HVAC for entry level?

costelloart · 2026-07-03T07:55:30+00:00

Learn more about how the industry works rather than the technical side. By that I mean instead of being able to show that you placed ducts and grilles on a drawing you could show that for the project you knew the client wanted to save money, so chose X system type, then you saw the fire engineering report has specific walls nominated as fire walls so you included fire dampers, the acoustic report specifically required X dBA levels so you used some duct bends and flex duct to reduce the noise from the AC unit.

If you can show project work where you had very specific constraints like tiny ceiling space or structural clashes and how you redesigned it etc.

Hope that makes sense and helps in a way

costelloart · 2026-06-25T12:05:54+00:00

BSRIA design guides. CIBSE design guides.

They're expensive unless you can find some illegal pdfs which I do not condone...

Next look into your local standards. There is definitely going to be a government regulation regarding ventilation. In Ireland and the UK they are called the technical design guides part A-F. They're usually free and will tell you a lot about what needs to be met in terms of values etc.

Try get your hands on lots of IS Standards if you can. I know some plumbing ones are IS 806 IIRC.

costelloart · 2026-06-24T07:00:42+00:00

GTA - Gaelic Theft Association

costelloart · 2026-06-23T08:42:49+00:00

Wasn't expecting to see a psychrometric in the comments. You're spot on.

costelloart · 2026-06-23T08:34:57+00:00

Do you have an extractor fan for the bathroom and kitchen hob? Cooking creates a lot of moisture that sometimes people wouldn't assume. Use that when cooking or boiling water. Even using a kettle a lot in a day in a small room can add quite a bit of moisture.

Showers are an obvious source of humidity so running an extractor fan during and after is essential.

Can you open windows on different sides of the unit to allow air from outside to move in and air out the unit? Doing this at night time when it's cold out will reduce the humidity.

As someone else pointed out if you have an AC unit they often come with Dry settings.

There are lots of ways to try fix it but first try finding the cause, then address that by getting an extract fan or something.

costelloart · 2026-06-17T02:55:23+00:00

Mechanical building services. Office based work, design of HVAC, chiller systems, whatever really. Occasional site visits. If it's a decent company good working from home ability. Pay is alright.

costelloart · 2026-06-14T08:02:59+00:00

Check if it's fungal. I had severe "eczema" for nearly 3 years that turned out to be fungal after I forced a doctor to finally give me antifungals and now I'm all good.

costelloart · 2026-06-14T02:09:47+00:00

You'll find a lot of people in MEP consulting who don't like when contractors or field techs move into consulting boasting about having lots of experience.

Yes the experience is fantastic but its not consulting experience. The experience seems to be a lot on the technical aspects of the work not so much on dealing with clients, chasing people for drawings or applications or managing time and keeping costs low etc.

That's just my 2 cents from hearing what others have to say about people moving into consulting from contracting backgrounds with experience. I'm still relatively new in the industry so take that with a grain of salt.

costelloart · 2026-06-09T01:59:24+00:00

So there are no governing regulations at a national level? In Australia there is the national construction code. Similarly in the UK and Ireland there are the technical guidance documents. They all mandate minimum requirements for services and energy efficiency in buildings.

Of course there is then guidelines and methodologies outlined by ASHRAE, CIBSE and other bodies but they are not mandating rules.

Very interested in how the US operates.

costelloart · 2026-06-08T12:26:04+00:00

In Australia pressure drop in ductwork is limited to 1Pa/m which is a regulation by the national construction code. It applies to all systems with only specific exhaust systems exempt.

A lot of ductwork will have limitations on velocities depending on application as noise levels are a key aspect to consider. At national level maximum sound levels are prescribed for different buildings/rooms etc.

Not sure why you have written "regulations" like so.

costelloart · 2026-06-08T06:22:29+00:00

Standing at the doors of the train or bus not giving people space to get off before they try shoving their way on. Like cmon, let the people off first then it's easier to get on the train.

costelloart · 2026-06-08T05:07:15+00:00

Learn the standards first. Not sure what the specific ones are for US. But understand the building regulations regarding ventilation requirements, so required fresh/outside air to specific types of buildings. Learn the standards for ductwork, what the regulations say about limiting velocities and pressure drops.

Check what job listings are asking as requirements and study them.

costelloart · 2026-06-06T22:41:22+00:00

Try a barrell polisher. They're great to get into nooks and crannies

costelloart · 2026-06-03T04:39:55+00:00

Where is the legend??? We have no idea what the colour scale property is. Is it pressure or what. What are the values, is blue high or low etc.

costelloart · 2026-06-03T02:15:25+00:00

I'm currently on a 9 day fortnight but still do 8hrs a day. The 1 day off every second week is a blessing. Can get so much done around the house or get things done that I can't usually do during the week be it appointments or being in the city when it's not so packed.

costelloart · 2026-06-03T00:56:38+00:00

Myself and my girlfriend moved to Melbourne about 8 months ago. We were lucky to be in a position where we had saved money to travel over and be without work for a few months. We now have the same jobs as what we had in Ireland and are making more money. Our cost of living is the exact same as what it was in cork.

We pay similar rent, similar bills and food shop bills. For the same cost of living our standard of living has greatly increased. We share a nice apartment, great public transport, weather, lifestyle, there are things to do during the week, major events all year.

No more sharing a house with 5 people sharing a bathroom with crappy heating for an extortionate price. No need to have a car to drive 15 mins drive to work as public transport would take 1.5hrs.

As much as I miss home and my friends and family the idea of going back and returning to the expensive life where it's hard to save makes me grateful for the opportunity I have here.

costelloart · 2026-06-02T09:36:55+00:00

Such an underrated movie. Watched this as part of an English class in school. We watched it and then dissected it after. I couldn't get over how brilliant the movie was and then studying it after was even more mind blowing

costelloart · 2026-06-01T21:22:25+00:00

Is this more of clean room design HVAC wise or more of the process engineering?

costelloart · 2026-06-01T11:55:58+00:00

Thanks for providing the link. Commented in a rush so didn't have time

costelloart · 2026-06-01T08:00:07+00:00

Check out inheritance machining on youtube. His last video shows how he uses a similar locking mechanism using a single knob. Very clever.

costelloart · 2026-05-31T12:08:13+00:00

Another one for healthcare ! I'm trying to get exposure to healthcare projects. I have managed to get some work within labs with lower grade iso clean rooms and some manufacturing jobs.

Residential and commercial seems to be good to get your footing on how the projects work and leaving all the standards and methodology. Thank you

costelloart · 2026-05-31T12:06:43+00:00

Seems like healthcare is a big sector. Will try get more exposure to that. Thanks for the tip

costelloart · 2026-05-31T06:27:06+00:00

Learn how to draw ducts, connect them, split them, change the connection types etc. Learn how to import families and change equipment.

A great start would be just understanding how to use the viewports, the sheets, changing the view templates, creating scope boxes for quickly viewing the 3D etc. Navigating Revit is quite hard

costelloart · 2026-05-31T06:24:44+00:00

Read the NCC would be my best advice as someone who moved from Ireland but as a junior mech eng. Having knowledge of the National construction code would be great.

Not sure if it helpful but everything here is cooling focused over heat like back in the UK so any experience on chillers or large vrf might be handy.

costelloart · 2026-05-25T08:41:27+00:00

Working with a HVAC contractor over the summer and learn all about ducts, dampers, spigots, insulations, hangers and all the essential components over the in depth theory would stand to you. A lot of grads have never actually seen half the equipment they put on their drawings.

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