Motors are found everywhere in buildings, and engineers are responsible for making sure they are sized correctly and have adequate source energy to make them work. The heart of almost every HVAC, plumbing and fire protection system is the source equipment.
One of the best things about hydronic heating systems is that it’s easy to integrate some method of domestic water heating. This combination has been used for decades in systems where a boiler was the sole heat source. It’s also possible when a heat pump serves as the heat source.
I am often asked, “How do you remove the stranglehold that the union has on the Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform Mechanical Code?” My answer is always the same — you outvote them at the Annual Conference at the end of the code change cycle.
As I write this month’s column, I’m fresh off the plane from the ASPE 2022 Convention & Expo in Indianapolis. Let me just say, some of the engineers walking around with ribbons down to their knees — ahem Julius Ballanco — made my two little “Press” and “First-Timer” ribbons feel a little inadequate!
I was listening to James Trane the other day. He was speaking from Chicago in 1902, telling me that his system of steam heating using small pots of mercury was the best way to go.
The construction industry is always evolving, whether it be the technology we use to design and model the buildings and systems we install or even the way we execute the work. The mechanical and electrical system installations today are often more complex, and the more you can plan and prepare for your project installations, the likelihood of success is exponential.
Recently, the question was asked on ASPE’s Open Forum “Foundation drain pipe — plumbing responsible? Or only between civil and structural?” As originally posted, the designer did not have a Geotech report. But the structural consultant did show the piping around the top of the elevator footing and the perimeter footing for the foundation in their details.
“Ripping off the Band-Aid” is what people do when they want to make discomfort as short-lived as possible. Similar to “putting something to bed” but not quite as drastic as “this is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you,” ripping off a Band-Aid does have a hint of compassion as it implies that the person doing the ripping may have placed the bandage or that they will be there to continue the healing process once the hair ripping adhesive has been removed.
Ask a professional engineer about the energy used by the heating systems they design. Their response is almost guaranteed to apply to the “fuel” energy (e.g., natural, gas, propane, oil, pellets, etc.) used by the system’s heat source(s).