TO:                             NMSU Las Cruces Campus

 

FROM:                       Glen Haubold

                                    Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Services

 

SUBJECT:               NMSU Campus Temperature Standards

 

 

Now that summer has arrived, we would like to remind everyone of the New Mexico State University Las Cruces campus temperature set-point standard.

 

With respect to heating and cooling systems, NMSU buildings fall into three general categories: those buildings with thermostats and systems that are controlled remotely; building systems with local temperature control and remote system start / stop capability; and building systems with local control only.

 

Occupied mode temperature settings for buildings that allow for remote temperature control will be 76F for cooling and 70F for heating. Occupancy times are an established practice developed through discussion with faculty and staff to minimize the impact on academic and research programs.

 

Unoccupied mode temperature settings are 85F for cooling and 60F for heating. Unoccupied is generally defined as all other times, i.e., nights and weekends. Buildings with manual thermostats will be set at 76F for the summer months and 70F for the winter months. Thermostats may have a temperature variation of plus or minus two degrees.

 

In order to encourage energy conservation and allow us to reduce the strain on the air-conditioning, the President is aware those working throughout the summer may wish to adopt business casual work dress to assure their comfort until the academic year begins in August and our temperature controls are again adjusted.

 

The Office of Facilities and Services requests your assistance in identifying areas with special needs, such as server rooms, lab experiments, and night classes, and we need your help in maximizing the unoccupied times while minimizing the impact to programs. If you have an area that requires a deviation from these set-points or operational times, please email the MEP Director John Shen or Executive Director of Operations Tim Dobson.

 

We would like to point out that many areas have multiple rooms controlled by single thermostats. In those cases, the thermostat will be set to maintain temperatures within the guidelines in all rooms. For example, the summer setting for these locations will be such that each individual room will have temperatures maintained within the standard.

 

OFS staff estimates that these measures can reduce NMSU emissions up to 800 metric tons of CO₂e annually (carbon dioxide equivalent).

 

Should a special event arise, please create a work order at the OFS website:

 

http://www.ofs.nmsu.edu/

 

or email

 

ask-ofs@nmsu.edu  

 

You can make a difference by taking the lead for conservation in your area and educating others about the need to turn off lights, copiers, and other equipment when not in use. As a special note, most computers on campus are set to receive updates at night and should be left on, although the monitors may be turned off.

 

Space heaters should not be used as a means of routine temperature control. If the space temperature in your area is not properly regulated, please notify the OFS Work Order desk to request necessary repairs and/or adjustments.

 

We appreciate everyone’s support in this time of tight budgets, and we encourage you to keep up with the campus sustainability accomplishments by visiting:

 

http://sustainability.nmsu.edu/

 

 

Glen Haubold

Assistant Vice President for Facilities

Office of Facilities and Services

New Mexico State University

575-646-2101 office

ghaubold@nmsu.edu