University of Wisconsin La Crosse Centennial Hall LEED Credit 7.2 Thermal Comfort Plan I. Intent: To meet LEED Indoor Environmental Quality credit 7.2, Thermal Comfort, Verification, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UW-L) plans to administer occupant surveys and adjust HVAC parameters to enhance building comfort for occupants. This Thermal Comfort Plan addresses occupant surveys, the scheduling of surveys, and how UW-L will respond to survey results. II. Occupant Thermal Comfort Survey: After a period of approximately 12-18 months of occupancy, UW-L will begin conducting periodic thermal comfort surveys of its students and employees within the new academic building to determine their overall comfort level and satisfaction. The UW-L survey was constructed following the ANSI /ASHRAE Standard 55-2010, Thermal Environment Satisfaction Survey. The survey will be conducted anonymously on line. The survey tool will be Qualtrics (http://www.uwlax.edu/its/helpdesk/surveys.htm) or a comparable web based software. To improve survey response, UW-L will encourage occupant participation through targeted occupant e-mails, newsletters, classroom announcements and advertisements placed on monitors located in high occupancy corridors in the facility. Qualtrics records the data and time for each survey response. The survey form will provide respondents a contact office, telephone number and e-mail. This option will be provided to enhance customer/stakeholder service in cases when the respondent desires to discuss specific comfort concern(s). A UW-L Centennial Hall Thermal Comfort Corrective Action Plan will be developed and implemented if 20% or more of the respondents are dissatisfied with the thermal comfort of their building. UW-L will regulate an overall temperature of 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit during the heating season and 72-74 degrees Fahrenheit during the cooling season in the office/administrative areas. The HVAC system in the building will be continually monitored and controlled by an Andover Direct Digital Control (DDC) Energy Management System. The system provides alerts to UW-L HVAC technicians when a set point is exceeded. This system and timely response by UW-L HVAC technicians will greatly enhance UW-L s ability to achieve thermal comfort for building occupants. UW-L will provide an objective and systematic process for all students/employees to provide honest feedback about their individual thermal comfort so as to assist the UW-L HVAC staff or consultants in making necessary adjustments.
Specific focuses of the survey will center on: Respondent status: student or employee Individual satisfaction with temperature in their area Rating of the quality air flow and humidity Floor and general area occupied by the student or employee Amount of time in building at any one time or per day Ability of the employee to adjust or control: window blinds doors portable fan Impact of thermal comfort on daily activities within their occupied space Thermal comfort sections of the survey will be based on a seven-point scale ranging from +3 (very satisfied) to -3 (very dissatisfied). While the overall focus and intent of thermal comfort are aimed at employee satisfaction, the environmental, societal and fiscal costs of fuel consumption and energy use is also a major consideration. UW-L will aim to balance employee/student satisfaction while regulating energy use. III. Schedule of Surveys: Because different seasons activate different HVAC systems in the building, the survey will be administered at least once per heating and cooling season. As reasonably allowed, UW-L management will select historically hot or cold portions of the season to conduct the survey. Surveys will not be conducted from June through August because the building will likely have low occupancy during periods outside the academic year. IV. Responses to Survey Results: UW-La Crosse management will share summary results of the periodic thermal comfort survey with all building employees/students occupants. The results will be posted online with notification to access made through a campus newsletter distributed via e-mail to every UW-L employee/student. If greater than 20% of survey respondents express dissatisfaction with building comfort, the survey report will identify the concern(s), provide a layman s summary on the engineering/maintenance evaluation and corrective actions take or to be taken. All items of merit will be corrected in a timely manner. Survey recipients will also be provided with a contact person e-mail and telephone number to address any lingering concerns. D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 2 of 9
V. Survey: The survey form will include the following questions. Formatting will be necessary to meet data management requirements of the on-line survey tool or data analysis software. Thermal Comfort Survey - Centennial Hall University of Wisconsin La Crosse Centennial Hall Thermal Environment Satisfaction Survey UW-L s Facilities Planning & Management department strives to provide you a high quality living, learning and working environment. Your willingness to complete this thermal environmental satisfaction survey provides us with valued data that enhances our ability to assure your comfort. This survey is anonymous. When tabulated, survey results will be communicated via Campus Connection with survey results being posted at http://www.uwlax.edu/fpm/sustainability/initiatives/thermalcomfort.htm. Please note that survey questions do not identify thermal comfort concerns in a specific room. If you have specific concerns please identify the room number(s) and issue(s) in the comment section at the end of this survey. If you prefer, you can report thermal comfort or other facility concerns directly to the Facilities Management Office at (608) 785-8585 or submit an on line work request through https://iservicedesk.uwlax.edu/. The Facilities Management office hours are Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM until 4:00 PM, closed on legal holidays. For emergency facilities service outside these hours contact University Switchboard at (608) 785-8000. Thanks for providing your valued input! Q1 Select the group that best represents your connection with UW-L. Student (1) Faculty or staff without office in Centennial Hall (2) Faculty or staff with office in Centennial Hall (3) If Student or Faculty or staff without office in Centennial Hall is selected, then skip To Q2. with office in Centennial Hall is selected, then skip to Q15. If Faculty or staff D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 3 of 9
