The onset of cooler temperatures means more and more heat will be used in UNH's buildings, increasing the university's expenditures on fuel.
An Oct. 9 Associated Press article reported the Energy Department has predicted a 23 percent rise in the cost of heating bills for households that heat their homes with oil. An 18 percent rise was predicted for those heating with natural gas while an increase of 10 to 11 percent was predicted for those using propane.
These numbers, however, are only predictions. Matt O'Keefe, campus energy manager at the UNH Energy Office, said, "There is no way to know for sure what energy will cost" this winter. Nevertheless, the Energy Office is certain prices "will be going up again" and is planning to pay more, particularly given this past summer's spike in gas and oil prices. O'Keefe said heating costs have gone up approximately 20 percent each year for the last five years.
The Energy Office's budget is set at least six months in advance for each new fiscal year, which begins in July. Therefore, in the middle of one winter, they are already budgeting for the next one. When budgeting, O' Keefe said the office "tries to lock in some prices," but otherwise they are subject to the same rising costs that the rest of America sees.
This comes at a significant cost. This year, the budget for all energy commodities, such as heat and electricity, is over $13 million.
Buildings on the main UNH campus are heated through the university's central heating plant, where oil and natural gas is converted to electricity. The byproduct of this process is waste heat in the form of steam. The steam itself is piped out and used for heating by some buildings such as the Field House.
More frequently though, the steam is used to heat water while still at the heating plant, and the hot water is sent out to be used by the respective buildings for heating. Satellite buildings not part of the main campus are heated by natural gas, oil or propane.
Different buildings on campus have different heating control systems, which are explained on the Energy Office's website. Some buildings such as Nesmith and McConnell have individual room controls. This system is the most expensive to install, but each room has a thermostat to control its temperature, offering the most comfort.
Another system used is zone control. "With zone control, one control device (thermostat, wall sensor or heater-mounted control) determines the amount of heat provided to several rooms within a zone," according to the website. The room with the control is often the most comfortable, and the other rooms in the zone receive heat based on the other room. Hewitt Hall is an example of a building with zone control.
The final system, building control, is the least expensive to install but offers the least amount of control. The website description for this system reads, "There are no individual control devices in rooms within the building.
The entire building receives heat based on the outdoor air temperature." The device controlling the building's temperature is set to keep the coldest room warm, which can overheat other rooms in the building. Pettee Hall and many residence halls use building control.
The latter two systems demonstrate why students and faculty shouldn't just open a window if they find their dorm room or office too warm in the winter.
"Don't open your window, because there's a trickle down effect to the next room," O'Keefe warned.
In buildings with zone or building control, the system could automatically send more heat to this room to make up for the temperature drop, thus overheating rooms nearby.
Instead of opening a window, calling the Energy Department is the best choice, since the problem may be mechanical. The number for the call center is 862-1497.
Recently built or renovated buildings have been constructed in order to become more energy-efficient in terms of heating. O'Keefe said the most important issue is they're "designed properly." This means tightly insulated buildings with energy-efficient windows and doors.
UNH's Office of Sustainability (UOS) is working to lower heating costs as part of their campus-wide goal of conserving energy.
"Through our campus-wide Energy Task Force, the university is developing a climate action plan that will contain a number of strategies for cutting our emissions and energy costs," Sara Cleaves, associate director of the UOS said. "One example of this in action today is the annual Student Energy Waste Watch Challenge in which residence halls and apartments on campus compete to see which can lower its energy use by the greatest amount."
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