When my late father-in-law, a professional mechanic, was shopping for a car for his daughter, he asked to see under the hood. The salesman obliged, and what he saw left him aghast. This was the mid-1990s and the previous generation of cars mostly had generous space within the engine bay. They had room to access … Read more
Starting in January 2025, just a few weeks away, the allowable Global Warming Potential (GWP) for refrigerants in several common applications will be limited to 700. This change garners several common questions: Can you still buy units with the current refrigerant? Can you fix your existing systems? Are compliant systems available? Will this affect design, … Read more
Significant changes are set to affect the building industry this year. National changes like refrigerant phase-outs due to global warming potential, and regional changes, like the tri-annual code updates. While increased cost of capital may have some owners thinking about delaying projects, other factors should be considered to have a full picture of what that delay … Read more
Remote and hybrid work schedules appear to be here to stay in many office environments. If you lease your office space, hopefully you can “right-size” your space requirements so that you can save cost the next time your lease is due for renegotiation. However, what happens when you’re on the other side of that equation, … Read more
Medical gas systems rank high on the list of resources necessary for a hospital to function. Oxygen, medical air, vacuum, and other systems support all manner of life-saving and life-sustaining procedures, from providing oxygen therapy for a COVID-19 patient to providing vacuum during a heart transplant. In 1987, the American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) … Read more
With construction costs rising across the board, every dollar counts when planning for a project. Lately, many owners are getting surprised by a substantial cost that presents itself late in the project. Commissioning. Did you know that your project may require commissioning even though it is not a LEED or other green initiative project? Starting … Read more
As Pennsylvania begins enforcement of 2018 International Mechanical Code, it’s important to understand what, if any changes could affect your project. This is particularly important if you’ve had a project shelved due to the pandemic and are planning to dust it off this year. Whether it was a funding issue, price of materials, or just … Read more
The current pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our personal and professional lives. In the case of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Codes (UCC), it has significantly delayed the legally required update to the 2018 edition of the International Construction Codes. Among the many requirements and procedures outlined in the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act Omnibus Amendments (Act … Read more
A search for “ultraviolet light” on Google will yield no less than 91 million search results. UV light sanitizers, industrial UV sanitizers, and thousands of other products show up. These results are an impressive show of our society’s ability to provide millions of pieces of information, all in our living room or office, in just … Read more
Our next installment in this series on reducing airborne contaminants is focused on increasing the effectiveness of new and existing filtration systems. Some of the concepts in this article are long-proven items, and some are on the forefront of innovation. This article is to provide information for available products, not to recommend a specific approach, … Read more
Since early 2020, it seems just about everyone has an opinion on viruses, disease transmission and what should be done as a society, as a business owner, and as a private citizen. We here at Barton Associates are not healthcare workers, epidemiologists, or even medical students. We are a group of engineers who believe in … Read more
The change from the 2009 International Codes to the 2015 International codes in Pennsylvania, except for the City of Philadelphia, ushered in many substantial changes when it comes to mechanical system design, construction and operation. Similar to other code updates, the hike toward sustainable design and operation continues in these common areas: increased equipment efficiency … Read more
The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) first began being enforced in April 2004. Fourteen years later, Act 35 of 2017 updated the code requirements to the 2015 International Codes. Application of this new standard began for all projects without a signed construction contract on October 1, 2018. The grace period for permit application for projects … Read more
Is your building properly ventilated? What is proper ventilation? How do you know if you have it? These may not be the burning questions you ask yourself when evaluating student performance, but if your key business is education, perhaps they should be at the top of your list. Some facilities personnel see ventilation as an … Read more