HVAC design that holds comfort and passes review

Sized by calculation, not by tonnage folklore

Oversized equipment short-cycles and leaves buildings clammy; undersized equipment loses the argument every hot afternoon. Both failures start the same way — with a rule of thumb instead of a load calculation. Torch's mechanical design starts from the building: envelope, orientation, occupancy, internal loads, and ventilation requirements, calculated room by room where the project justifies it, so the equipment schedule is a conclusion rather than a guess.

Scope and deliverables

· Heating and cooling load calculations for residential and commercial buildings
· HVAC system design and equipment selection — split systems, packaged units, VRF, and ventilation systems
· Ventilation design to code, including dedicated outdoor air and exhaust systems
· Duct layout and distribution coordination against the structure and the other trades
· Energy-code compliance support for the mechanical scope, coordinated with our energy modeling team
· Complete mechanical sets as part of the coordinated MEP package, or standalone where the project only needs mechanical

Deliverables are permit-ready drawings and schedules with the calculations behind them, sealed through Apex Grid Engineering's licensed Professional Engineers.

Where the work concentrates

Tenant improvements with new or reworked systems. Restaurants and commercial kitchens, where ventilation and makeup air decide whether the design works at all. Ground-up commercial, industrial process ventilation, and residential work where the loads outgrow prescriptive sizing. State coverage starts with HVAC engineering in Arizona.

How the design gets coordinated

Mechanical design lives or dies on coordination: the duct has to fit the structure, the equipment has to match the electrical service, and the ventilation has to satisfy the energy code without bankrupting the load calculation. Torch designs mechanical in the same office as the structural and electrical teams it depends on, so shaft sizes, ceiling space, and power requirements are argued out during design — in the model, on the drawings — instead of in the ceiling plenum with a lift rented by the day. The deliverable is a system the other trades can build around, because it was designed around them.

Common questions

How do engineers size an HVAC system?

By calculating the building's actual heating and cooling loads — envelope, glass, orientation, people, lights, equipment, and ventilation air — then selecting equipment against those numbers. Our longer answer walks through how HVAC sizing works, including where rules of thumb go wrong.

What is Manual J?

The standard residential load-calculation method — the residential version of the same discipline. We explain what Manual J is and when it applies in the answers library.

Who stamps the mechanical drawings?

All PE stamping is backed by Apex Grid Engineering, whose licensed Professional Engineers seal the work in the project state. Torch does not present itself as the licensed entity.