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Facilities Management


Service Request - New UserService Request - Existing User

FOR AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY SERVICE, call Public Safety at 245-1349.

Other Service Departments

  • Computer problems... call the Help Desk at 245-1000.
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  • Lost keys... call Residential Life at 245-1556.
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  • Phone problems...call STC Services at 245-1000.
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    If you need service in your residence hall room, office, or lsewhere on campus, please contact the Facilities Management Customer Service Office at 245-1700 Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or complete an online service request. Mac users please use Internet Explorer.

    Please do not leave voice or e-mail messages for requests that are urgent!

    All requests, concerns, or ideas about facilities maintenance, repairs, renovations, or Capital Projects are very welcome.

     

    Tempature Policy

    Facilities Management, in conjunction with Dickinson SAVES and with the support of President Durden, has adopted a new SPACE TEMPERATURE POLICY that will go into effect this heating season.

     

    Facilities Management’s Energy Management strategy for heating and cooling campus facilities centers on providing comfortable interior space temperatures as efficiently as possible and with environmental sustainability as a top priority.

     

    Our new policy provides specific interior space temperature set point targets for both the heating and cooling seasons, for both occupied and non-occupied time periods.  The policy is as follows:

     

    The Heating Season Policy: 

  • Occupied Target:            68 Degrees
  • Non Occupied Target:    60 Degrees
  • Margin of error – 2 degrees.
  • Personal space heating devices are not permitted in campus facilities.
  • If Facilities Management is unable to maintain the campus heating set point, including the margin of error, then the department will provide a radiant heat mat.
  • Radiant heat mats are safe and efficient, and use much less energy than conventional space heaters.
  • If provided, radiant heat mats must be turned off when a space is not occupied.
  • During extended break periods temperatures are maintained at lower levels.
  • Please note that some buildings are difficult to control due to the design of mechanical systems, and therefore some spaces may be more than two degrees warmer than the target,
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     The Cooling Season Policy:

  • Occupied Target:            74 Degrees
  • Non Occupied Target:    85 Degrees
  • Margin of error – 2 degrees.
  • Please note that some buildings are difficult to control due to the design of mechanical systems, and therefore some spaces may be more than two degrees cooler than the target.
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    Requests for Service:

    Since the college consists of more than 120 buildings, some of which are very old and which have very old heating and cooling systems, there are areas on campus which are challenging to maintain. The college is extremely fortunate to have a very committed and skilled HVAC staff and they will do their best to operate building systems in a way which complies with the temperature policy. 

     

    In the event that a space seems too cold or too warm, depending on the season, our HVAC personnel will take the following actions:

     They will measure the temperature within the room in question - using digital thermometers that provide immediate air-temperature read-outs.

  • If the temperature is within the range proscribed by the policy, they will take no action related to altering the mechanical systems in the space or building. They may still seek ways to provide greater comfort, related to drafts, etc.
  • If the temperature does not comply with the policy, they will make every effort to correct the problem.
  • If corrections are unable to be made in a satisfactory time period – a radiant heat mat will be provided.
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    The Importance of Set Points:

    Providing heating and air cooling to the campus requires significant annual funding allocations and generates significant carbon emissions. Since Dickinson is committed to financial and environmental sustainability, it is crucial that we have a sound energy management strategy. Part of the strategy involves space temperatures. When heating and cooling spaces, even small shifts in temperature represent significant amounts of energy consumption and carbon pollution. For example, by tweaking space temperature set point targets by only two degrees, the college will reduce its carbon footprint by more than 50 tons - every year! Consequently, it is important to establish comfortable space temperature targets, but to also keep sustainability in mind.

     

     

    The Importance of Schedule:

    Schedule plays a very important role in sustainable heating and cooling operations.  In the simplest terms, maintaining ‘occupied’ heating and cooling levels in spaces that are devoid of people doesn’t make good financial or environmental sense. This is akin to turning off the lights when you leave a room. This aspect of the college’s overall energy management strategy is extremely important, since the result of successfully managing temperatures when spaces are not in-use has tremendously positive effects on our energy consumption profile.

     

     

    The Importance of Insulation:

    In both the heating and cooling season, energy is wasted and space temperatures are negatively affected by poor insulation. Therefore, it is important to keep windows closed tightly during the heating and cooling season, including storm windows (where they exist). Even the most efficient heating and cooling systems will not perform well if building occupants are not mindful of closing windows and doors.

     

    The Shoulder Seasons:

    In the spring and fall, outdoor temperatures can change rapidly from hot to cold – even within the confines of a single day. At Facilities Management, we refer to this as the ‘shoulder season’, and it represents a very challenging time of year in terms of maintaining comfortable interior space temperatures. The mechanical systems in most of our campus facilities are not able to react to rapid changes from heating to cooling (and vice versa). Therefore, we attempt to use the outside temperatures to our advantage, as much as possible, and to provide limited heating and cooling to buildings during these time periods.

     

    One Shoulder Season is in October and November, when it is generally too cool outside to air condition spaces, but too warm to heat spaces. As soon as the outdoor temperatures are forecasted to become consistently cold enough to necessitate heating, the buildings are switched from cooling mode to heating mode.

     

    The other Shoulder Season is in April and May, when it is generally too cool outside to air condition spaces, but too warm to heat spaces. As soon as the outdoor temperatures are forecasted to become consistently warm enough to air condition, the buildings are switched from heating mode to cooling mode.

     

    Since the weather is fickle, and varies from year to year, we ask for the cooperation of the campus community during the Shoulder Seasons. There isn’t an exact schedule for making the change from cooling to heating – and vice versa – but we do our best to keep everyone as comfortable as possible.

     

    Community Cooperation:

    Facilities Management would like to thank the entire community for the cooperation received regarding these matters. Truly, it is the Dickinson College community’s cooperation and understanding of these issues which will allow us to be successful in matching our words with our actions as we excel into the arena of sustainability.

     

     


    Dickinson College, PO Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013