Mechanical, Ventilation and Refrigeration Coordination

What the scope can include

Select the work and handoff your project needs. The agreement identifies the included deliverables and responsibilities.

• HVAC design and replacement

  Coordinate use, loads, equipment selections, distribution, controls and installation locations. Replacing equipment may require review of support, electrical supply, access and the existing distribution system.

• Exhaust and specialized air

  Bring kitchen exhaust, make-up air, ventilation, pressure relationships and specialized process systems into coordinated drawings. Record discharge locations and fire, roof, structural and neighboring-use interfaces.

• Refrigeration, cooling and verification

  Coordinate refrigeration and process-cooling requirements, condensate and drainage interfaces, testing, balancing and commissioning scope. Qualified specialists establish technical criteria and evaluate performance.

Prepare for the assignment

You can start with incomplete records. Tell us what is available and what still needs to be established.

• Information to bring

  Floor plans and use, equipment schedules and manufacturer data, existing mechanical records, occupancy/phasing constraints and known ventilation or comfort problems.

• The agreed handoff

  Coordinated mechanical design inputs and drawing interfaces, agreed equipment documentation and a defined testing or closeout record when included.

Decisions, fees and timing

Scope and dependencies determine the proposal. No universal price or approval date is assumed.

1. Confirm the basis and responsibility

   Review the available records, intended endpoint and authority to use the information. Assign missing inputs, technical decisions and the parties who can authorize changes.

2. Coordinate and review the work

   Prepare the included documents from agreed inputs, resolve interfaces with responsible specialists and track revisions. Record external decisions and conditions separately from work prepared for review.

3. Account for project-specific dependencies

   Equipment changes, existing-system condition, specialist calculations, occupied-site access and the need to coordinate exhaust, power and structural work.

4. Deliver the defined milestone

   Provide the controlling documents and remaining-action record. Identify what is accepted, what still requires a decision and what belongs to a separately contracted next stage.

HVAC loads, equipment and duct drawings

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) work starts with the actual rooms, building envelope, use and existing systems. The agreed scope identifies calculations, equipment decisions and drawings, with the responsible mechanical professional retaining technical design responsibility.

• Load calculations and system selection

  An HVAC load calculation estimates the heating and cooling needed for the documented conditions. Equipment selection then compares those loads with manufacturer performance. ACCA Manual J addresses residential loads; Manual S addresses residential equipment selection. Commercial cooling loads need an appropriate commercial method. Supply actual occupancy, equipment, schedules, outside-air and climate inputs. Also provide architectural backgrounds, envelope data and operating needs. The designer uses this information to explain assumptions and select the system, rather than sizing it from floor area alone.

• Duct design, zoning and schedules

  Duct design turns required airflows into supply and return routes, terminals and distribution details; ACCA Manual D is a residential duct-design method. Coordinate pressure losses, ceiling space, room needs and outside-air delivery with the chosen equipment. HVAC zoning identifies independently controlled areas and schedules. Equipment schedules should keep identifiers, capacities, services, weights and controls consistent with the plans and manufacturer data. Deliverables can include load reports, layouts, schedules and details within the agreed scope.

• Retained systems and equipment changes

  Identify what remains and what is replaced, with field verification where records are incomplete. A rooftop unit replacement can change curb loads, airflow, power, gas, condensate and controls. Split systems and heat pumps require indoor/outdoor locations, routes and service space; variable-refrigerant systems also need their qualified refrigerant, piping and control assessment. Coordinate supports, penetrations, installation/replacement access and electrical or plumbing changes before treating a product substitution as equivalent.

Ventilation and specialized exhaust scopes

The operating activity, pollutants, equipment and discharge location determine the ventilation assignment. Collect room uses, products, manufacturer data, roof/site information and neighboring uses; the relevant specialist establishes the design criteria. Ventilation documents do not by themselves authorize the business or operating use.

• Ordinary outside air and restroom exhaust

  Outside-air ventilation brings the required outdoor air to occupied spaces using the applicable design method; restroom exhaust removes air from the designated rooms. Coordinate intakes, discharge, duct paths, replacement air, controls and pressure relationships. Existing drawings, occupancy and equipment information support ventilation calculations and layouts; a cooling unit’s capacity alone does not establish adequate ventilation.

• Kitchen hoods and makeup air

  Type I hood systems address cooking effluent containing grease or smoke; Type II hoods address applicable heat or steam without that grease/smoke duty. Selection depends on the actual appliances, cooking process, listing and authority review. Kitchen exhaust plans coordinate hood, duct, discharge, access for cleaning, makeup air, controls, structural supports and suppression interfaces. Supply the menu and equipment schedule; grease waste and grease-interceptor coordination belong to the plumbing scope and must agree with the same kitchen layout.

