Controls & Operational Strategy7 / 13
Control Loops & Feedback
Temperature, humidity, pressure, and sequence control.
10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026
A thermostat is a control loop: it senses temperature, compares it to a setpoint, and adjusts output to maintain that setpoint. Understanding how control loops work, and how they can go wrong, is key to running HVAC efficiently.
In this lesson
- 01Feedback control: the basic loop
- 02Types of control
- 03Multi-loop hierarchical control
- 04Sensor issues
- 05Dead band (avoid hunting)
- 06Common control failures
- 07Sources and further reading