Articles
Technical articles on building services design
Written by named SDE engineers, citing the standards and sources they rely on.
Procurement and fees
Why MEP design fees fall as a percentage when project value rises
A flat percentage fee is either too high on large projects or unsustainable on small ones. What actually drives the sliding scale.
Regulation and compliance
Building warrant or Building Regulations approval: what changes when you cross the border
Scotland requires approval before work starts. England does not always. The difference reshapes the design programme, not just the paperwork.
Technical guidance
Computational automation and AI in building services design
Much design engineering time goes on transcription, not judgement. What happens to carbon, and to competence, if that part is automated.
Sustainability and net zero
Certifying the unfamiliar: extending the Passivhaus standard to non-residential building types
Passivhaus is described as building-type agnostic, but its thresholds derive from dwellings. Applying it to a hotel or school relocates the difficulty.