Benefits of a Mechanical Design

The building industry must follow many requirements and laws. There are local and state building codes, there is the ICBO, there are regulations for use and development of the land. All are designed to protect the consumer from faulty products as well as to set high industry standards.

Buildings must be structurally engineered following the rules of physics and geometry. All physical requirements concerning health and safety of the occupants as well as the quality of the product must be followed to the letter, if litigation is to be avoided. This includes the creation and the implementation of the Title 24 report. Every building must have it. Permits will not be issued without it.

Title 24 energy code governs what energy efficiency measures are installed in a new home. The design and installation of a building's space conditioning system have a significant impact on the building's energy consumption and comfort level. The best way to ensure you are getting a well designed and energy efficient home is to mandate all projects to have a mechanical design with a professional engineering stamp. Several building departments have started requiring mechanical designs to be included with the submittal set of plans for this very reason.

The mechanical design is a blueprint for the way the mechanical system will be installed. The design clearly shows duct and register sizes, the amount of air flow for each register and product specification including make and model number, efficiencies, btuh output and electrical load information and soffiting details. This will solve problems during design and provide a consistant specification for contractor bids. You can also review the final installation against the mechanical design for quality control.