Buildings are simply the steel, concrete, and bricks along with their related material piled over one another. To make them worth living, particular arrangements are made. These arrangements are simply called MEP systems.
These systems create favorable conditions in the indoor environment to make the building livable for the inhabitants. These conditions revolve around the air, moisture, heat, electricity, water, other liquids, and other mechanical components in the building.
What Lies Before These Arrangements?
Buildings are mainly composed of three components; structural, architectural, and lastly MEP systems. The structural part of the building is the first one to be constructed. Over the structural frame, architectural components are built. While two of them i.e., wall and roof are built afterward. This is called the gray structure. As per the critical path method, MEP systems come up next.
While it is possible that the building is completed without the installation of these systems. That gives rise to the actual question.
Buildings Without MEP Systems
If a building is completed without any MEP system, it is just walls, floors, and roofs. Everything includes interiors, exteriors, doors, windows, and even furniture is placed in that building. This building is still able to provide basic shelter and protection. But a number of other vital functions are absent from the place such as the inhabitants cannot use any electrical appliance.
Along with that, come various other limitations. These limitations include unbearable temperature, unfavorable air quality, unwanted penetration of moisture, and others. In other words, life becomes unlivable.
Hence proper arrangements are needed. To do so, the required systems are installed. To facilitate it MEP drafting is of great help.
The Required Systems
To make a building fully working, certain mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. These systems include items from all three of them and provide the required conditions in the indoor environment. These systems vary in their function and constituting items.
They are also classified as per the scope and type of the building. Residential projects have different types of systems, commercial projects have their own and similarly, and industrial projects have their systems.
Some of the common of these systems include:
- Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning System
- Geothermal System
- Water Purification System
- Hybrid Heating System
- Automation System
- Home Security System
- Entertainment System
- Network & Communications System
- Emergency and Alarm System
- Low Voltage Distribution System
- Power Plant Piping System
- Water Drainage System
And a number of other systems. These all are made with different mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.
How Do These Systems Contribute?
These systems provide some fundamental benefits to the life inside and make it livable. Let us have a look at some of the common ones.
Water supply system. Water is life. If it is available for use, life exists. If it ceases to exist or is not available at some specific place, the life in particular to that place losses substantially. This could also even be death. To make sure that life is at ease and can benefit from its availability, a water supply system is needed.
Heating system. This comes as the boiler heating system, furnace heating system, heat pump heating system, ductless heating system, hybrid heating system, and other types. This system mainly benefits industrial projects while it also plays it important role in residential and commercial projects. Its main function is to either suck heat out or blow heat into the building.
Emergency and alarm system. This plays its role in the security concern in all sorts of buildings. Both the nonliving valuables and living beings inside need to be kept safe. Although locks are used for that purpose, yet there lie the chances of breaking in. This system is capable of both alarming the inhabitants and signaling the police on their own.
Mechanical ventilation system. Ventilation is a huge concern for any building. Air gets congested and as a result lead to problems like temporary breathing problem, internal poisoning, asthma, and even death. Thus, to regulate and have the desired results, this system is used. This way, the air quality is maintained.
These a multitude of other MEP systems contribute to providing to make the indoor environment livable. MEP modeling services are a game changer information to install them.
Conclusion
MEP systems are a fundamental requirement of every building. Without them, the building is basically a waste. It has problems to the point where life inside it becomes unbearable. Hence these systems are made with different mechanical, electrical, and plumbing items. With that done, the indoor environment is worth living in.