Dear colleagues,

The end of the year is fast approaching. Many employees are taking holiday or working from home. In order to achieve the greatest possible energy and cost savings, the buildings of Freie Universität will be closed.

All employees of Freie Universität Berlin should be given the opportunity to either

• take holiday,
• take any overtime compensation days (flexitime days), or
• work remotely

during the period from 22nd December 2026 to 3rd January 2027 inclusive.

Please note the following information:

• During the closure period, the heating systems will be turned down centrally. Please support our joint efforts and turn the controls on the radiators in your room to setting 1 at the end of your last working day. Please organise this within your team and also remember lecture halls, seminar rooms, corridors and sanitary facilities.
  Please do not turn the heating down to 0 or *!
• The buildings will be heated up in good time before the end of the closure period, and the heating will be turned up by the caretakers and cleaning staff. (Information on how the heating works and the settings can be found here.)
• Please take a moment at the end of your last working day before your holiday or before the closure to check the following:
  • Are all heating controls set correctly?
  • Are all electrical devices switched off and disconnected from the mains? Please leave only Ricoh multifunction devices switched on.
  • Are the lights off?
  • Are the windows closed?
  Checklists for offices, kitchenettes and laboratories with further details can be found at the bottom of the page.
• Special note for laboratories: As every year, we would like to point out that it is essential that all hazardous substances are cleared away into the hazardous substance cabinets/storage areas and that the fume hoods are completely empty. We kindly ask you to organise this within your team in good time. For further information, please contact your departmental administration or the Unit for Sustainability and Energy Management.

We wish you a happy and relaxing holiday and a good start to the New Year!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us by telephone at 57551 or via schliesszeit@nachhaltigkeit.fu-berlin.de.

Your team at the Unit for Sustainability and Energy Management