In an assembly area of 150 feet by 200 feet, using a factor of 15 square feet per person, what is the occupant load?

• A. 1,500
• B. 2,000
• C. 2,500
• D. 3,000

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that occupant load is how many people a space is designed to hold, calculated by dividing the area of the space by the square feet allocated per person.

For this assembly area, multiply the dimensions to get the total area: 150 feet times 200 feet equals 30,000 square feet. With the given factor of 15 square feet per person, you divide the area by that factor: 30,000 divided by 15 equals 2,000 people. This occupant load is used for capacity planning, egress sizing, and safety requirements.

If the per-person factor were larger, the calculated occupant load would be smaller; if the factor were smaller, the occupant load would be larger.