Frequently asked questions about MEP consulting

An MEP consultancy designs the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems of a building: heating, ventilation, plumbing, air conditioning and refrigeration, electrical engineering, building automation, lifts and active fire protection. Aurora Engineering delivers this design integrally across all disciplines, from concept through technical design to site supervision and commissioning.

All work stages 1 to 9 of the German HOAI fee scale for system groups 1 to 8: brief, concept, developed design, permit design, technical design, tender preparation and evaluation, construction supervision and post-completion services. We also take on individual stages, such as technical design in the BIM model only or site supervision.

Yes, in most projects we are part of a design team with architecture, structure and fire safety. We coordinate plant areas, risers and ceiling heights early in the design and deliver our design as a coordinated BIM model.

Across Germany. We are based in Giessen, and our projects range from Hamburg via Berlin and Frankfurt to Stuttgart and Munich.

At the start we capture usage requirements and the existing situation, develop the system and energy concept with option comparison, size systems and plant areas in the developed design, produce the technical design in the BIM model and accompany tendering, construction and commissioning. Every stage ends with documented results.

The basis is the German HOAI fee scale with the chargeable costs of the building services, the fee zone and the commissioned work stages. For partial services and consulting we agree lump sums or hourly rates. You receive a transparent offer in advance.

In office buildings the building services usually account for 25 to 35 % of construction cost, in laboratories, cleanrooms, hospitals and data centres for 40 to 55 %. Good design above all reduces running costs over the entire service life.

As early as possible: ideally at concept stage. Plant areas, risers, energy concept and funding options can then still influence the design instead of being retrofitted later.

Yes. We model in Revit and Linear, check clashes with architecture and structure and deliver models according to the client’s requirements (EIR, BEP). Drawings, schematics and quantities are derived from the model.

Through load calculations with real usage profiles, option comparison by life-cycle cost, heat recovery, demand-based control and a monitoring concept that verifies the forecast in operation.

Yes. Surveys, phased concepts during ongoing operation and heritage-compatible routing are part of our experience, for example at the European Patent Office in Berlin.

The relevant DIN, VDI and DVGW rules as well as the German Building Energy Act, HOAI and special building regulations, depending on discipline and building type, for example DIN 1946-4 and 1946-7, ISO 14644, VDI 6022, VDI 3814, DIN VDE 0100 and EN 50600.

Cleanrooms need defined air change rates, pressure cascades, filter stages and airlock concepts to ISO 14644 and GMP. The design must be qualifiable from the start: with documented requirements, a measurement concept and redundancy for safety-relevant systems.

Laboratory ventilation works with much higher air change rates, variable air volumes and fume cupboard control to DIN 1946-7 and EN 14175. Supply, exhaust and fume cupboards are controlled so that negative pressure and user protection are guaranteed at all times.

Yes. We coordinate construction phases, temporary provisions and hygienically secured changeovers with hospital hygiene and facility management so that operating theatres and intensive care remain supplied.

As a guide, office buildings need 4 to 7 % of the gross floor area for plant rooms and risers, depending on the ventilation concept and cold generation. We clarify the requirement at concept stage so that architecture and structure can allow for it early.

DGNB, BREEAM and LEED assess energy demand, indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics and metering concepts among other things. We deliver the MEP contributions, design metering and monitoring from the outset and coordinate with the auditor.

Very, if the services follow the architectural grid: decentralised control zones, reserves in ventilation, cooling and electrical and a routing concept that allows new partitions. Tenant changes are then possible without touching the central plant.

Yes. For showroom and branch roll-outs we develop a common design standard that is adapted to each existing building, as for the DENZA showrooms in Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg.

With modular supply rails, reserves in ventilation, cooling, compressed air and electrical and routing that allows later connections without conversion. We capture the process requirements together with process engineering and the operator.

That is determined by the availability class to EN 50600. N+1 for cooling and power supply is common, 2N for high requirements. We define redundancy, free cooling and monitoring together with the operator.

Yes. For chemical plants, paint shops and storage with hazardous zones we design to ATEX and TRGS 720 to 723: zone classification, suitable equipment, gas detection, ventilation and safety shutdowns.

Assembly buildings place high demands on smoke extraction, emergency lighting and alarm systems under German assembly building regulations. Urban districts need central energy concepts that supply residential, retail and office uses together, as in the Überseequartier Hamburg.