Revolving doors keep library heating bills down
For some students, Morgan Library is quiet enough to sleep
undisturbed, but the sound of drills and hammers at the library’s
north entrance startled a few students on Sept. 26.
The construction at the entrance was the removal of the double
sliding doors and the installation of a revolving entrance. After a
year of battling heating problems in the winter, the library sought
a remedy.
“Both our library and maintenance staff were having problems
with the temperatures in the building,” said George Jaramillo,
assistant dean of Administrative Services for the library. “Because
(the entrance) faced north and was such a wide entrance, the door
made the building’s temperature difficult to control.”
Jaramillo said last year the library attempted to use a heat
curtain to resolve the problem but it was ineffective and made too
much noise. A heat curtain is a thermal barrier of air to insulate
the building.
Construction on the door was set to begin this summer, but
according to Facilities Management, the contractor could not
deliver on the set date.
“Due to the delay, construction had to be done during the school
year,” said Mike Davis, an engineering science technologist with
Facilities Management. “We did our best to keep construction on the
weekend, and out of students’ way.”
Though the construction was delayed, Jaramillo said everyone was
accommodating and that he received no related complaints.
He also said one concern was that placing a revolving door in
such a high traffic area may cause congestion.
“Revolving doors are not common in the West, so we’re expecting
a few months for students to adjust,” Jaramillo said. “We didn’t
know if it would create a bottleneck or not, but it seems to be
moving just fine.”
Some student response has not been as welcoming.
“I think (the door’s) just a pain and they direct people the
wrong way,” said Jesse Faux, a sophomore wildlife biology major. “I
don’t know why they put them up, or how much they spent, but it
seems like a waste of money.”
Some other students are afraid of revolving doors.
“I just don’t use them,” said Floye Wells, a graduate student of
ecology. “Revolving doors scare me.”
Other students had more patience with the new doors.
“I could see it helping out in the winter because it does get
cold in here, but I think it could back traffic up a lot.” Kevin
Delvy, sophomore, a business finance major said.
Davis said that due to the rise in natural gas prices over the
past year, many buildings on campus are addressing their heating
systems.
“Trying to be as energy efficient as possible is just something
that is always ongoing for us,” he said.
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