Despite the recent warm weather, residents of air-conditioned college houses will have to wait until April 13 to cool off in the comfort of their homes.
The process of switching from heating to air conditioning began on April 6 and takes about five to seven days, according to an e-mail sent to students from Housing Services.
Seasonally air-conditioned college houses include the three high rises, the three Quad houses and Stouffer College House, as well as Sansom Place East and West.
Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger explained that the process of switching from heating to air conditioning takes several days because water temperatures need to be lowered gradually, after which chilled water is run through the system and circulated to students’ rooms. Water temperature is simply lowered in college houses without air conditioning.
Lea-Kruger wrote in an e-mail that the decision for when to change over to air conditioning is made every year based on “current daytime and nighttime temperatures, future forecasts and the individual building systems.”
College freshman and Harrison College House resident Ada Yeung said the Harrison mezzanine felt hotter than outside. “I was sweating just sitting there,” she said.
Yeung, however, is “not too worried” about the time it takes to switch over to air conditioning, since temperatures are expected to drop over the next few days.
College freshman Kristin Thomas agreed. “I can just open the window and it’s really not that bad,” she said. “I’m glad they’re turning [air conditioning] on, but at the same time, I understand why they waited.”
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