No, we don’t have a snappy punchline for this one. Through the Energy & Climate Projects Series, we discuss key aspects of Sheridan’s campus-wide energy saving initiatives as implemented by the Integrated Energy and Climate Master Plan (IECMP).
This installment aims to help the Sheridan community understand the challenges of operating heating and cooling systems during a “shoulder season”, and why our spaces might be uncomfortable as we transition from summer to winter and vice versa.
In the fall and spring, outdoor temperatures often change rapidly and unpredictably from hot to cold one day to the next, and even within the same day. Facilities departments refer to this as the ‘shoulder season’ and it represents a very challenging time of year for Operations staff in terms of maintaining comfortable interior space temperature.
Unlike in our homes, where equipment is capable of switching rapidly from heating to cooling mode as outdoor conditions require, the large systems in our campus facilities are dedicated to either cooling or heating and cannot be rapidly started or stopped to react to changes in temperature. In fact, most of our buildings allow for either cooling or heating depending upon the season, but not both at the same time.
Throughout the shoulder season, when nighttime temperatures can fall below freezing, it is imperative that the heating system be operational in order to avoid very cold buildings in the morning and to prevent catastrophic damage to equipment due to freezing. To preclude flooding of building spaces due to burst pipes, most of Sheridan’s cooling plants are turned off and any water-based systems external to our buildings are drained. The cooling equipment is therefore unavailable on afternoons where temperatures are unseasonably warm. There is no single day in the shoulder season when changing the system from cooling to heating or vice-versa will optimally match the weather pattern.
During this changeover, Operations staff relies heavily on weather forecasts to anticipate how buildings will need to be operated to manage temperature swings that might be experienced on any given day. The staff makes strategic decisions to maintain efficient use of equipment while utilizing air flow to rooms and outdoor air to mitigate “hot” and “cold” spaces.
Complicating matters is the fact that there are a variety of heating and cooling system types installed in buildings throughout our campuses. The types and location of building controls and control systems, such as thermostats and air handler units, room locations, and heat sources (lights, people, computers, etc.), are all factors that affect space comfort and temperature.
Energy Manager of the Office for Sustainability, Herbert Sinnock, notes that the IECMP team welcomes feedback from the Sheridan community with regard to shoulder seasons and any other aspects of our energy projects. By providing your feedback on comfort levels, we can direct our efforts to improve system operations. Please direct your comments to constructionfeedback@sheridancollege.ca. Your concerns can also be addressed to the Trafalgar/STC FM service desk at x2255 or the Davis/HMC FM service desk at x5210. Your constructive feedback is helpful and welcome, and we appreciate your support and patience during shoulder seasons.