How To Coordinate an MEP Plant Room
Plant rooms are a dedicated room used for Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing equipment such as; ventilation, electrical distribution, boilers, water pumps, storage tanks, and other building service equipment.
Plant rooms are often located in an isolated area of a building where human interferences are restricted and monitored. Sizes range and are proportional to the size and type of the facility.
Large buildings often require multiple rooms throughout the building, or may occupy entire floors. Whereas a small building or home may have one, multi-discipline space dedicated to plant.
Where to Locate a Plant Room?
Plant Rooms should be located way from where people congregate or pass through. They can be noisy and dangerous but are integral to a building’s performance and safety.
Mechanical Plant Rooms are typically located on basement and low-level areas and on the roofs.
Electrical Rooms may be dispersed throughout the buildings and are often found near the cores where vertical risers can distribute power and network easier.
Pump Rooms are usually found at the lowest levels of a building.
Fire Related Systems will have rooms at ground levels for quick access.
Typical Plant Room Components
Equipment & Associated Mounting Elements
Condensate pumps
Electrical Pumps
Safety Guards
Machine Base Pads
Vibration Isolators
Air Compressors
Control Panels
Refrigeration
Lift and Hoist Machinery
Boilers
Chillers
Heat Exchangers
Water Heater and Tanks
Water Pumps
Fire pumps
Batteries
Switch Gear
Generators
Accessories & Special Fittings
Isolating Valve
Pressure Gauge with Stopcock
Gate Valve
Balancing Valve
Air Vent
2-Way Control Valve
Drain Pan
Leak Detection Sensor
Strainer
Check Valve
Pipe Support
Flexible Connector
Concentric Reducer
Suction Diffuser
Pressure Gauge
Motorized Gate Valve
Plug Cock Valve
Drain Valve
Flow Meter
Thermometer
Plant Room Design Principles
Provide a 1000mm clearance from walls for placement of mechanical equipment within the plant room.
Pump to Pump distance should be approximately 1500mm.
Floors must contain floor drains and are to be sloped to floor drains.
Floor Drains should be located close to equipment prone to leakage or those requiring draining for maintenance.
Hose Bibs should be provided.
Access Paths should be designated and clear of obstructions to allow adequate maintenance space, delivery and storage of equipment.
Strive to achieve a 1000mm routing throughout the room where possible
Sufficient Maintenance Access space should be provided at all operable pumps, valves, emergency shut-off switches, access panels and anywhere a technician is expected to access.
Fire Extinguishers should be placed per the local fire safety regulations.
Provide sufficient Ventilation, heating or cooling dependant on the type and location of the plant room.
Doors, Windows, Louvers should be fire rated to local codes and security access for maintenance personnel.
Typical Pad Sizes:
Pumps - 1000x500x700mm
Chillers - 3800x1600x2700mm
Heat Exchangers - 2100x700x1900mm
Condensing Pumps - 1400x500mm
Prepare for the BIM Coordination of a Plant Room!
Ensure the BIM models of the Structure and Architecture are up-to-date and suitable for coordination with MEPF services.
Locate the service lead-ins and connection points to Major Plant and Equipment.
Identify potential conflicts, constraints, and concerns early. This step may prevent abortive work during modelling and coordination.
Identify the soffit heights of Slabs, Beams, Stairs, and Ramps.
Confirm if beam openings are an option or not.
Identify the Maintenance Access Requirements for Plant and Equipment. Are there any special considerations?
Identify the headroom clearance requirements. Typically between 2000mm to 2400mm are standard.
Define the Plant Replacement Strategy Routes and Storage areas.
Define minimal distance requirements if required for sensitive electronics or equipment.
Prioritize Coordination and “Follow the Money”
Coordinate the Major Plant, Equipment, and Primary Routes first. If these are not working, the Secondary and Tertiary piping and ducting will be a wasted effort.
Start by coordinating the largest ducts and pipes. They are often the upper most layer of services and take up the most space.
If there are gravity based piping networks for drainage, these will need to be coordinated early because they are limited by the slope requirements and cannot be pressurized or pumped.
Ensure Mechanical Plant are placed on plinths and each plinth is sized correctly. These will affect headroom and clearances. Typically the Structural Engineer or Architect will not model these and they can be easily forgotten.
Do not ignore wall mounted equipment and panels when establishing clearance paths.
Allow space for supports and hangers. Larger Pipes and Ducts require larger supports and they must be accounted for when coordinating. Often your LOD requirements may not require hangers, but for large pipe headers, the supports are much larger than normal and should be modelled!
When rearranging services for coordination, don’t forget to add back in the connections, bends, and inline equipment. Often, these components may be removed when changing a pipe or duct route.
System Coordination Order and Priority
Mechanical (HVAC Dry)
Typically first due to the large size of components.Mechanical (HVAC Wet)
Follows the HVAC Dry because of the interdependency of the systems.Plumbing (Gravity Driven Systems)
Pipes and Trays which require a slope to gravity drain should be given priority in routing.Plumbing and Drainage (Pressure Driven Systems)
Lower priority as the network can be routed with less restrictions. Keep bends to a minimum though!Process piping
Takes priority when critical to manufacturing process.Fire Protection
Flexible routing within the fire safety and architectural requirements of the project.Electrical
Most flexible routing, especially conduit.Control systems
Flexible routing but must limit bend radius for pneumatic tubes.Telephone/Data/Communications
Flexible routing but must limit bend radius for fiber optic cables.
At Integrated Design, we specialize in delivering practical BIM solutions for the design and construction industry.
We provide BIM Management, Modelling, and Coordination services to construct world-class assets.
