The United States (U.S.) standards environment for mechanical and plumbing professionals is continually evolving—driven by demand for energy efficiency, advanced digital controls, safety enhancements and public health protection. For system designers, equipment manufacturers, installers, and facilities managers, staying ahead of changing consensus standards is not merely a matter of compliance; it is crucial for ensuring effectiveness, minimizing liability, and delivering high-performance compliant systems.

I've curated some recent standardization activities that are of interest to the plumbing and mechanical industries. For those looking for customized analyses or monitoring, contact us at Regulosity. Our team specializes in detailed and personalized assessments to help you navigate and engage with the complexities of standards development.

Mastering new HVAC and energy efficiency metrics

Technical work underpinning the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry continues to shift toward verifiable, high-efficiency performance metrics. For engineers designing commercial buildings, staying current with the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings and the ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings addenda is essential. Examples of proposed changes may modify the electrical energy use monitoring requirements for large buildings (over 25,000 sq ft) or tenant spaces (over 10,000 sq ft), and introduce requirements for water sub-metering systems to facilitate the detection of leaks.

The plumbing sector continues to face scrutiny related to water quality, backflow prevention and aging infrastructure. Technical teams must focus on standards that define material safety and ensure the system's longevity.

Manufacturers and specifiers may also adopt new fan performance indicators. The Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) ANSI/AMCA 208 Fan Energy Index (FEI) standard is updating calculational methods to determine the FEI, a metric that compares an actual fan's electric input power to that of a reference fan. Additionally, calculation procedures for overall fan system efficiency are being revised in ANSI/AMCA 207 Fan System Efficiency and Fan System Input Power Calculation. For specialized heat rejection equipment, revisions to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 propose new rating conditions for entering and leaving water, based on an analysis that showed the previous values were not representative of the operating conditions for a substantial number of models.

In the realm of safety, changes to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 15.2, Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems in Residential Applications, clarify requirements for joints in copper linesets, expanding the acceptable methods to include orbital arc welding for copper tube.

Safeguarding plumbing and water system integrity

The plumbing sector continues to face scrutiny related to water quality, backflow prevention, and aging infrastructure. Technical teams must focus on standards that define material safety and ensure the system's longevity.

Revisions to the American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard, ANSI/AWWA C810 Replacement and Flushing of Lead Service Lines, detail essential procedures for the replacement and post-replacement flushing of lead water service lines. This revision includes flushing a service line after replacement, factors to consider in optimizing flushing, procedures for partial replacement and repair situations, and instructions to provide customers affected by the service line replacement.

New product standards are emerging for systems, such as Bathroom Vanity Assemblies with Plumbing Products, which will be known as IAPMO Z1393, and elastomeric test caps and cleanout caps, which will be covered by IAPMO Z1405, Elastomeric Test Caps, Cleanout Caps, and Combination Test Caps/Shielded Couplings. The safety of plumbing systems is further enhanced by updates from ASSE International (ASSE) for standards ASSE 1010 Performance Requirements for Water Hammer Arresters and ASSE 1064 Performance Requirements for Backflow Prevention Assembly Field Test Kits, and NSF International's standard ANSI/NSF 53 Drinking Water Treatment Units - Health Effects updates the PFAS reduction test water procedure.

Advanced fluid flow measurement

In fluid handling systems, the move towards highly accurate flow measurement and standardized actuation is evident in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) efforts in fluid flow measurement standardization. For example, the new standard, ASME MFC-11 Measurement of Fluid Flow by Means of Coriolis Mass Flowmeters, will cover Coriolis flowmeters for measuring mass flow, density, and volume flow. Additionally, a new standard for the use of multiport averaging Pitot head-type devices used to measure liquids and gases, known as ASME MFC-12M Measurement of Fluid Flow in Closed Conduits Using Multiport Averaging Pitot Primary Elements.

Special Systems: Health Care Ventilation

Businesses involved in specialized applications, particularly health care facilities, must adhere closely to the ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities, revisions. Key technical clarifications include the incorporation of types of room units, utilizing a new definition for “room unit”, modifying the requirement for recirculating room units to specify the type allowable, and revisions to Tables 7-1, 8-1, 8-2, and 9-1.

These proposals are at various stages in the standards development processes. It is imperative to monitor their progress and get involved in the standards development processes to ensure that standards and innovation work hand in hand to create a safe and healthy built environment.