Another winter of frigid temperatures has once again brought out students’ discontent with climate control on campus, with residence halls and classrooms alike suffering from irregular heating. Although Columbia University Facilities is generally quick to respond to isolated, high-priority incidents, dissatisfaction with the overall state of heating and cooling on campus is ubiquitous. Alongside immediate efforts to reduce response times across the board, Facilities should invest in better infrastructure for buildings that lack modern heating systems and temperature-control mechanisms.

When outdoor temperatures fluctuate wildly, the heating systems in certain parts of campus lag behind noticeably and fail to maintain a comfortable living and working environment. For newer buildings, Facilities uses the so-called Building Automation System to monitor and regulate temperatures remotely. Any temperature deviation from an acceptable range triggers an alarm so Facilities personnel can promptly investigate the cause. But for older buildings that contain conventional radiators, Facilities relies on feedback from building occupants, who are told to report heating problems to the Facilities help desk or to Columbia Housing Services’ Hospitality Desk. Because radiators are more prone to failure than modern heating systems, especially when temperatures fluctuate, Facilities is slower to respond to heating issues in precisely those buildings more likely to experience irregularities in climate control.

Facilities should overhaul the heating systems and regulatory mechanisms of buildings that are not part of the Building Automation System. Despite its insistence that it has “a strong preventive maintenance and repair strategy,” Facilities still waits for an influx of complaints before attending to heating problems in buildings with radiators. This is insufficient—when a classroom is stifling, it takes too long to call in a complaint, have a report filed, and wait for Facilities to act. Variable temperatures call for responsive climate-control systems. Facilities says it has allocated “substantial” resources toward upgrading heating systems, but the scope of those changes remains unclear. Whatever upgrades are in the offing should concentrate on older buildings, where heating should be automated, if at all possible, to reduce response times.

Until the heating infrastructure is up to snuff throughout campus, Facilities should install wireless thermostats or similar devices that regulate temperature without the need for direct input from building inhabitants. At the very least, and as a short-term fix, Facilities should streamline its procedure for processing complaints so that technicians can respond more quickly to reported problems. Winter is behind us, but the warm weather will fall hard on campus buildings that lack air conditioning.