October 2005

A Guide to Keeping Your Cool (and Heat) at GW

BY JAMIE L. FREEDMAN

It’s that time of year again. As our long, steamy summer days give way to cool, crisp autumn temperatures, GW’s facilities management department is hard at work calculating when to switch off the University’s air conditioning systems and turn on the heat. The seasonal changeover, which occurs twice a year — typically around Oct. 15 and April 15 — is guided by long-term forecasts and strict protocol. But, as everyone knows, it’s impossible to please all the people all the time.

Factor in GW’s 130-plus buildings and diverse heating and cooling systems and the job grows exponentially. Luckily, the mission is guided by a group of top-notch, licensed engineers and senior mechanics, many of whom have served the University for decades. A shining example is Hosie Franklin, GW’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) operations supervisor, who has overseen the University’s heating and cooling systems for the past 38 years. Franklin’s 14-member HVAC-operations team works 24 hours a day, in conjunction with Bob Oakley’s HVAC maintenance team, to take care of GW’s heating and cooling needs. “We’re the people you never see,” he says, “but we know we’re doing our job well when we don’t get complaints.”

According to Franklin, it takes at least two days to switch over the entire campus from air conditioning to heating and vice versa. “GW buildings have a variety of heating and cooling systems,” he explains from his office in the massive boiler room deep beneath Ross Hall. “Many of the residence halls and academic buildings have what is called a two-pipe system, which means that either hot or chilled water enters each room’s fan coil unit through one pipe and then exits via a second pipe. It takes 24 to 36 hours to switch these buildings over because we first must bring the water in the pipes to a median temperature to prevent damage to the equipment. When we’re switching over from heating to cooling, for example, we must allow the water temperature to drop some 80 or 90 degrees before we turn on the chiller or we’d rupture disks.”

For this reason, once the decision is made to change over the system from one mode to another, it is rarely switched back. Predicting exactly when to make the switchover is, therefore, key to the operation’s success. “Once we get close to the target date for switching over, we start monitoring 10-day forecasts, as well as historical trends, and then pick our moment,” says Eric Hougen, project manager in the Office of Business and Operations. “Of course, we also have to factor in Indian Summer and March heat waves, when temperatures suddenly soar into the ’90s in Washington. If the heat waves are forecasted to last for a prolonged period, we’ll make adjustments on a building-by-building basis to keep people as comfortable as possible.”

The transitional period between summer and fall, and between winter and spring, poses particular challenges. “It’s a constant battle during the ping pong season,” says Arni Nicholas, HVAC operations’ top watch run, referring to the times of year when the thermometer tops 80 degrees during the day and plummets to 40 degrees at night. Nicholas, who has worked at GW for 30 years, points out that everyone’s temperature gauge is different. “Some like their dorms and offices cool, while others like it warmer,” he says. “It’s our job to do the best we can to keep everybody comfortable.”

To minimize complaints, facilities management recently increased its efforts to keep the GW community apprised of switchover dates as they approach. “This spring, for the first time, we posted flyers in the dorms informing students of the switchover date, and starting this fall, we will distribute a postcard to each student in our residence halls and each university department updating them on the switchover timeframe,” says Hougen. “It’s a reality that you can’t make every customer happy, but we certainly try, and an important component of that is providing all the information that we can to help the community have a better understanding of what’s happening, as well as of the capabilities and limitations of the heating and cooling systems at GW.”

Nancy Haaga, director of auxiliary and institutional services, concurs. “It’s important that our customers know and understand that there’s a “method to the madness” and that a great deal of analysis and planning goes into determining the best possible switchover dates,” she says. “There’s a reason for everything, and we want to do our best to keep everyone in the loop.”

Contact Facilities Customer Service Center at 994-6706 with any questions or concerns about GW’s heating and cooling systems.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu