Plumbing & Mechanical Engineer

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Meet 2025 Next Gen All-Star: Brian Joyce

Meet 2025 Next Gen All-Star: Chase Johnson

Meet 2025 Next Gen All-Star:  Zane Elliot

Meet 2025 Next Gen All-Star: Michael Caruso

This year’s group of NextGen All-Stars is full of young talent in the trades who are making a difference in the world every day. These innovators and leaders are forging the path for the next generation. Congratulations to this group of industry leaders in our Top 20 Under 40 list of plumbing professionals!

This article provides plumbing engineers and system designers with strategies for right-sizing residential plumbing systems based on modern water use data and highlights how traditional sizing methods, like the Hunter’s Curve, often lead to oversized systems that increase costs and wastewater.

Building codes are becoming stricter, carbon targets are becoming law, and there’s more funding available for compliance. For those in plumbing and mechanical trades, system design now involves meeting emissions goals, leveraging incentives, and navigating changing regulations.

Some hydronic heating systems use slab-on-grade floor heating combined with an air handler or fan-coils in other areas of a building. This approach is also used for heated basement floors combined with a “hydro-air” delivery system for the main living areas.

Throughout this period, global governments have been notably active on issues related to chemicals, household equipment, HVAC equipment, mechanical systems, plumbing products, protective equipment, and water heating appliances. I have curated the policy changes to save you time and keep you informed and ahead of the curve.

Check valves are found in and around a pump system, a sump pit, or cracked open a main line. They’re everywhere. And there’s a reason they’re there: to prevent backflow. Backflow isn’t just unpleasant—it’s a serious hazard. It occurs when water or other liquids flow in the opposite direction, contaminating clean systems.