Building services are the systems installed in buildings to make them comfortable, functional, efficient

and safe.
Building services might include:
 Building control systems.
 Energy distribution.
 Energy supply (gas, electricity and renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal
andbiomass).
 Escalators and lifts.
 Facade engineering (such as building shading requirements).
 Fire safety, detection and protection.
 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
 Information and communications technology (ICT) networks.
 Lighting (natural and artificial).
 Lightning protection.
 Refrigeration.
 Security and alarm systems.
 Water, drainage and plumbing (including sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)).

Specialist building services might also include systems for bacteria and humidity control, specialist lighting
and security, emergency power, specialist gas distribution, fume cupboards, operating theatres etc.
Building services play a central role in contributing to the design of a building, not only in terms of overall
strategies and standards to be achieved, but also in façade engineering, the weights, sizes and location of
major plant and equipment, the position of vertical service risers, routes for the distribution of horizontal
services, drainage, energy sources, sustainability and so on. This means that building services design
must be integrated into the overall building design from a very early stage, particularly on complex building
projects such as hospitals. Whist it is usual for a building design team to be led by an architect, on buildings
with very complex building servicesrequirements, a building services engineer might be appointed as
the lead designer.

The detection of clashes between building services and other building components is a significant cause of

delays and variations on site, not just in terms of the physical services themselves, but also access to
allow the builders work in connection with those services. The use of 3D computer aided design (CAD)
systems and building information modeling (BIM) should help reduce the occurrence of such problems.

Increasingly building services engineers are central to the design and assessment of sustainablesystems,

assessing the life cycle of buildings and their component services to minimize the resources consumed
and the impact on the environment during fabrication, construction, operation and dismantling.

Building services design are regulated (the building regulations, the energy related products regulations and so
on), and clients may impose their own standards on top of these regulations
However clients and designers are becoming increasingly aware of a disparity between the predicted and
actual performance of buildings, with many buildings using considerably more energy than had been
expected (up to 5 times as much) This may be as a result of; a lack of proper understanding of building
design 
 Building services will have to be upgraded and equipment replaced a number of times in the life of most
buildings, building services engineers should consider this throughout design development as well as ease
of maintenance and running costs.

Building services engineers plan, design, monitor and inspect systems to make buildings comfortable,
functional, efficient and safe. Typically these systems will include heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC), water and drainage, lighting, power, ICT, lifts and escalators, and control systems
Specialist systems such as specialist gas distribution, humidity and bacteria control and so on might be
required for complex buildings such as airports, hospitals, factories and laboratories.
Building services engineers play a central role in contributing to the design of a building, not only in terms
of overall strategies and standards to be achieved, but also in façade engineering, the weights, sizes and
location of major plant and equipment, the position of vertical service risers, routes for the distribution of
horizontal services, drainage, energy sources, sustainability and so on. This means that building
services design must be integrated into the overall building design from a very early stage, particularly on
complex building projects. It is usual for a building design team to be led by an architect, on buildings with
very complex building services requirements, a building services engineer might be appointed as the lead
designer.

Increasingly building services engineers are also central to the design and assessment

ofsustainable systems, assessing the life cycle of buildings and their component services to minimize the
resources consumed and the impact on the environment during fabrication, construction, operation and
dismantling.

The design process of building services engineering systems varies from the other main design disciplines
(architectural, civil and structural engineering) for the following reasons:

Building services engineering systems have to react to both changes in external conditions and the
patterns of behavior inside a building - both of which are constantly changing. The design process is aided
by the use of computer models and simulations which can simulate performance with respect to thermal
behavior, energy usage, lighting (day lighting and artificial) outputs, ventilation and renewable
energy sources, all with very many variables.

Occupant subjectivity:
Some aspects of the output of building services engineering design are open to end-user scrutiny and
personal judgments. Different people have different comfort levels and tolerances. What constitutes a
comfortable thermal environment is a deceptively simple question but has profound implications
for building services engineers (see thermal comfort for more information). Perception also varies
according to parameters such as age, gender, the psychosocial atmosphere at work and job stress,
making it difficult to satisfy all end-user requirements. Even the perception of having ‘control’ contributes
to a person being comfortable over a wider range of conditions such as the amount of
daylight, heating and cooling. In addition, there are aesthetic considerations; some occupants will ‘like’ a
particular light fitting whilst others will not.

Building services engineering, technical building services, architectural engineering, building

engineering, or facilities and services planning engineering refers to the implementation of
the engineering for the internal environment and environmental impact of a building.

Building services engineers are responsible for the design, installation, and operation and monitoring
of the mechanical, electrical and public health systems required for the safe, comfortable
and environmentally friendly operation of modern buildings. The term building services
engineering is widely used as or building engineering, though these terms can also have other
meanings, or as facilities planners.

A building services architect is an engineer with experience in the integration of building services.

Building services engineering comprises mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and

plumbing or public health (MEP) engineering, all of which are further divided into other divisions.

Building services engineers work closely with other construction professionals such as

architects, structural engineers and quantity surveyors. They influence the architecture of a
building and play a significant role on the sustainability and energy demand of a building.
Within building services engineering, new roles are emerging, for example in the areas of
renewable energy, A building services engineer has a wide-ranging career opportunity

 Design: designing layouts and requirements for building services for residential or

commercial developments.

Design Management -Design management is to create the right environment to control

and support disciplines that, collectively, will deliver design solutions and at the same time
is to ensuring that an organization's commercial goals and objectives are achieved .Typically
the building services engineering installation is worth 40 – 50% of the total value of a
contract, Design management is not the same as project management. Project
management focuses on a wider range of administrative skills but is not normally concerned
to the peculiarities of delivering a fully coordinated functioning design, taking into account
its unique nature and dealing with the changing requirements of clients and the external
factors over which there is little control.