True Power Systems · Consulting Engineers
True Power Systems delivers mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for Virginia architects, developers, and building operators. HVAC load and ventilation design, power distribution, plumbing and process piping, PE-stamped and coordinated in Revit.
Code Summary · Virginia
These are the editions Virginia actually enforces, verified against Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, Virginia DHCD. Drawings coordinated to the wrong edition fail plan review; ours are designed to these.
| Discipline | Adopted edition |
|---|---|
| Building | 2021 Virginia Construction Code USBC Part I, based on the 2021 International Building Code |
| Mechanical | 2021 Virginia Mechanical Code based on the 2021 International Mechanical Code |
| Plumbing | 2021 Virginia Plumbing Code based on the 2021 International Plumbing Code |
| Electrical | 2020 National Electrical Code |
| Energy | 2021 Virginia Energy Conservation Code based on the 2021 IECC with Virginia amendments |
| Fuel gas | 2021 Virginia Fuel Gas Code based on the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code |
| Accessibility | ICC A117.1-2017 referenced through Virginia Construction Code Chapter 11 |
| Existing buildings | 2021 Virginia Existing Building Code USBC Part II, based on the 2021 IEBC |
Adopted and enforced by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Source: Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, Virginia DHCD
Design Criteria
ASHRAE Zones 3A / 4A / 5A
mixed-humid, colder west
Virginia runs from mixed-humid Tidewater through the Piedmont into the cooler mountain counties, so heating design temperatures move meaningfully across the state. Northern Virginia and the western counties carry a real heating load that a Hampton Roads design does not.
Project Locations
Plan Review Notes
Virginia enforces the Uniform Statewide Building Code, which supersedes local building codes and regulations across the Commonwealth. Localities enforce through their own building departments and handle plan review and inspection, but they cannot amend the technical provisions, so the requirements a design has to meet do not change between jurisdictions.
The current cycle is the 2021 USBC, which took effect January 18, 2024 and became mandatory for all permit applications in January 2025. Its parts are the Virginia Construction Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Fuel Gas Code, and Energy Conservation Code, each based on the corresponding 2021 International Code with Virginia amendments layered on.
Two details catch out-of-state design teams. Virginia enforces the 2020 National Electrical Code rather than a newer edition, and the Virginia Energy Conservation Code amends the model IECC, so envelope and equipment assumptions taken straight from the unamended 2021 IECC will not match what a Virginia reviewer applies. Every Virginia deliverable True Power Systems issues is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth.
Services Schedule · Virginia
Full MEP scope under one roof, scheduled the way you'd schedule equipment. Every line ships sealed by a Virginia-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 Virginia climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from. | 2021 Virginia 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 Virginia actually enforces, which is not always the model code. | 2021 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from.
2021 Virginia 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 Virginia actually enforces, which is not always the model code.
2021 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia, 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 Virginia projects, from concept through construction administration. One engineering team across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, coordinated in your model.
MEP design for Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia plants and food processing facilities. Designed around the production line, not around a template.
Cooling and power design for Virginia data centers and mission-critical rooms, including redundancy strategy, capacity planning, and the electrical analysis that has to back the design.
MEP design for Virginia healthcare, K-12, and higher education facilities, where ventilation requirements, pressure relationships, and life-safety systems drive the design and the review.
Virginia Market Data
8,990
Manufacturing
253,590 workers
52,716
Healthcare & social assistance
554,573 workers
5,214
Educational services
377,467 workers
1,458
Data centers & hosting
19,989 workers
317,533 total Virginia 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 · Virginia
The questions Virginia design teams and owners ask before they hire us, answered the way we'd note them on a set.
Virginia enforces the 2021 Virginia Mechanical Code, part of the Uniform Statewide Building Code and based on the 2021 International Mechanical Code with Virginia amendments. It has been mandatory for all permit applications since January 2025.
Yes. The 2021 Virginia Plumbing Code is based on the 2021 International Plumbing Code, adopted as part of the Uniform Statewide Building Code with Virginia amendments that take precedence where they conflict with the model code.
Commercial buildings follow the 2021 Virginia Energy Conservation Code, based on the 2021 IECC commercial provisions with Virginia amendments. Because Virginia amends the model code, envelope and equipment efficiency assumptions taken from the unamended IECC will not always match what a Virginia plan reviewer applies.
Virginia enforces the 2020 National Electrical Code under the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Design teams coming from states on a newer NEC should confirm branch circuit, GFCI, and surge protection requirements against the 2020 edition rather than the one they last used.
Virginia spans ASHRAE climate zones 3A through 5A, from mixed-humid Tidewater through the Piedmont into the cooler mountain counties. Heating design temperatures move meaningfully across the state, so a Hampton Roads selection is not a Northern Virginia selection.
Construction documents used for permit must be sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. True Power Systems holds an active Virginia PE license and stamps every Virginia 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
Virginia MEP · Fee Proposal
Direct Lines
Ben True, P.E. · Principal
ben@truepowersystems.comNot in Virginia? 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 →
