Heat's On?

Harvard officials said yesterday that the heat has not yet been turned on and there are no immediate plans to do so, despite recent rain and cold.

In accordance with last year's policy, heating will not begin until temperatures near 50 degrees outside, said Thomas A. Tribble, manager of energy systems in the Department of Buildings and Grounds.

"This year we are ready," said Michael N. Lichten, assistant coordinator for the faculty. "The heat can be turned on when it gets cold enough."

He added that last year heating the Houses became complicated because dorm renovations were incomplete, and an unexpectedly early cold streak hit Cambridge, but this year should be different.

Massachusetts's Sanitary Code requires that after September 15, landlords keep room temperature at least 68 degrees between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., and 64 degrees between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. "As a rule, we try to maintain those limits. But you have to realize that these buildings are huge and old and you can't get it that way everywhere," Lichten explained.

William F. Flanagan, operations foreman in Buildings and Grounds, said yesterday that to his knowledge no undergraduate residence is currently being heated. However, some of them have been heated at odd intervals, he added.

"We're here 24 hours a day," Flanagan said. "If someone complains, we put it one--but when the temperature swings the other way, we turn it off again."

Tribble said that there are no immediate plans to keep the heat on, adding. "It's my understanding we're due for another warm spell. The buildings won't be using heat. Right now it's 61.16 degrees, so the heat's not on."