Mechanical room size
Optera
| Posted in Mechanicals on
I’m looking at designs for slab on grade, 3 BR, 2 Bath houses under 1500 sq feet (heat provided by heat pump/baseboard heaters). Can anyone share their experience with how large the mechanical room should be? Hot Water Tank, solar power inverter, HRV, Networking/cabling, Power Panel, main water cutoff are what I see as the main components. Is there anything else that should be planned for? I don’t have the option of moving these items out to the garage (eastern Canada), and many house plans I’ve looked at assume there is a basement or just have small areas carved out for H/W or HRV.
Thank you,
Corey
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
My house is currently being built. About 1650 square feet of conditioned space, one floor, slab on grade. The mechanical room is about 10 x12. Along with the usual water heater, hrv, expansion tank for the well, electrical panel, plumbing shutoff and cleanout, we are putting the washer and dryer and a small utility sink there as well. We're putting in pv, so the inverter will be there.
We'll be soundproofing the room, as we plan to install a heat pump water heater, which are noisy.
In order to maximize useable space, there are no windows. There will be an entire wall of shelving for storage.
The room is at the northeast corner of the house. The outside heat pump units will be just outside.
Above the ceiling is a utility space that runs the entire length of the north side of the house. There will be an access panel in the mechanical room ceiling.
Corey,
You didn't mention a furnace or boiler, so I'm assuming that you are heating the house some other way: perhaps with ductless minisplits, space heaters, or electric-resistance baseboard -- right?
In general, I advise homeowners that the ideal size of the mechanical room is about twice as big as the size drawn by their architect or designer. This is usually the only room in the house that should probably be bigger than it usually is.
If possible, visit several houses and measure their mechanical rooms. Bring a tape measure.
Don't forget that it's important to have access to each appliance for filter changes and maintenance.
I think you'll be okay with just a sink, but you might want to double check code. You can't have electric panel in a bathroom....not even a utility room that you access through a bathroom.