Human Thermal Adaptation in University Classrooms and Dormitories in Chinese Severe Cold Area in Winter

The heating period is very long in Harbin in China. This paper describes a field study in university classrooms and dormitories in heating period in Harbin. The survey shows that the neutral temperature in classrooms at 3 periods was 17.7̊C, 19.3̊C and 19.4̊C, and in dormitories the neutral thermal temperatures were 20.9̊C, 21.8̊C and 21.2̊C, respectively. The neutral temperatures were on the rising trend, which reflected human thermal adaptation to the heating environment. The different neutral temperatures in classrooms and dormitories were mainly caused by 2 aspects: Classrooms were warmer than dormitories, so more students could not accept classroom environment psychologically; Students have different regulative methods to the indoor environment. Clothing insulation in classrooms was bigger than in dormitories. Because of above reasons, students felt more comfortable in dormitories than in classrooms.