Heat waves during spring term put campus power and cooling systems under strain, leading to broken telephone as students shuffle between classrooms.

On June 20, Plant Operations sent a university-wide email notifying the UW community about potential disruptions due to added strain on the campus power and cooling systems brought on by incoming heatwaves.

Credited to senior director of infrastructure and energy Stephen Louie, the email reads, “As part of this effort, we may need to prioritize critical infrastructure by diverting cooling to essential areas of campus.” A list of suggested energy-saving measures followed the notice, such as refraining from charging small devices unless necessary, keeping blinds closed and turning off appliances not in use. Managers are encouraged to allow staff and faculty to take advantage of remote work options when needed when temperature control is insufficient for a productive work environment.

This is not the first time this directive has been put in place due to hot weather—a similar notice went out last year on June 18. Jacinda Reitsma, UW’s Vice President of Administration and Finance, noted that the disruptions in the past two summers were due to cooling equipment repairs and installation. “In June 2024, we were required to repair a chiller unexpectedly, which impacted our cooling capacity,” she said in a statement to Imprint. Another replacement chiller was installed earlier this summer. “Out of an abundance of caution, we communicated with the campus that our AC capacity may be impacted.” As of August 8, those repairs have been completed.

Regarding which buildings to prioritize for cooling, Reitsma writes that “the University considered lab space, research and teaching equipment requiring humidity and temperature control, library materials, and spaces for student cooling areas. Further adjustments were made for buildings where classes were not easily changed and for buildings where accommodations for student exams were located.” The Vice President also mentioned that Plant Operations communicated with “the appropriate associate deans” when students and faculty’s classes need to be relocated.

While communication about cooling system status and affected buildings has been transparent in recent years, students are frustrated by incomplete, vague or conflicting information about whether it applies on a room-by-room basis rather than buildings at large.

Third year faculty of environment student Zekiel Foncardas has received notice about AC problems this term as well as his previous on-campus spring term in 2023. On July 13 and 14, instructors for two of his planning courses that take place in Environment 3 notified students that lectures the next day would be relocated. “Due to extreme heat, EV3 will be closed and we will meet in RCH,” one email said. Foncardas also contacted the instructor of an English course that took place in the same building to ask about lecture relocation. However, the professor responded that the Associate Dean indicated there would be no need to relocate.

Another student in math has also experienced the same inconsistency. Third year math studies student Marie R. said that her STAT 330 tutorial in Davis Centre on June 23 was relocated to another room in the same building due to air conditioning problems. But according to her colleagues at her part-time job on-campus, the Davis Centre had AC working that day.

“Nowhere was it mentioned that this would be room dependent; definitely not in the email,” she said in an interview with Imprint. She noted that while she was not surprised at the lack of transparent communication from university management to students, the lack of precise communication to professors was concerning. “I’m glad they usually tell us one to two days in advance, but it’s still confusing when we’re trying to plan out study sessions on-campus, because everyone is saying something different.”

Room adjustments are still ongoing as the spring term continues. One math student noted that their actuarial science class was relocated to MC from M3, as M3 would not have working air conditioning the next day.

All students mentioned are understanding of the adjustments needed, but wish that information would be more specific and consistent across the board among staff, faculty and students. Given the conflicting news between his English course and environment courses about building cooling, Foncardas believes that inter-faculty communication could be improved. “A lot of crises are tolerable — people are willing to tolerate a lot of stuff if they’re communicated with very well about it; if they understand exactly what’s happening and if they’re given everything they need to know to accommodate things. It doesn’t bode well when a bunch of your classes say EV3 is closed, but then you open the doors to EV3 and you can walk right in,” he added.

Regarding future AC disruptions and adjustments, Reitsma states that the replacement chiller and previous repairs have so far sufficiently addressed the campus cooling capacity issues this summer: “We will continue to track the upcoming temperatures and humidity levels to be prepared for impacts on our cooling systems across campus.”