Your room is designed for your comfort and energy efficiency. There are many things that can impact the feel of your room. Below are some tips specific to your residence hall room to keep you cozy through the year!
General Tips and Tricks
- Keep air flowing and reduce humidity and condensation by turning on a fan and opening doors and windows.
- Some condensation or frost is normal! Just wipe it away and let us know if it seems excessive.
- In the warmer months, shut your blinds during the day to keep the heat out. At night, open your blinds or window to cool your room down.
- In the colder months, open your blinds during the day to let the sun in and warm up your room.
Guidance During Freezing Temperatures
When the temperature dramatically drops below freezing, it can be difficult to maintain a consistent and comfortable room and building temperature. It is possible that heating systems in your room or other common spaces may work “overtime” to compensate for the cold, heating the space more than usual. Please note the following guidance to best prepare for and adjust to these changes in temperature.
- Do not open your window to cool your room when temperatures are below freezing. This may freeze water pipes in your heating unit potentially causing them to burst and flood your room. You may crack your window one-inch for no more than 30 minutes and always close it when you leave or sleep.
- Do not open windows in common spaces, this too may freeze water pipes but could also impact thermostat readings making it seem colder in the building than it actually is.
- If your room is hot, you may temporarily prop your door open and use a fan to circulate air from the hallway. Fire doors cannot be propped, please see Hall-specific Recommendations below to know if you have a fire rate room door.
- If your room feels extremely hot, ask your RA to check the temperature - we have laser thermometers to get an accurate reading and can call our maintenance team to address any mechanical issues.
- If you experience flooding in your room, especially coming from your heat register, please call the RA on duty at 715-232-3333 immediately to address it.
Hall-specific Recommendations
These residence halls have updated windows, heating, cooling (climate control), and fire-rated doors that should not be propped.
While the AC is on, the humidity is being controlled internally, do not open your windows. If you need more airflow, run a fan in your room or open your door. Please note, that if your room door is designed to close automatically, it is a fire door and may not be propped open.
In the winter, or when the AC is not on, it's ok to crack your windows to increase airflow but never leave your window open overnight or for long periods of time when temperatures could dip below freezing.
The following are specific HVAC controls by building:
- North Hall: While you can't control the temperature of your room, you can adjust the fan speed between off, low, medium, and high. Open the panel on the top of the fan unit to adjust the dial to your liking.
- Red Cedar Hall: You have temperature and fan control, follow the instructions next to your thermostat to adjust your settings. Your thermostat will control your room temperature between 60 and 72 degrees in the winter and 72 to 78 degrees in the summer.
- McCalmont Hall: You have temperature and fan control, follow the instructions linked here to adjust your settings. Your thermostat will control your room temperature between 60 and 72 degrees in the winter and 72 to 78 degrees in the summer.
These residence halls have updated windows and heating, but do not have cooling (climate control). Fleming & Hovlid and South Halls have fire-rated doors that should not be propped.
Many of our updated windows are better insulated and can protect your room in warmer and colder temperatures.
On sunny days when it's hot outside, we recommend keeping your windows and blinds closed - this will stop the sun from raising the temperature of your room. You could open your window to draw in the cooler air in the morning or later at night.
On cloudy or cooler days, open the blinds and windows to your liking!
In the winter, it's ok to crack your windows to increase airflow but never leave your window open overnight or for long periods of time when temperatures could dip below freezing.
The following are specific HVAC controls by building:
- Antrim and Froggatt (AF) Hall: Mechanical control of your room temperature is not available.
- Fleming and Hovlid (FH) Hall: Your thermostat has a lever or up/down buttons that will control your room temperature between 60 and 72 degrees in the winter and 72 to 78 degrees in the summer.
- South Hall: Your thermostat has a dial that will control the temperature of your room as indicated on the unit.
- Wigen Hall: Mechanical control of your room temperature is not available.
- Jeter and Callahan (of JTC) Hall: Mechanical control of your room temperature is not available.
- Tainter (of JTC) Hall: Your heating unit has a dial that will control the temperature of your room as indicated on the unit.
These residence halls have double-hung windows and heating, but do not have cooling (climate control).
A double-hung window provides you with the ability to ventilate your room. By opening the window all the way, you can send the warm air of the building out and let in a cool breeze. However, you can also control the airflow by opening the internal sash and closing the window inside the room. Opening your door can also provide some additional airflow from the hallway, just be careful of slamming doors!
Mechanical control of your room temperature is not available
Humidity Advice from the Maintenance Mechanics
The Maintenance Mechanics are the folks who work in these buildings year-round; they have a keen awareness of how to maintain our spaces and keep you comfortable in your room. We asked them specifically about how to balance the humidity in your room and here's what they said!
Condensation issues occur in student rooms when the humidity reaches a certain level. Things like additional carpeting, clothing, wet towels, or other items that can retain moisture could impact the humidity levels in your room. Additionally, adding more people in your room, sweating, or otherwise producing moisture will increase humidity. However, reducing any of these factors or opening your window (when appropriate) could help reduce humidity.
Some condensation on a window frame is normal and should be wiped up occasionally. In non-renovated buildings with double hung windows (like CKTO and HKMC), you may even experience a little frost on the lower part of the window - this too is normal and can simply be wiped up. Any moisture build-up on the outside of the window is caused by high moisture levels outside, not anything within your room.
If you think you are experiencing high humidity in your room, try some of these mitigation techniques first. You can also ask your RA to check the temperature of your room with a laser thermometer or test the humidity of your room with a hygrometer from the front desk.
If you ever think the humidity is out of hand, please submit a work order (linked on this page) and our Facility Maintenance team will come assist you. Waiting until it's too late can cause damage to you room that might take longer to correct.
How to Get Help
If you feel like your room temperature is off, or the humidity is too high or low, you could:
- Ask your RA to check the temperature of your room - we have laser thermometers to get an accurate reading.
- Check out a hygrometer from the front desk to measure the humidity of your room. It's typical for humidity to be 55-65% in the summer and 25-35% in the winter.
- Submit a maintenance request to have a professional staff member address your concern.