Building services and technical installations
Building services and technical installations
This domain tests coordination of HVAC, plumbing, drainage, electrical and lift installations, and their effect on energy and safety. The exam looks for commissioning and maintenance, not just equipment schedules.
Core rules
- Ventilation must be designed as a system: extract rates, make-up air, transfer gaps and duct sizing. Airtight homes need balanced or demand-controlled ventilation; kitchen hoods must not depressurise combustion appliances.
- Domestic hot water and heating interact with the energy performance calculation. Pipe insulation, circulation losses and control valves affect the CPE result.
- Drainage needs falls, traps, venting and access for maintenance. Electrical installations must be executed and inspected by qualified persons; lifts fall under the EU Lift Directive and national inspection rules.
- Commissioning records, as-built schematics and maintenance instructions are part of a complete installation.
Worked example
A renovated apartment installs a powerful bathroom extractor and a sealed kitchen hood without make-up air. The extractor depressurises the flat, drawing air down the boiler flue and pulling odours through transfer grilles. The design needs a balanced supply path, a pressure test, and interlocked operation with the combustion appliance.
Traps
Specifying equipment without duct pressure calculations; omitting accessible valves and cleaning eyes; treating the CPE as an as-built guarantee; and commissioning ventilation without measuring flows.