HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical

Please report any problems immediately to Harvard Facilities and Maintenance Operations (FMO) Center at 617-495-5560 (or 55560 internally). The following issues should be reported directly to FMO:

  • Room too hot or cold
  • Noisy/blowing air
  • Clogs, running faucets, leaks
  • Lightbulb out, move outlet, brightness issues

If you would like to request an upgrade to existing plumbing or electrical services, please E-Mail the Director of Planning and Facilities Danny Beaudoin dbeaudoi@hsph.harvard.edu. Under no circumstances should anyone install and/or alter any plumbing or electrical services without notifying the Operations Office.

Please refer to the information below for the standards to which HSPH adheres regarding temperature setting in rooms.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Standards

Interior space temperatures and ventilation levels are set in accordance with The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Energy Code 780 CMR 13, ASHRAE Standard 55-1992 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy and ASHRAE Standard 62-1999 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

The following table identifies the established minimum/maximum temperature parameters for Occupied/Unoccupied hours of operation by season:

TABLE 1

Optimum and Acceptable Ranges of Operative Temperature for People During Light, Primarily Sedentary Activity

Season

Description of Typical Clothing

Occupied Hours
M-F 7AM — 5PM

Unoccupied Hours
M-F 5PM — 7AM
Saturday & Sunday Holidays

Winter Heavy slacks, long-sleeve shirt and sweater

68 — 75 0F
20 — 23.5 0C

58 — 75 0F
14.5 — 23.5 0C

Summer Light slacks and short-sleeve shirt

73 — 79 0F
23 — 26 0C

79 — 90 0F
26 — 32.2 0C

 

After-Hours HVAC Scheduling

Operations must be notified in advance for the HVAC systems to be activated on weekends or during unoccupied hours. An energy use fee will be charged for all unoccupied HVAC system activations. The following table identifies the energy charges for internal and external affiliates for all after-hour HVAC scheduling:

TABLE 2

Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Energy Use Charges for Unoccupied Hours by Affiliation

Affiliation

Base/Minimum Charge
4 hours

Additional Hourly
Charge Rate

Internal

$350

$100 per hour

External

$400

$100 per hour