Heating throughout the year

The heating across campus is controlled on a building-by-building basis, to make sure room temperatures are maintained efficiently.

Our boiler system will modulate up or down to maintain the correct temperature throughout the year.

The regular heating time schedule is from 08.00 to 19.00 hours, Monday to Friday in most academic buildings. We have sensors that check the outside and inside temperatures. Our Building Management Systems react to keep buildings at the right temperature in the most efficient way.

Please refer to our Thermal Comfort policy for further information.

Adjusting the temperature

As well as centralised control, most radiators have their own temperature control. They sense the local air temperature and this alters the flow of the water in the radiator. You can use the temperature control to achieve the most comfortable temperature. You should generally set your control to level of two or three and then leave it alone.

Turning the temperature control to maximum will not heat the room any quicker. It will actually increase the likelihood of your room overheating, resulting in the opening of windows, or the valve being turned off. If left in this setting, the room may be cold the next morning.

Using portable heaters

The use of portable electrical heaters can result in the conventional heating within the building shutting down and such heaters can pose safety risks as well as incurring significant costs and CO2 emissions. If, following an investigation into reported under temperature conditions, it is found that the use of portable heaters is appropriate they will be provided by Campus Infrastructure; such heaters will be Portable Appliance Tested thermostatically controlled oil-filled radiators. Individuals are not permitted to bring in/purchase their own portable heaters and, if found, these may be removed during routine health & safety inspections.

What to do if your room is cold

During working hours the temperature in all indoor workplaces must be reasonable.

There’s no law for minimum or maximum working temperatures, e.g. when it’s too cold or too hot to work.

However, guidance suggests a minimum of 16°C or 13ºC if employees are doing physical work.

There’s no guidance for a maximum temperature limit.

Employers must stick to health and safety at work law, including:

• keeping the temperature at a comfortable level - providing clean and fresh air

We may arrange to track the temperature of the room and take readings to assess the level of the problem. When we have collected the data we will confirm if repairs or alterations are needed and carry out any necessary work.