ICC M1 key terms

A written authorization from the code official that allows installation, alteration, replacement, or repair of mechanical work to begin and proceed under the requirements of the adopted mechanical code.

The officer or designated authority responsible for enforcing the mechanical code, including interpreting its provisions, issuing or denying permits, conducting inspections, and approving or rejecting materials, equipment, and installations.

An inspection made after equipment, ducts, piping, and vents are installed but before they are concealed by building finishes, so that defects and code violations can still be seen and corrected.

Acceptable to the code official, who may base that judgment on field review, test results, research reports, or evidence that the item complies with an adopted referenced standard.

Equipment, materials, or services included in a published list by an approved agency that periodically inspects production and maintains a follow-up program verifying continued compliance with a standard.

Bearing a label, seal, symbol, or tag of an approved agency that indicates the item conforms to a recognized standard or has been tested and found to meet it.

A published technical document adopted by reference in the mechanical code that sets requirements for materials, products, installation, or testing, and that becomes enforceable as part of the code.

A room or enclosed area within a building that is designed for human occupancy, excluding spaces used only for storage, mechanical equipment, or similar purposes not intended for people.

An enclosed area that is heated, cooled, or both by a system designed to control temperature and humidity for human comfort or for a process being conducted there.

An enclosed chamber or space to which ducts connect and that forms part of an air distribution system, such as a supply chamber or a return air space above a ceiling.

Any material that will ignite and burn when exposed to fire or heat, including wood, paper, plant fibers, and many plastics, whether or not it has been treated to resist flame.

The minimum distance required between heat-producing equipment, a vent, or a chimney and combustible material, set to keep the combustible surface from reaching an unsafe temperature.

Any device that uses fuel, electricity, or another energy source to produce heat or to perform a process function, including furnaces, boilers, water heaters, and similar equipment.

A self-contained appliance that produces heat by burning fuel or using electricity and delivers that heat as warm air through ducts to the spaces being heated.

A closed vessel in which water or another liquid is heated to produce hot water or steam for space heating or process use, operating either under pressure or at atmospheric pressure.

The intentional supply or removal of air by power-driven fans or blowers to control indoor air quality, moisture, odors, and airborne contaminants within a space.

Outdoor air supplied to a space to replace air being exhausted, so exhaust systems function as designed and building pressure remains within acceptable limits.

Air taken from a conditioned space and carried back through ducts or plenums to the heating or cooling equipment so it can be reconditioned and supplied again.

A listed canopy installed over commercial cooking equipment to capture grease-laden vapors, smoke, and heat, and to discharge them through an exhaust duct to the outdoors.

An assembly of equipment and controls that cools, heats, dehumidifies, filters, and circulates air to maintain required temperature and humidity conditions in the spaces served.

The heat exchanger in a cooling system where low-pressure liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from the passing air stream and boils, lowering the air temperature and removing moisture.

A factory-assembled outdoor portion of a cooling system containing the compressor, condenser coil, and fan, which releases heat absorbed indoors to the outside air.

An air-conditioning or heat pump arrangement in which the indoor coil assembly and the outdoor unit are separate factory-built components joined by refrigerant piping installed at the jobsite.

A factory-built casing containing a fan, coils, filters, and controls that conditions air and moves it through a duct system to and from the spaces served.

A fluid used in a refrigeration cycle that absorbs heat while evaporating at low pressure and releases heat while condensing at higher pressure, classified by the code into safety groups.

A combination of compressors, condensers, evaporators, piping, and controls that transfers heat from a place where it is unwanted to a place where it can be released.

A space constructed to house refrigeration equipment and confine refrigerant leaks, requiring specified ventilation, refrigerant detection, and restrictions on access and ignition sources.

A device that senses refrigerant concentration in the air of a machinery room or occupied space and triggers an alarm, mechanical ventilation, or automatic equipment shutdown.

A refrigeration system whose design or component location makes it likely that refrigerant from a leak will reach an occupied space, triggering stricter code requirements for detection and ventilation.

A closed conduit of metal, fiberglass, or another approved material that conveys supply, return, or exhaust air between air-moving equipment and the spaces it serves.

A factory-made duct of flexible material supported by spiral wire, limited in installed length and requiring support and protection where it makes final connections to air outlets.

A listed device installed in a duct or penetration that closes automatically when heat is detected, restoring the fire-resistance rating of the assembly the duct passes through.

A listed device installed in a duct that closes on detection of smoke to stop smoke from spreading between fire areas or across smoke barriers.

A listed detector mounted in or on an air duct that samples the airstream and signals the fire alarm system or shuts down air-moving equipment when smoke is present.

A vertical masonry or factory-built structure containing one or more flues that carries products of combustion from appliances to the outdoors and provides draft for the appliances it serves.

A pipe or passage of approved material that conveys flue gases from an appliance to the outdoors; the term also refers to the complete system of connectors, fittings, and termination.

The air a fuel-burning appliance needs to mix with fuel and burn completely, supplied from outdoors, from inside the building, or by mechanical means as the code allows.

A device built into or attached to an appliance that mixes flue gases with room air and absorbs draft fluctuations so combustion remains stable and spillage is limited.

An appliance that takes combustion air from outdoors through one passage and discharges flue products outdoors through another, with a sealed combustion chamber that uses no room air.

A listed factory-built vent with double walls and a fixed air space, approved for venting gas appliances equipped with draft hoods and other appliances whose flue gas temperatures are within its rating.