Yes, it is colder in the office, but everyone understands the choice made by the Executive Board to lower the thermostat. “Of course, we don’t want to sponsor Russia. It is also good for the environment,” says Alexander Louwes, policy officer for education and Faculty Council member at the School of Business and Economics (SBE). It is nice and warm in his office this Tuesday morning, in the middle of November. “At about eight o’clock in the morning, the heating is turned on and during the day it is switched off again. It then cools down rather quickly.” He has an extra cardigan for the cooler hours.
“It’s fine,” he feels. Although the situation in the employees’ lounge at SBE “is painful for him”. In this exquisite room with a view to SBE’s courtyard garden, there is a lot of natural light, all through single-pane glass. The radiators are on full blast. Louwes did his PhD track with the research group of Thermal Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente. “We are just heating up the outside air here, such a waste.” Because SBE is housed in a heritage building, it is prohibited to make it sustainable just like that. Double glazing, insulation, solar panels on the roof: these are definitely not permitted on the street-facing side. “Fortunately, our new director is investigating what options remain. Who knows, maybe there are possibilities here on the inside.”
Fleece cardigan
No complaints on the other side of the river either. But here too, it is cooler in the offices, says Patrick van Gorp, management information officer and Faculty Council member at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. His room is on the corner of Universiteitssingel 40 and therefore has windows on two sides, although it is double glazing. “We are here on the northwest corner. The wind and cold reach us easily. An extra cardigan is draped over his desk chair. His roommate is already wearing her thick polo-necked jumper. “In general, women get colder more quickly,” they say. The doors to the rooms in Van Gorp’s corridor are open this Tuesday morning. “The small offices are occupied by two people and both have double computer screens. That provides many warmth. A nice extra is that it’s a lot cosier. Maybe we’ll have to close the door when it gets even colder outside,” he says.
On the Bouillonstraat at the Faculty of Law, HR manager Anke Perey is sitting at her desk. The door is closed and it is nice and warm inside on this Tuesday morning. “I am very lucky with my room, it is much cooler next door.” Single-pane glass here too. On the back of the door, a thick blue fleece cardigan has hung since the beginning of autumn. The fact that the thermostat is lower, Perey feels is matter-of-course. “I do the same at home.”
“Freezing my balls off”
At the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the temperature doesn’t seem to be causing any problems, for the moment. “Although you are asking the wrong person,” says Christian Ernsten, assistant professor of Heritage Studies. “I don’t suffer from cold easily.” He doesn’t have an extra thick jumper in his room. “Maybe if it really starts to freeze.” A little further along is the office of IT support officer Paul Geurts. His experience is not a good measure either, he laughs. “My roommates get colder much more quickly than I do. They sometimes sit here with their coats on. Until two weeks ago, I was still walking around in a T-shirt. My colleagues have also noticed that I am now wearing a jumper.”
Jan de Roder, assistant professor of Literature and Art, teaches at University College Maastricht. “I’m freezing my balls off,” he says jokingly. Where in previous winters he opened the windows before a class session so that the classroom didn’t get too warm, is it now too cold during lectures. “I understand why the thermostat is lower, but I’m 64. There is a draught coming from the single-pane glass. The cold gets into my bones.” He has ordered thermal underwear as a way to combat the cold.
Uggs
The others also have tips for if it starts to really freeze in the coming months. Van Gorp: “If all goes well, the situation inside will remain the same as it is now. The heating will have to work harder to heat up to 19 degrees. Should that not work, it will be a tough job for management to come up with something.” Louwes has an idea about what his Faculty Board could do. “I would have liked if SBE jumpers, scarves and hats were handed out as Christmas gifts. Maybe that is an idea for next year.” Louwes also has a hot meal for lunch. “That provides energy to get through the day warmly.” And if it really gets cold, electric blankets are an idea, he says. Perey also advises to have an extra cup of tea and further remarks that it is very important to prevent your feet from getting cold. “Maybe, I will need to get those Uggs out of my wardrobe, ha-ha.”