Skip to main content
Facilities Management
UC Davis Logo
UC Davis Logo

Facilities Management

  • Contact Customer Experience
  • Staff Directory
  • Org Charts
  • Read Our Latest News
  • Join a Customer Tour
  • Contact Info & Hours of Operation

Main navigation (extended config)

  • Request a Service
    • Submit a Service Request
    • Building Services A-Z
    • Cleaning Services
    • Office Refresh Program
    • Service Rates
  • Facilities Updates
    • Departmental Updates
    • Changes to Office and Cubicle Custodial Services
    • Deferred Maintenance
    • Green Buildings
    • Lead Times
    • Roof Repairs
    • Shutdown Notifications
    • Water Quality
  • Departments
    • Arboretum and Public Garden
    • Asset Management
    • Building Maintenance Services
    • Custodial & Waste Management
      • Pack It In, Pack It Out: Changes to Office and Cubicle Services
    • Engineering
    • Landscape Architecture
    • Support Services
    • Utilities Operations
  • News
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Engineering
  3. Comfort 101
  4. Classroom Heating & Cooling
students in an classroom

What affects comfort in classrooms?

Every classroom and lecture hall on the UC Davis campus is different. The following items all have an impact on an individual's comfort level in a classroom.

  • The size of the room and the slope of the floor
  • The size of the room can affect how air moves in the room, causing stuffiness or drafts. The distance between the floor and the ceiling is one factor in how stratified the air is in a room, e.g., warmer air towards the ceiling and cooler air near the floor. The steeper the slope in a lecture hall, the more likely it is that it will be warm at the top of the room and cooler towards the blackboards or "front" of the room.
    a classroom with little slope in the floor
    Lecture Halls with a flat slope
    are more likely to have evenly distributed temperatures.
    a classroom with a steep slope in the floor
    Lecture Halls with a steep slope
    may have temperature variances throughout the room.
  • The location of the vents in the room
  • Both the type and location of the vents in a room affect airflow and in turn your comfort. Some lecture halls like Sci Lec 123 have 189 vents on the floor. While the Social Sciences lecture hall has 7 vents on the ceiling supplying air to the room.
    vents distributing air in 4 directions
    4-direction grilles disperse air more evenly throughout the room.
    vents distributing air in 4 directions
    1-direction registers disperse air in one direction into the room and may cause drafts.
  • The number of people in the room
  • The number of people and the size of the room affects how warm or cool it can feel in the space. More people in a smaller room can feel stuffy, but fewer people in the same room can feel comfortable.
    an almost empty classroom
    Fewer people in a large space may feel cooler, or if you run warm, comfortable.
    a full classroom
    More people in a large space may feel warm, or if you run cool, comfortable.
  • The age of the building and the heating/cooling system
  • The UC Davis campus is over 100 years old, and while some buildings are brand new others are steeped with history (and older HVAC systems). A newer HVAC system typically means we're able to see and control more aspects of thermal comfort.
    an older mechanical room
    Older mechanical rooms have less automation and controls.
    a newer mechanical room
    Newer mechanical rooms enable more fine tuned heating and cooling.
  • The presence of windows and natural light
  • The amount of natural light entering a space can affect your thermal comfort through heat gain, i.e., the light coming into the room actually heats the space. Or if the light strikes the surface of your skin, you may feel the warmth.
    a classroom with large windows
    Windows affect the amount of light and heat transfer.
    Sitting next to a window where light is hitting you may get warm.
    classroom in olson hall
    While most lecture halls have less natural lighting, it's common for smaller classrooms to have widows for natural lighting.

Classroom Comfort Tips

I'm Hot therMOOstat icon

I'm Hot

  1. Avoid sitting in direct sunlight if you run warm. If you sit next to a window in direct sunlight you will start to feel warm. 
  2. Sit in the front of the lecture hall if you run warm. Because heat rises, the front of sloped lecture halls are typically cooler. 
  3. Sit under or near a vent if you run hot or just ran to class. Air enters a room through the vents and simple air movement can feel cooling.
I'm Cold therMOOstat icon

I'm Cold

  1. Avoid the vents if you run cold. Air enters a room through the vents and simple air movement can feel cooling. 
  2. Sit in direct sunlight if you run cold. Direct sunlight will become warming as time passes. 
  3. Sit in the back of the lecture hall if you run cold. Because heat rises, the back of sloped lecture halls are typically warmer. 

Topics In this Section

Factors Affecting Comfort

Classroom Comfort Tips

Lecture Hall & Classroom Inventory

Related Articles

Rooftop HVAC Equipment

HVAC Systems

Inside an Air Handler

Ventilation

A thermostat in King Hall

Thermostats & Setpoints

two colleagues working together at a computer

Office Heating & Cooling

students in a chemistry laboratory

Laboratory Heating & Cooling

Lecture Hall & Classroom Inventory

Request a Service

Submit a Work Order online

Contact the Customer Experience Center
530-752-1655  |  facilities@ucdavis.edu 

Review Our Services
Building Maintenance Services
Custodial Services
Service Rates

About Us

Our Leadership

Staff Directory

Org Charts

Open Staff Positions

Student Internships

Our Annual Reports

Customer Engagement

Watch Video Tours of Our Facilities

Join a Customer Tour

Join a Safety Lighting Walk

Read Our Latest News Articles

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Go on an Energy Adventure

UC Davis footer logo

University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 | 530-752-1011

  • Privacy & Accessibility
  • Principles of Community
  • University of California
  • Sitemap
  • Last update: August 22, 2024

Copyright © The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. All rights reserved.

This site is officially grown in SiteFarm.