HVAC Fundamentals1 / 13
Comfort Criteria & Psychrometrics
Temperature, humidity, air movement, and the comfort envelope.
10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026
HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, systems that control temperature, humidity, and air quality in buildings. Before we can understand how to run them efficiently, we need to understand what "comfort" actually is and why it's not just about temperature.
In this lesson
- 01The comfort envelope
- 02Psychrometrics: the science of moist air
- 03Sensible vs latent loads
- 04Operative temperature and mean radiant temperature
- 05HVAC and the building envelope
- 06Air quality (a brief note)
- 07Next steps
- 08Sources and further reading