Heatwave at Baruch

A heatwave hit New York on July, 25 and 26 and inconvenienced people at the Baruch College. At the same time, it was mandatory for the college to cut electricity usage in the school.

Baruch participates in an Energy Demand Response program which requires City Universities of New York or CUNYS to “reduce energy consumption significantly” during heatwaves to prevent brownouts or blackouts in the city. The college reduces electricity consumption by turning off elevator/escalator services during certain times of the day, raising temperatures to reduce air conditioner usage and turning off lights.

The reduction of energy affected a lot of students who were quite used to the services and comfort the school provides. One student angrily described how she was late to class since she was “unable to take the elevators.”  Another one describes how it was “unbearably hot” in the classrooms since the air conditioners weren’t turned on to full power.

On the flip side, some people like Louis Li a student in the school said “I went through the day as normal and I didn’t even notice the heat or escalators not working.”

Participation in the Energy Demand Response program is good for the environment and the city, so questions remain why the college  doesn’t do more to curtail energy use throughout the year or even just the summer.

Often when you enter the college in the summer, the air is much too cold and energy is wasted on lights in halls nobody uses or elevators nobody is using. Perhaps the school should try to conserve more energy like they do during heatwaves in order to benefit the environment.