Seven climate-controlled rooms will be renovated to accommodate the Office of Registration and Records’ home computers at a cost of $45,000.

NIU appropriated $45,000 for the renovation project that includes the removal of an old dance floor, installation of a security system, electrical power hookup for the equipment, a dropped ceiling and an air-handling system, said Conrad Miller, NIU Physical Plant Project manager.

The demand on the registration and records office is so “awesome” that a temperature-controlled environment is needed to prevent heat buildup that could damage the computers, Miller said.

“When many computers are placed in a room without climate control, the heat could build up and harm the system,” he said.

Richard Durfee, Registration and Records director, said the renovation will create a more productive environment in his office and keep the equipment in operation.

Miller said the NIU Physical Plant hopes to complete the 3,300-square-foot renovation by July 1. “The completion date depends on how quickly the air-handling equipment can be shipped to us,” he said.

Air-handling systems move air and create a controlled environment suitable for computers. “It’s more than an air-conditioning system. It moves the air to prevent heat buildup which harms computers,” Miller said.

Walter Czerniak, Computer Systems and Operations Center director, said most computers will not last as long when the internal electronics run at high temperatures. “In general, too much heat is bad.”

Miller said the physical plant also will remove the old Altgeld Hall dance floor. “This is the project’s most labor-intensive job.”

In addition, the office needs a dropped ceiling to hide the computer wires, Miller said. “Since we can’t tunnel wires under the floor, we have to hook up the electrical power from overhead.”

Since the computer and air-handling system needs increased electrical power, new lines will be installed for uninterrupted electrical service, he said.

“These computers are very sensitive to interruptions in power. Like digital clocks, several seconds without electricity could cause the computer system to lose all its information,” Miller said.

These computers need “pure” uninterrupted electricity to function properly, he said.