By Jonathan Bradley
Kerr Hall’s power will be turned off during the winter break in order to improve the air conditioning system on campus.
Facilities Management and Development (FMD) said the building will be closed to the public while a chiller is installed. The machine, according to FMD, will provide reliable cooling to Ryerson University during the summer.
The power shutoff will extend into the Kerr Hall Quad and pool area inside the Recreation and Athletics Centre.
The outage is expected to take place between Dec. 23 to Jan. 6, although FMD said they will confirm these dates prior to the shutoff. General electricity—including computers, equipment, and non-emergency lighting—will not function during that period.
Community members can request emergency power for their research equipment, fridges, freezers or computer servers in Kerr Hall through filling out a form from FMD.
Katrina Mekhail, a third-year biomedical sciences student, said she uses freezers, incubators and shakers in a lab in Kerr Hall, but isn’t concerned because emergency power will be provided. She has already requested emergency power.
“This relieved my stress that all the freezers would shut off and we would lose all our [substances for chemical reactions], but the faculty is offering emergency power and is offering a meeting if anyone needs help figuring out how to get back out power, which is great,” she said.
“I feel fine it is happening, because they are installing new lab equipment, and this will help us out in the long run.”
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