Spring is upon us in Northwest Arkansas. That means big swings in temperature.

University Housing follows the same heating and cooling policy as the rest of the campus. We strive to keep temperatures within the comfort range of 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most of our housing facilities use systems that can accommodate either heating or cooling, but not both. Unfortunately, these system limitations prevent us from toggling back and forth between heating and cooling in the same season.

Dates for transition to cooling are based on weather projections. Typically, spring break is the transition point for cooling. Spring Break 2016 is between March 21-25.

There are always wide variations in personal comfort levels based on individual preference and physical condition of residence spaces. Everything from the age of the building, location of the building, type of heating/cooling units, and other factors can sometimes impact the regulating of comfortable temperatures to individual rooms. In some cases, a room’s proximity to mechanical areas or steam/hot water lines makes it challenging to regulate room temperatures.

For others, sunlight exposure and ample windows provide added heat.

Your Residence Hall

Our larger residence halls have hydronic systems with either passive strip heaters along the base board that warm or cool the room by convection or fan-powered unit heaters with individual room controls. Each of these systems needs to be free of obstructions so air can flow through and around the vents.

Do not pile clothing or towels on them. Do not push your bed against them or push carpet against the bottom of the unit. This limits the heating and cooling of your room.

Residents in the North West Quad and Founders Hall enjoy automatic control systems and need not make any adjustments to their controls. Please note that fan coil units in Founders Hall are equipped with cutoff switches connected to the windows. If a window is opened, the unit will shut itself off.

Residents in Maple Hill and Walton halls may need to change their thermostat from heating to cooling mode by pushing the up or down arrow buttons until the temperature set point is displayed. While the set point is displayed, push the mode button to change from heating to cooling.

All other residence halls are equipped with fan–powered units. Residents will begin to feel cooling air as chilled water flows to these units in the coming weeks.

These units also have a thermostat and should run relatively quietly. Please note that the fan will run only when the thermostat is calling for cooling. There is a slight delay between the activation of the water supply valve and the activation of the fan to ensure that cool air will blow out of the unit. When the set point room temperature is reached, the fan will automatically shut off.

Again, our goal is to maintain a comfort range of 68-72 degrees within our residence halls.

Please contact your Coordinator for Residence Education, our Maintenance Service Center (479) 575-7005 or submit an online maintenance request http://mobiletma.ddns.uark.edu/ should you experience any extreme conditions outside that range.