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TOP5MEPMISTAKESTOAVOID
Weveseenourshareofissuescomeuponprojectswhichcanbeavoidedwithsimplecoordination
duringtheearlydesignphases.
Herearethetop5issueswehaveseenonprojectsandhowtoavoidthem:

1)Notusingthelatestbackgrounds
Thisisprobablythemostcommondesignmistakethathappensonconstructionprojects.Oftentimes
thearchitectisworkingontheirbackgroundsuptothelasthourthatthejobgoesout.Theengineers
usuallyarethensubmittingasetthatdoesnothavethelatestarchitecturalbackgrounds
incorporated.Thebestwaytoavoidthismistakeistohavethearchitectfreezetheirbackgrounds1
weekpriortotheprojectbeingsubmittedforbid.Ifforsomereasonthearchitecthadtomake
changesduringthatweek,theFINALbackgroundcanbesubmittedtoengineerimmediatelyandthen
anaddendumcanbepreparedsothebiddershaveacoordinatedsetofarchitecturaland
engineeringplanspriortosubmittingtheirfinalnumber.

2)NotUnderstandingHoursofOperation
Whendesigningaspaceoneofthefirstquestionstheengineershouldbeaskingiswhetherornot
thespacewillneedtofunctionafterhours.Thenthebuildingsystemandleasemustbeinvestigated
toseeifthebaseinfrastructurecanprovidecoolingandheatingduringthesetimes.Forinstance,ifa
tenanthastoworkonSaturdaysandthebuildingHVACsystemdoesnotoperateonweekends,a
supplementalsystemisneeded.Ifthisisomittedfromthedesign,thetenantwillincurgreatcoststo
providethisaftertheconstructioniscomplete.

3)NotCoordinatingWorkinFloorBelow
Anotherimportantduediligenceitemduringtheearlydesignstagesistofindoutifthebuildingwill
allowworkinthefloorbelow.Thisiscriticalforelectricalconnectionstoremote/islandfurniture
andalsofornewplumbingfixtureswhosedrainscomeoutintotheceilingofthespacebelow.Ifthe
buildingdoesnotallowforthisworkorifitphysicallyisnotpossibleduetoobstructionsintheceiling
below,thedesignteammusttakeproperstepstoproviderequiredservices,suchastrenching
electricalconnectionsorpumpingtheplumbingdrains.

4)UndersizedAirConditioningSystems
Adreadedoccuranceonanyprojectiswhentheuseroccupiesthespaceandfindsouttheycannot
keepitcool.Therearemanyfactorsthatcanleadtothishappening,butthemostcommononeis

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whentheoccupancyofspace(#ofpeople)differsfromwhatwasdesigned.Theengineermay
designaconferenceroomACunitfor10peoplebuttheuserisactuallyputting20peopleintothe
space.Thiscanbeavoidedwithasimplediagramprovidedbytheengineerwhichshowstothe
Ownertheheadcountstheyaredesigningforineachroom.TheOwnerwouldthensignoffonthis
diagramastheirintendeduse.

5)NotComplyingwithEnergyCodeforEconomizers
2014EnergyCodechangedalotofeconomizerexemptions.WecannolongeruseAshrae90.12007
whichallowedanysysteminNYCclimatezonetobeexemptfromeconomizers.Now,tobeexempt,
thedesignteammustusetheexemptionssetforthinthecode.Themostcommonexemptionisto
increasethecoolingefficiencyoftheequipmentby42%ormoreabovethecodeminimum
efficiencies.ThiscanbedoneeasilywithcreativeHVACdesignandutilizationofVRFtechnology(i.e.
minisplit).
Economizercodecomplainceisacriticalstepofthedesignphasesinceomittinganeconomizerand
havingtoinstallonelatercanhavedisastrousramificationssincetheyrequirecompletelydifferent
HVACinfranstructure.
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