Domain 6
Thermal Comfort
Surface temperatures, distribution, and humidity control rather than thermostat setpoint alone.
What this domain covers
Thermal Comfort treats comfort as more than a number on a thermostat. It covers room-by-room heating and cooling loads and the airflow that serves each room; the equipment's ability to remove moisture when it is running gently rather than flat out; dedicated dehumidification and the humidity range it is required to hold across the year; the two criteria glazing is selected against; and the ability to control sleeping areas separately from the rest of the house.
The Standard does not set a thermostat setpoint. It constrains the range the specialist designs inside, and requires that the specialist demonstrate the equipment can hold it.
Why it matters in Central Texas
In a hot-humid climate the moisture load, not the heat load, is the harder problem — and it persists through mild, humid shoulder seasons when the cooling system barely runs. Equipment sized only for peak heat satisfies the thermostat and leaves the moisture behind, which is why moisture removal at part load is a selection criterion here rather than an afterthought.
Sun is the other half. A glazed surface warmed by a Central Texas afternoon raises the radiant temperature of everything near it independently of the air temperature, and equipment cannot correct a surface it does not touch. So glass is chosen against how it behaves as a surface, not only against how it rates as a product.
How depth is chosen
All three rungs exist here, and the ladder does one thing: it narrows the humidity range the house is held within across the design year. Everything else in the domain — the room-by-room design, the measured airflow, the dedicated dehumidification, the glazing criteria, separate control of sleeping areas — sits on the floor and is in every Sage Co. house.
Enhanced and Comprehensive each tighten the band, and holding a tighter band through an Austin summer generally depends on the dedicated dehumidification the floor already requires. Any addition of humidity to hold a lower bound is reviewed under the Moisture & Mold veto before it is specified.
What we document
The Record holds the room-by-room design calculations and the equipment's moisture-removal capability at part load; design airflow against measured airflow for each room; the humidity band the specialist set and the analysis showing the equipment holds it; the glazing figures the envelope designer set and the surface temperatures measured under cooling; and the zoning and control layout.
An independent verifier reviews the design documents and takes the measurements at commissioning and completion.
Findings in this domain are recorded in the Sage Co. Record. Sage Co. may mark a requirement specified and installed. Only an independent third party can mark it verified, and verification is elected domain by domain — how verification works.
Reviewed by Jake Rangel, September 19, 2026
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