Plant room

A plant room, (sometimes referred to as a mechanical room or boiler room), is a dedicated space containing the equipment required to provide or supply building services such as; ventilation, electrical distribution, water and so on.

The size of a plant room is generally proportional to the size and type of building. Large buildings may have several plant rooms, or spaces that occupy one or more storeys and some plant rooms may have specific functions, such as; battery rooms, transformer rooms boiler rooms and so on.

Depending on the size of the building and the nature and complexity of the building services required, plant rooms may contain (amongst other things):

• Air handling units.
• Boilers and thermostats.
• Chillers and refrigeration units.
• Heat exchangers.
• Water heaters and tanks.
• Water pumps and pipework.
• Gas pipework.
• Sprinkler distribution piping and pumps.
• Electrical equipment and control panels
• Back-up electrical generators and compressors.
• Switch gear.
• Batteries.
• ITC systems.
• Machinery for lifts.
• Humidifiers.
• Ducts and filters.
• Other heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment.
• Specialist equipment for swimming pools, laboratories, factories and so on.

Plant room equipment may be linked to a Building Automation and Control System (BACS).

When designing a plant room, the following points should be considered:

• The ease of access for the maintenance and/or replacement of equipment when locating a plant room.
• The ability to expand if required in the future.
• The ability to expand the equipment in the room if required.
• Ventilation requirements.
• Where the plant is located externally and may be in view, screening devices may be required.
• Floors should be low maintenance finish and comply with slip resistance standards.
• Access should be restricted to authorised maintenance personnel.
• Sound transmission should be minimised with acoustic attenuation if in close proximity to user rooms/spaces.

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[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Ancillary area.
• Building Automation and Control System BACS.
• Building management systems.
• Building services.
• Building services engineer.
• Concept services design.
• Cooling systems for buildings.
• Ductwork.
• Electrical control systems.
• Equipment installed in buildings.
• Industrial plant and construction operations.
• HVAC.
• Mechanical, electrical and plumbing MEP.
• Types of building services.