Determine Existing Classroom Occupant Load?

3/8/2019

Can I determine a room capacity for a classroom or lab by just walking in and measuring the room's square footage and using a load factor?

Some of our classrooms have so many desks it looks like a cattle car going to slaughter. I'd like to be able to go room to room and say, "This is the maximum allowable seats...". Appreciate any simple tips for a simple guy. Thanks.

Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Submit a Question | Subscribe

2 Comments

Chris L.

3/8/2019 10:55:08 am

Posting for the first time.

You can look up when the building was built and then go to the relevant building code and pull out the Occupant Load table. For example, here in California, the max occupant load for a classroom in the current version of building code is 20 net sf/occupant per Table 1004.1.2. Hope this helps.

Ron Pierce

3/8/2019 04:00:44 pm

It certainly doesn't make it any easier reading conflicting posts that suggest university classrooms are considered "office" classification (100 LF!). I suppose the intent of the K-12 designation for "Educational" space is assuming younger, less-agile occupants. But can we equally apply that same logic to the older occupants of a college classroom? I'd think the LF would be less for adults (versus children) in the same environment...

Free Signup

Subscribe and learn something new each day:

Community

Thank You to Our Top November Contributors!

1. Mike
2. Cliff
3. Randy
4. Franck
5. NK

6. Matthew
7. On the Clock
8. Paul P.
9. Jesse C.
10. Doug

Your Post

The Toolkit

Sprinkler Designer or Engineer?

Get all of our tools, including the Sprinkler Database, Friction Loss Calculator, Fire Pump Analyzer and more:

FREE 30-DAY TRIAL

GET THE TOOLKIT

Filters

Exam Prep

2019 PE Prep Guide
(Available Now!)

PE Prep Series
(Available Now!)

Current Leaderboard
(Click to enlarge)

PE Problems

Visit July-October for daily Fire Protection PE Exam sample questions.

Solutions are posted the day after posting.

Comment with your solutions, questions or clarifications.

Please note that questions posted are unofficial and in accordance with NCEES rules are intended to be similar to actual exam questions, not actual exam questions themselves.

RSS Feed

Home - About - Blog - Contact - Exam Prep - Store

Copyright © 2019 MeyerFire, LLC
The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author shown and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a commission for orders placed elsewhere.