Classroom temprature in the summer

Does anybody else out there think that a lot of schools (like offices, malls, etc.) in HK set their indoor temprature way too low in the summer? Given that the kids are running in and out, the drastic change between outdoor and indoor temprature is just not good for their health I think. They get sweaty from outdoor activities and then immediately sit under blasting aircons, which can easily make them sick.


When our family is out during the summer, I always bring long sleeve shirts for everyone and put those on when we go indoor where the aircon is set too low. There is no way I can ask the teachers to help my toddler five times a day on this, though.


Or are we just not strong enough to adapt to this difference in outdoor and indoor tempratures? I just think it ridiculous that, for example, everybody is wearing a jacket in my office when it's 30 degrees outside, but at least we adults know when to put on more clothes so that we don't get sick.

cara you are right about the difference potentially caused by the number of children. I've been to my son's classroom, and I'll have to say it's really really cold, even with the 20+ children inside. I think they set the temp around 15 degree, which will presumably cause a normal person to feel cold with your normal summer wear. That's why I was asking the question here.


I totally agree that we should not put on more clothes than necessary. Point is in the summer we should just be able to stay comfortable with the same set of clothes indoor or outdoor. However, HK is the only place where I had to prepare an additional long-sleeve for going indoor, which as you can easily observe is so common a practice. Everybody in my office keeps a jacket there to put on when they come in. In my old office it's even worse; people often turns on heat fans to keep themselves warm, in the summer!


It's not just unhealthy, it's also environmentally unfriendly. I remember some environmentalist group advocated a few years ago that the aircons be set at a more reasonable temprature (25?) and the government agreed to the program. But didn't really see any change in practice.

I don't disagree that 25 is prob a bit high for classrooms instead of offices. But 15 seems too low. What I observed in my son's classroom was that the teachers themselves were wearing cardigans, while the kids mostly in Tshirs as the parents don't want to overdress them given that they have outdoor time everyday. And some kids were sneezing with running nose. What I was trying to get is why don't then set the classroom temperature at a degree that most people feel comfortable in normal summer wear, so that the kids won't feel cold in Tshirts and teachers don't need to wear cardigan?


Temperature control might be tricky. However, there's something unique here in HK, not just the schools. As said before, in HK when we are out in the summer I always bring a longsleeve for each of us in case we run into some really cold indoor place, but I never have to do it anywhere else where indoor temperature is set more reasonably.

I am not sure of classrooms but do agree that most offices and malls are too chilly for comfort. A long time ago a temperature of 25degrees was recommended but its not being enforced. Definitely need 25degrees if you are indoors for a long period and not doing any strenous activity. The aircons should be set at 25 which will automatically adjust if there are few people or more. We have to learn not to crank up the aircon as soon as we get indoors from the outside heat, but give our bodies some time to cool down.

"The aircons should be set at 25 which will automatically adjust if there are few people or more. "


In theory, sure. Unfortunately most aircon thermostats are not good enough to adapt quickly enough, or even at all.