire building is in either heating mode or cooling mode. The changeover from cooling to heating, or vice versa, must be done manually and requires a couple of days to complete. A four-pipe system on the other hand is capable of heating and cooling at the same time. Four-pipe systems can supply heat to one room while cooling another. However, in the University’s case, a building with a four-pipe system may not always have heat available. Most buildings on campus get their hot water from the campus Steam Plant located in B.B. Comer. Steam is produced in large natural gas fired boilers and the steam is used to heat the water that is circulated through the building for heating. The Steam Plant is only operated during the winter months, so hot water may not be available to some buildings on a cool fall day.
Overall, the majority of the buildings on campus are on a two-pipe system. This means when winter starts to set in, the two-pipe system must be switched from cooling mode to heating mode. The University Facilities Maintenance department maintains the heating and cooling systems on campus. During this time of the year, the Facilities Maintenance department and the Energy Management department are in continuous discussions as to the optimum time to start-up the campus heating systems. There is not an exact schedule when this takes place; it is based upon several different criteria. Long range weather prediction, amount of sun, and wind chill are all taken into consideration. There’s no average. The Steam Plant has come on as early as the middle of October and as late as Thanksgiving. As many of us know, the weather in Tuscaloosa is anything but predictable. It could be 50 degrees one day and 80 degrees the next day. The Steam Plant will typically be started up when the high outside air temperature drops below 55° Fahrenheit for three consecutive days. However, temperature projections are also considered. If it turns cold but is projected to warm up in a few days, the boilers may not be turned on. It is critical to take a look at the extended weather forecasts and evaluate the weather on a daily basis. If we have one cool snap that lasts only a couple of days and we switch to heat, then the buildings become too warm. Remember that it takes a couple of days to switch between cooling and heating. Therefore, we have to select the proper time where you have optimum conditions throughout the campus. Most people surveyed have stated they would rather be cold than hot. We watch the future weather conditions closely, try to anticipate when the cold weather will start, and then we bring up the Comer Steam Plant.
The Steam Plant accounts for approximately 30 percent of the University’s natural gas use, and costs approximately $200,000 a week to operate. But another important factor that the Facilities Department keeps in mind is our responsibility to be “green.” More than 50% of the University’s carbon emissions are due to heating and cooling the campus buildings. We monitor the weather very closely and try to wait and start-up the boilers as late in the year as possible because they are a major user of natural gas and electricity. We want to ensure that our carbon footprint is as small as possible, and limiting our use of natural gas is a good way to do this. By making sure that we don’t start-up the boilers too soon, we are not only being very cost effective, but we are helping make a more sustainable earth.
The Facilities Department always keeps the students and staff’s comfort in mind as it strives to be energy efficient and environmentally responsible. The dorm rooms are what we primarily look at because this has the greatest impact on the students. Facilities performs the changeover from cooling to heating on the basis of priorities established to (1) provide comfort to students living in University Housing, (2) maintain required temperatures to protect equipment and research in progress, and (3) serve the greatest number of individuals and activities. The Facilities department will try to accommodate each building’s needs as much as possible but unseasonable weather fluctuations make this difficult at times. To stay comfortable during these days of varying weather conditions, dress appropriately to the season and weather. Wear layers of clothing so you can adapt to varying conditions in your classroom or workspace and still be comfortable.
Please contact your building representative if you have concerns. The building representative will assess the entire building needs and work with Energy Management to best serve the majority of the building occupants.
If you have additional questions, contact Donnie Grill at (205) 348-6656 or email at dgrill@ua.edu