This message was sent to faculty and staff by Facilities and Campus Services.
Facilities and Campus Services continues to develop plans for the upcoming extended winter break period. Given our commitment to minimizing COVID related risks, we will continue to use the guidance from CDC and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers) to operate our facilities while adjusting to the phases of reduced occupancies as we work through student departures, virtual exams, the more traditional winter break, and then reversing the process as students return and classes resume in the spring.
As these transitions occur beginning November 24th through December 23rd, consistent with the approach we took last spring, we will work to un-occupy spaces and buildings, especially during non-standard hours, as we are able to determine through EMS (Event Management & Reservable Spaces System) and DOC (Deacon One Card). We are also working with our Residence Life Housing partners to identify un-occupied areas in our Residence Halls as they become vacant.
Our traditional winter break and temperature setback program will begin the night of Wednesday, December 23rd and end the morning of Monday, January 4th. The program will maintain building temperatures at no less than 55 degrees (F) during the holiday period. Beginning at 2:00 am on January 4th the heating systems will gradually return the buildings to more comfortable conditions even as they continue to be mostly unoccupied. We intend for all buildings to be at 70 degrees (F) by the time employees arrive at work. Facilities technicians will arrive early on that date to ensure building heating systems have reactivated as scheduled. Buildings with special needs and occupancy will run as necessary to maintain reasonable temperatures and create an appropriate level of air exchange.
As in previous breaks, staff or faculty who intend to visit or work on campus during the holiday period are advised to wear appropriate clothing and consider bringing a light jacket or sweater to work. For departments that would like an exemption or have received exemptions in the past, please contact Tim Mitchell at mitchetw@wfu.edu and state your exemption needs as soon as possible. If you are part of a larger group or in an area where multiple occupants are present, don’t hesitate to reach out to Tim to make sure we are aware.
Our energy reduction efforts since last March along with our past winter break setbacks have created significant cost savings through reduced energy consumption and have conservatively avoided over $1.5 million in utility costs. Thank you for supporting this effort to save energy during the holiday period.
