True Power Systems · Consulting Engineers
True Power Systems delivers mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for Pennsylvania architects, developers, and building operators. HVAC load and ventilation design, power distribution, plumbing and process piping, PE-stamped and coordinated in Revit.
Code Summary · Pennsylvania
These are the editions Pennsylvania actually enforces, verified against Uniform Construction Code, Pennsylvania L&I. Drawings coordinated to the wrong edition fail plan review; ours are designed to these.
| Discipline | Adopted edition |
|---|---|
| Building | 2021 International Building Code adopted under the Uniform Construction Code, effective January 1, 2026 |
| Mechanical | 2021 International Mechanical Code |
| Plumbing | 2021 International Plumbing Code |
| Electrical | 2020 National Electrical Code applies as the referenced standard of the adopted 2021 codes |
| Energy | 2021 International Energy Conservation Code commercial provisions with Review and Advisory Council modifications |
| Fuel gas | 2021 International Fuel Gas Code |
| Accessibility | 2018 IBC Chapter 11 with ICC A117.1-2009 the 2021 accessibility provisions were enjoined and are not in force |
| Existing buildings | 2021 International Existing Building Code |
Adopted and enforced by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I). Source: Uniform Construction Code, Pennsylvania L&I
Design Criteria
ASHRAE Zones 4A / 5A / 6A
mixed to cold
Pennsylvania runs from mixed-humid in the southeast through cold across the north and the mountain counties. Heating design temperatures swing meaningfully between Philadelphia and Erie, so envelope assumptions and equipment selection do not transfer across the state.
Project Locations
Plan Review Notes
Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code is adopted statewide by the Department of Labor and Industry. The overwhelming majority of municipalities have opted in to administer and enforce it locally, and L&I enforces commercial construction in the municipalities that opted out, so the technical requirements are consistent even though the reviewer changes. Philadelphia enforces its own locally amended version as a component of the UCC.
The UCC moved to the 2021 International Codes effective January 1, 2026, covering building, mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, energy, and existing building work. The statutory transition that let projects under earlier contracts permit against the 2018 codes has now closed, so new applications statewide are reviewed against the 2021 editions.
Two things sit out of step with that suite. Electrical work follows the 2020 National Electrical Code, which applies as the referenced standard of the adopted codes rather than as a separately adopted code. And accessibility remains frozen at the 2018 IBC Chapter 11 with ICC A117.1-2009, because the 2021 accessibility provisions were enjoined in court and were expressly excluded from the 2026 rulemaking. A design coordinated to the 2021 accessibility provisions is not what a Pennsylvania reviewer applies. Every Pennsylvania deliverable True Power Systems issues is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth.
Services Schedule · Pennsylvania
Full MEP scope under one roof, scheduled the way you'd schedule equipment. Every line ships sealed by a Pennsylvania-licensed PE.
| Mark | Service | Scope | Basis of design |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | Mechanical & HVAC Design | Load and ventilation design, ductwork and air distribution, control sequences, and energy modeling. Sized for the Pennsylvania climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from. | 2021 International Mechanical Code · ASHRAE 62.1 · ASHRAE 90.1 |
| E-1 | Electrical Design | Power distribution, lighting and branch circuiting, service and gear sizing, emergency and standby power, and EV charging infrastructure. Documented so the electrical contractor is not guessing at intent. | 2020 National Electrical Code · NECA |
| P-1 | Plumbing Design | Domestic water and sanitary, hot water recirculation, natural gas and propane piping, specialty and process piping, and compressed air. Designed to the code Pennsylvania actually enforces, which is not always the model code. | 2021 International Plumbing Code |
| C-1 | Revit & BIM Coordination | Modeled in Revit and coordinated against the architectural and structural models, with clash detection run before the drawings leave our office. Conflicts get resolved on screen instead of in the ceiling. | Revit · AutoCAD MEP · Bluebeam |
| ES-1 | Power System Studies | Arc flash, short-circuit, coordination, harmonic, and load flow studies when a Pennsylvania project needs the electrical design backed by analysis. The same engineers who design the system model it. | NFPA 70E · IEEE 1584 · IEEE 519 |
| CA-1 | Construction Support | Shop drawing review, RFI response, utility coordination, field observation, and commissioning support. We stay on the project after the permit set, because that is when most of the questions arrive. | Construction administration |
Load and ventilation design, ductwork and air distribution, control sequences, and energy modeling. Sized for the Pennsylvania climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from.
2021 International Mechanical Code · ASHRAE 62.1 · ASHRAE 90.1
Power distribution, lighting and branch circuiting, service and gear sizing, emergency and standby power, and EV charging infrastructure. Documented so the electrical contractor is not guessing at intent.
