Extreme heat: ‘Unbearably hot in Sauna Sanders’

In January, people were shivering in Sanders; now staff describe the heat as unbearable. They are grabbing ice creams to cool down, moving to cooler buildings or going home with headaches. In some offices, temperatures rose above 28 degrees.

28.5 degrees. Assistant professor Julia Krämer has taken a photo of the thermostat in her shared office. Sauna Sanders, as she calls the building where her office is on the seventh and top floor. “It’s unbearably hot”, she says. “Basically, only March, April and October are pleasant months. The rest of the year it’s either too cold or too hot here.”

With the windows closed it’s not manageable, but with the windows open it isn’t either, Krämer explains. “The windows are so small that hardly any fresh air comes in. I am still on the side of the building where the sun disappears in the afternoon. On the other side it is even worse.” On Tuesday, colleagues went home with headaches, she says. They are not exactly sure of the cause, but they suspect the heat.

The climate issues are nothing new for people who have been working in the Sanders building for years. Since the renovation in 2017, complaints have been ongoing, staff say. The climate system is supposed to keep the temperature at a stable 19 degrees, but this fails in both summer and winter.

Work in progress

Real Estate & Facilities is aware of the complaints, a university spokesperson says. “During the renovation, ‘climate ceilings’ were chosen, an energy-efficient system aligned with EUR’s sustainability ambitions. In practice, this means the system cools to a certain difference compared to the outside temperature. During extreme heat, as in recent days, this becomes noticeable. In the past period, we have adjusted the installations so that cooling starts on Sunday morning and the building reaches temperature by Monday morning.” Previously, the system was switched off over weekends and only started up again on Monday morning.

Because it is still uncomfortably warm, further measures are being considered. “We are looking at whether we can increase cooling or find a temporary solution. In addition, we maximise ventilation in the evenings and at night to cool the building with outside air. We are doing everything we can to improve this as quickly as possible.”

Ice creams

A staff member who prefers to remain anonymous walks towards the exit on Wednesday morning. In the entrance hall it is relatively cool, as it is in the teaching rooms, he notes. But upstairs, in the offices? It is hot. Around 11 am it’s 26 degrees in his office on the third floor. “In the meeting rooms it is even warmer, because the windows often cannot be opened. So when possible, we hold meetings in teaching rooms. Those are cool.” He is now on his way to the campus supermarket, to buy ice creams for his colleagues in an attempt to cool down.

“Ice creams are also regularly handed out somewhere in the building, which always provides some relief and is a welcome cooling gesture”, says assistant professor Josje de Vogel. She also works on the seventh floor. “The thermostat showed 27 degrees on Tuesday, so that gave a good indication of the conditions. What makes it extra difficult is that you can hardly ventilate the building, due to the narrow and small windows.”

Exam building still cool

The temperature in the exam building is currently still fine, but is being closely monitored. If indoor temperatures rise to 30 degrees or higher, exams will be cancelled.

There are places on campus where it is cool. In a video, students already mentioned the library, which is very popular because of the air conditioning. Krämer is also considering working there on Friday, when she has to come to campus anyway for a weekly meeting.

Next week, temperatures of 20 degrees are forecast. “When it was also warm at the end of May, the heat lingered in the office for a long time”, Krämer says. “Outside it was 21 degrees the following week, but still 27 in the office.”