• Laundry and dryer exhaust

  Provide dryer types, quantities, manufacturer routing limits, operating schedules and the existing exhaust path. Coordinate lint management, duct routing, makeup air, discharge and maintenance access with the mechanical specialist and building owner. The output can identify equipment connections and routes, with any retained shared system assessed before additional machines are connected.

• Salons and smoking spaces

  Nail-salon ventilation starts with stations, products and source-capture equipment; general comfort cooling does not describe that process exhaust. Smoking-lounge exhaust needs the actual smoking activity, permitted-use determination, adjacent occupants and pressure/discharge interfaces defined. Provide product and layout information for qualified analysis, and coordinate electrical connections and any required separation with the wider design team.

• Laboratories and healthcare isolation

  Laboratory exhaust depends on actual chemicals, processes, hoods and containment objectives, with compatible materials, discharge and makeup air established by qualified specialists. Healthcare isolation ventilation requires the clinical team’s room-use and infection-control criteria, pressure relationships, filtration, monitoring and acceptance basis. These scopes are not interchangeable. Supply the equipment and operating program so the responsible laboratory or healthcare designers can prepare the specific calculations, sequences and verification requirements.

• Vehicles, welding and dust collection

  Vehicle exhaust extraction starts with vehicle types, service positions and operating periods. Welding fume extraction needs the actual process, materials and capture locations. Dust collection needs machinery, dust characteristics and a specialist combustible-dust assessment where applicable. Coordinate capture, ducts, collection equipment, discharge, replacement air, controls and fire interfaces with qualified process and exposure specialists rather than selecting one generic exhaust fan for every use.

• Paint booths, chemicals and batteries

  Paint-booth ventilation connects the listed equipment, coatings, exhaust/makeup air, electrical and suppression design. Chemical-storage ventilation depends on the actual inventory, quantities and hazard assessment. Battery-room ventilation and thermal management depend on battery technology, equipment and the responsible electrical/fire review. Provide manufacturer and material data so the appropriate specialists define compatible systems, controls and supporting documents; these three applications require different design bases.

• Indoor pools and smoke-control interfaces

  Indoor-pool dehumidification addresses evaporation, air distribution, pressure, corrosion, condensate and the enclosure; supply water-area, temperature, use and equipment information. Smoke control is a separate qualified fire/mechanical strategy with operating sequences, power, controls and acceptance tests. Coordinate the required documentation with aquatic/enclosure or fire specialists respectively, keeping comfort-conditioning work distinct from either performance objective.

Piping, refrigeration, controls and verification

Mechanical design documents describe an intended system. Equipment selection, specialist analysis, installation, testing and commissioning each need a defined scope and responsible party; none is automatically included because another is requested.

• Hydronic distribution, boilers and chillers

  Hydronic systems circulate water or an agreed fluid for heating or cooling. Gather temperatures, equipment loads, water/fluid information and existing pipe records for the responsible designer to coordinate piping, pumps, valves, insulation, supports and balancing. Boiler coordination adds fuel, venting, combustion air and applicable equipment review; chiller coordination adds heat rejection, power, structure and maintenance access. Deliverables can include piping diagrams, layouts, schedules and control interfaces.

• Walk-in coolers, freezers and refrigeration

  For a walk-in cooler permit or walk-in freezer plans, provide enclosure dimensions, operating temperature, product/use loads, refrigeration data and manufacturer requirements. Coordinate heat rejection, refrigerant routes, power, condensate/drainage, access and structural or floor/enclosure interfaces with the qualified refrigeration team. A whole cold-storage facility also needs its building, loading, fire and operating scope established; a single equipment installation package does not describe all of it.

• Server/process cooling and condensate

  Server cooling starts with equipment heat loads, operating hours, airflow and continuity objectives; process cooling also needs the process specialist’s fluid quality, temperatures and heat-rejection basis. Coordinate power, pumps/piping where relevant, controls and monitoring. Condensate collection and discharge must connect to the architectural and plumbing scope, with routing and access documented instead of assuming an existing drain is suitable.

• Noise, vibration and building controls

  Supply equipment sound data, support information, nearby sensitive uses and owner operating criteria. Qualified acoustic/mechanical specialists coordinate noise and vibration measures with ducts, supports and structure. Building controls need agreed sensor/point information, alarms, interfaces and operating sequences that describe how equipment responds. Keep these sequences consistent across mechanical, electrical and fire documents and identify the controls provider’s implementation and verification duties.

• Testing, adjusting, balancing and commissioning

  Testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) documents field air or water performance against the specified design. Commissioning coordinates the agreed functional tests, sequences, deficiencies and acceptance records. Provide issued plans, approved equipment and controls/submittal information to the qualified providers. Track failed items, design-team responses and retesting in the closeout register; design coordination does not certify that installed systems have passed.

Before you begin

Common questions