Thermal Comfort
Thermal Comfort is the combined effect of air temperature, the temperature of the surfaces around you, humidity, air movement, clothing, and activity. It matters in Central Texas because latent load dominates for much of the year: a house can hold the setpoint and still feel clammy if humidity is not controlled, and a west-facing room with a hot glazing surface will feel warm at the same air temperature as a comfortable one. Designing for comfort means designing the surfaces and the humidity, not just the equipment capacity.
What actually drives comfort
- [ESTABLISHED]Established
Mean radiant temperature is a major determinant of perceived comfort, which is why envelope and glazing performance are comfort measures, not only energy measures.
- [ESTABLISHED]Established
Indoor relative humidity affects perceived warmth and the moisture behavior of the assembly, so cooling systems here are selected for latent capacity and not sized on peak sensible load alone.
- [ESTABLISHED]Established
Comfort standards describe conditions acceptable to a majority of occupants, not to every occupant; individual control matters.
Distribution
Room-by-room load calculation and verified airflow are how we avoid the hot back bedroom, and the commissioning readings go into The Sage Co. Record.
Dehumidification
Where the cooling equipment cannot hold humidity during mild, humid shoulder seasons, dedicated dehumidification is specified rather than lowering the setpoint.
Sources
Primary references for this page. Where a statement is graded Emerging, the source supports the question being open, not a conclusion.
- 1. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 — Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy — ASHRAE
- 2. Center for the Built Environment — thermal comfort research — University of California, Berkeley
- 3. Building America program resources — U.S. Department of Energy
Related reading
Sources we read and work from under this domain. Pointers to the document, not reports of a finding.
- Building scienceThe Perfect HVACJoseph Lstiburek · Building Science Corporation
- Building scienceResidential Dehumidification Systems Research for Hot-Humid ClimatesArmin Rudd; Kohta Ueno; Joseph Lstiburek, 2005 · Building Science Corporation
- GuidanceGuides and Case Studies for Hot-Humid ClimatesU.S. Department of Energy · U.S. Department of Energy
- StandardANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 — Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human OccupancyASHRAE, 2023 · ASHRAE
- StandardPhius StandardsPhius · Phius
- StandardHot and Humid and PhiusKatrin Klingenberg · Phius
Last reviewed August 29, 2026. Reviewed and maintained by Sage Co.
Next: Acoustics