Penn students living in on-campus residential buildings have reported discomfort with high temperatures since the University switched central temperature regulation systems from air conditioning to heating last month.
The Quad, high-rise buildings, and Gutmann College House fully transitioned to heating on Oct. 22. As unusually warm weather has continued into November, with temperatures occasionally exceeding 80 degrees, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with students who said the switch to heating has made their dorms overly warm and uncomfortable to live in.
Executive Director of Operations & Maintenance for the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services Faramarz Vakili wrote in a statement to the DP that at any given time in dorm buildings, “the fan coil units, which are the heating/cooling units in each room, can be connected to either chilled water for cooling or hot water for heating.”
“Each season, the process for transitioning from cooling to heating (or vice versa) takes several days to complete for the college houses,” Vakili wrote. “The timing decision for switching these modes is made based on temperature forecasts and historical data, but there may be unexpected temperature fluctuation in shoulder seasons.”
He added that students can turn off their fan-cool units when temperatures are high, or submit a work ticket if the room remains unusually warm.
Wharton first year Carys Martinez, who lives in the Quad, said the heat in her dorm has impacted her mood throughout the day, particularly when she wakes up sweating or returns to her room after a long day.
“I have to go up four flights of stairs because I’m in McKean, and McKean doesn’t have elevators,” Martinez said. “I want to be welcomed by a breeze, but it’s just heat and my fan.”
Martinez noted she was grateful she brought a fan with her to Penn, in contrast to some of her friends who do not have fans or windows that open properly to cool down their living spaces.
College sophomore Katherine Chacon said that the heat has prevented her from being as productive in the Harnwell floor lounges, where she studies a majority of the time. She added that the heat has also affected her quality of sleep.
“I’m someone who needs my room to be cold in order to sleep,” said Chacon. “If it’s too hot, then my nose just gets stuffy, and I just can’t breathe.”
Chacon said that she tried leaving her windows open as a solution. However, the trade-off was the disruptive sounds of traffic and passing cars, which once prompted her to wake up at 5 a.m. to close her windows.
College sophomore Henry Li, who lives in the College House at the Radian, recalled going to the Rodin College House rooftop lounge to study and having to leave within 10 minutes due to how hot it was.
“I cannot imagine having to live in that,” Li said.
The switch from AC to heating did not directly affect Li, because Radian residents are able to adjust the thermostat in their rooms. However, he noted the change has impacted many of his friends living in the high rises, driving them to the library or other students’ rooms “to avoid the heat.”
Despite dissatisfaction from students, Martinez said that she understood why the University has not indicated that they would turn the AC back on. She noted that with the large fluctuation in temperature in the past weeks, FRES would have to switch between AC and heat every few days.
Students previously expressed concerns about high temperatures in dorms in fall 2021, after the University switched to heating systems in mid-October of that year.
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