Question-and-Answer Resource for the Building Energy Modeling Community
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Justin, As I understand it... If you are modeling to comply with ASHRAE 90.1, your Proposed and Baseline system models must each use the same design criteria. i.e., if the Proposed system has humidification capability, the Baseline must have it also. If the HVAC designer elected to ignore humidity (which is pretty common in the US Midwest), then you should not model it.
"Comfort" is a relative criteria and ASHRAE's definition is fairly US-centric. Temperature is a the main driver for comfort and humidity is a secondary (less strong) driver. I asked a colleague in India a while ago what was considered a "comfortable" office temperature in his country. He said that 30C (86F) was OK in some places. Apparently, we're all wimps in the US :)