Q2 Which room type(s) do you primarily use? (Check all that apply.) Tiered lecture halls (1) Classrooms (2) Conference rooms or discussion areas (3) Other (4) Q3 On what floor(s) are your classrooms or other primary use spaces? (Check all that apply.) First (1) Second (2) Third (3) Fourth (4) Q4 At any one time, what is the normal length of your stay in Centennial Hall? Under 1 hour (1) 1 to 3 hours (2) 3 to 5 hours (3) Greater than 5 hours (4) Q5 How many hours per week do you spend in Centennial Hall? Less than 5 hours (1) 5 15 hours (2) 15 30 hours (3) More than 30 hours (4) Q6 What is your normal activity level in Centennial Hall? Light activity (mostly sitting) (1) Medium activity (standing, bending, stooping, walking) (2) Heavy activity (exercise, physical labor) (3) Q7 Does sunlight passing through windows cause any thermal discomfort? (Thermal comfort is a combination of temperature, humidity and air flow.) Yes (1) No (2) Windows not present in primary use space(s) (3) D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 4 of 9
Q8 How satisfied are you with the current indoor temperature in Centennial Hall? Q9 How satisfied are you with the current humidity levels in Centennial Hall? Q10 How satisfied are you with the current level of air circulation in Centennial Hall? Q11 Based on your attire/clothing, which temperature sensation best describes your current thermal comfort in Centennial Hall? (Thermal comfort is a combination of temperature, humidity and air flow.) Hot (uncomfortable) (1) Warm (2) Neutral (3) Cool (4) Cold (uncomfortable) (5) D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 5 of 9
Q12 If you currently experience thermal discomfort (uncomfortable), which of the following days/times of day does this occur? Check all that apply. I am content with the current thermal comfort in Centennial Hall (1) Monday through Friday (2) Saturday or Sunday (3) Between 8:00 AM and Noon (4) Between Noon and 6:00 PM (5) Between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM (6) Between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM (7) Q13 Does Centennial Hall s indoor building temperature, humidity or air flow negatively impact your classroom activities? No (1) Yes (2) Q14 Please provide any other desired comments on thermal comfort in Centennial Hall. After completing Q14, skip to Q30. Q15 On what floor is your office? First (1) Second (2) Third (3) Fourth (4) Q16 How is your office configured? Open (no walls) (1) Partitioned (one-half walls) (2) Enclosed (full walls) (3) D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 6 of 9
Q17 At any one time, what is the normal length of your stay in Centennial Hall? Under 1 hour (1) 1 to 3 hours (2) 3 to 5 hours (3) Greater than 5 hours (4) Q18 On average, how many hours per week do you spend in Centennial Hall? Less than 5 hours (1) 5 15 hours (2) 15 30 hours (3) More than 30 hours (4) Q19 What is your normal activity level in Centennial Hall? Light activity (mostly sitting) (1) Medium activity (standing, bending, stooping, walking) (2) Heavy activity (exercise, physical labor) (3) Q20 Does sunlight passing through windows cause any thermal discomfort? (Thermal comfort is a combination of temperature, humidity and air flow.) Yes (1) No (2) Windows not present in primary use space(s) (3) Q21 Which direction are window(s) facing? East (1) West (2) North (3) South (4) Windows not present in primary use space(s) (5) D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 7 of 9
Q22 How satisfied are you with the current indoor temperature in Centennial Hall? Q23 How satisfied are you with the current humidity levels in Centennial Hall? Q24 How satisfied are you with the current level of air circulation in Centennial Hall? Q25 Based on your attire/clothing, which temperature sensation best describes your current thermal comfort in Centennial Hall? (Thermal comfort is a combination of temperature, humidity and air flow.) Hot (uncomfortable) (1) Warm (2) Neutral (3) Cool (4) Cold (uncomfortable) (5) D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 8 of 9
Q26 If you currently experience thermal discomfort (uncomfortable), which of the following days/times of day does this occur? Check all that apply. I am content with the current thermal comfort in Centennial Hall (1) Monday through Friday (2) Saturday or Sunday (3) Between 8:00 AM and Noon (4) Between Noon and 6:00 PM (5) Between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM (6) Between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM (7) Q27 Does Centennial Hall s indoor building temperature, humidity or air flow negatively impact your job performance? No (1) Yes (2) Q28 Which of the following do you personally adjust or control in your office? (Check all that apply.) Window blinds or shades (1) Door to interior space (2) Clothing (i.e., sweater) (3) Turning off equipment (i.e., computer, desk lighting) (4) None (5) Other (6) Q29 Please provide any other desired comments on thermal comfort in Centennial Hall. After completing Q29, skip to Q30. Q30 Thank you for completing the Centennial Hall thermal comfort survey. D. Sweetman, UW-La Crosse, 1/9/2013 Page 9 of 9