Early Morning Hot Water Cut To Save Energy

In an effort to save energy, the Buildings and Grounds Department (B & G) is again enforcing its policy of not heating water for dormitories between midnight and 5 a.m.

Lazy Bones

"The rule has been around a long time, but we got lax about enforcing it" Thomas McLaughlin, a worker at the B & G Control Center where the water is heated, said yesterday.

Neither McLaughlin nor Frank Lawton, assistant dean of the Faculty for facilities, knew when maintenance workers had stopped enforcing the rule.

Lawton said that he ordered workers to start following the rule again about three or four weeks ago.

Workers at the Control Center now stop injecting steam into the heating tank at midnight. "We begin then with a full tank (of hot water) and how far it goes depends on how many people take showers before 5 a.m." Lawton said.

Lawton added that he had not heard of any problems stemming from the shutoff. "I asked the building superintendents if there had been problems in the past with this regulation, and they said no."

Lawton said it is difficult to estimate how much money this rule will save. "Every little bit helps," he added.

Earmuffs

There are no other new energy-saving plans being planned Lawton said. The temperatures in dorms will be turned down to around the 55-degree level during Christmas vacation, he added.

Tight Budget

"We are trying to save the students money all the time" Lawton said. "Also, we just received our preliminary budgets for next year and they need a lot of massaging," he added.