2020 National Electrical Code · NECA
Domestic water and sanitary, hot water recirculation, natural gas and propane piping, specialty and process piping, and compressed air. Designed to the code Pennsylvania actually enforces, which is not always the model code.
2021 International Plumbing Code
Modeled in Revit and coordinated against the architectural and structural models, with clash detection run before the drawings leave our office. Conflicts get resolved on screen instead of in the ceiling.
Revit · AutoCAD MEP · Bluebeam
Arc flash, short-circuit, coordination, harmonic, and load flow studies when a Pennsylvania project needs the electrical design backed by analysis. The same engineers who design the system model it.
NFPA 70E · IEEE 1584 · IEEE 519
Shop drawing review, RFI response, utility coordination, field observation, and commissioning support. We stay on the project after the permit set, because that is when most of the questions arrive.
Construction administration
Legend · Who We Work With
If your work touches buildings in Pennsylvania, one of these is you. Architects lead most of our engagements; contractors and owners come to us directly just as often.
We run the MEP scope as a consultant to the architect on Pennsylvania projects, from concept through construction administration. One engineering team across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, coordinated in your model.
MEP design for Pennsylvania ground-up projects, tenant fit-outs, and building repositioning. We size systems against a real pro forma, so the mechanical scope is not the line item that blows the budget at bid.
Engineering support for Pennsylvania mechanical and plumbing contractors who need sealed drawings, load calculations, or equipment selection on a design-build job. We work to your means and methods rather than against them.
Process-support HVAC, industrial ventilation and dust collection, compressed air, and process piping for Pennsylvania plants and food processing facilities. Designed around the production line, not around a template.
Cooling and power design for Pennsylvania data centers and mission-critical rooms, including redundancy strategy, capacity planning, and the electrical analysis that has to back the design.
MEP design for Pennsylvania healthcare, K-12, and higher education facilities, where ventilation requirements, pressure relationships, and life-safety systems drive the design and the review.
Pennsylvania Market Data
14,588
Manufacturing
563,767 workers
52,386
Healthcare & social assistance
1,154,512 workers
10,225
Educational services
492,452 workers
1,799
Data centers & hosting
14,888 workers
388,411 total Pennsylvania establishments · establishment counts per sector statewide: the market, not a client list. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages
Keynotes · Why TPS
The reasons design teams keep us on the next project, keyed like notes on a plan.
A single engineering team carries all three disciplines, so coordination happens inside one office instead of across three subconsultants. One contract, one point of responsibility, one set.
We model in your environment and run clash detection against the architectural and structural models before drawings go out. Conflicts get resolved on screen, not in the ceiling.
The editions on sheet G-001 are what we design to, verified against the state’s own publication. Plan review goes smoother when the drawings and the reviewer read the same book.
Arc flash, short-circuit, and coordination studies come from the same engineers who design the distribution. Most MEP firms sub this out; we consider it part of the electrical scope.
Shop drawing review, RFI response, and field observation are in the fee, because most of a project’s hard questions arrive during construction, not design.
Included With Every Project
Firm Data
Design tools: Revit · AutoCAD MEP · Carrier HAP · Trane TRACE 3D Plus · Bluebeam
General Notes · Pennsylvania
The questions Pennsylvania design teams and owners ask before they hire us, answered the way we'd note them on a set.
Pennsylvania enforces the 2021 International Mechanical Code, adopted under the Uniform Construction Code effective January 1, 2026. The UCC applies statewide, whether the municipality administers it locally or the Department of Labor and Industry enforces it.
This is the requirement out-of-state teams most often get wrong. Pennsylvania remains on the 2018 IBC Chapter 11 with ICC A117.1-2009. The 2021 accessibility provisions were enjoined in court and were expressly excluded when the Commonwealth adopted the rest of the 2021 codes, so accessibility is a cycle behind the rest of the set.
Pennsylvania applies the 2020 National Electrical Code. It is not listed as a standalone adopted code in the UCC regulation; it applies as the referenced standard of the adopted 2021 International Codes.
Commercial buildings follow the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code commercial provisions, with modifications from the Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council, effective January 1, 2026.
Pennsylvania spans ASHRAE climate zones 4A through 6A, mixed-humid in the southeast and cold across the north and mountain counties. Heating design temperatures swing enough between Philadelphia and Erie that envelope and equipment assumptions do not transfer across the state.
Construction documents used for permit must be sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. True Power Systems holds an active Pennsylvania PE license and stamps every Pennsylvania deliverable.
Transmittal · Fee Proposal Request
Send drawings, a program, or two sentences about the project. You'll hear back from a person, usually the same business day.
True Power Systems
Scott Mann
Pennsylvania MEP · Fee Proposal
Direct Lines
Ben True, P.E. · Principal
ben@truepowersystems.comNot in Pennsylvania? TPS is PE-licensed in AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, NC, ND, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI. Find your state →
