WITS students and staff have been complaining about “unusually” high temperatures in the Wartenweiler Library, which make it difficult to concentrate.
The high temperatures in Wartenweiler Library are not conducive to working and studying conditions, according to a spokesperson for Property Infrastructure Management (PIMD). They have resulted in fans being used on every floor of the library.
“The temperature fluctuations have been a recurring problem,” said Paiki Muswazi, Deputy University Librarian. “The current temperature levels have been experienced since opening in January.”
The library and the university’s facilities department were busy working out a temporary solution, as well as a longer lasting answer, said Muswazi.
The Technical Supervisor at PIMD said the library was refurbished 30 years ago and there had been fluctuating problems with ventilation since then. He said changes in environmental temperature had exacerbated the heat.
The problem was probably caused by the Main Chiller Plant, located in the basement, which was meant to cool the building. He said the fault had possibly not been reported until the beginning of February.
However, a library administrator said they had previously reported the problem to PIMD, who had sent contractors to fix the ventilation, but the problem kept recurring.
Richard Kallis, PIMD Deputy Director, said contractors came on February 29 and produced a report which found the Chiller had a slow leak, which had not be found by previous contractors.
There were other technical problems with the Chiller Plant, and the contractors would start fixing it on March 6, said Kallis. It should take about 10 days to two weeks to fix.
