A mechanical room or a boiler room is a room or space in a building dedicated to the mechanical equipment and its associated electrical equipment. Unless a building is served by a centralized heating

District heating

District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...

 plant, the size of the mechanical room is usually proportional to the size of the building. A small building or home may have at most a utility room

Utility room

A utility room is a room within a house where equipment that are not used in day to day activities are kept. Utility refers to an item which is designed for usefulness or practical use, so in turn most of the items kept in this room have functional attributes...

 but in large buildings mechanical rooms can be of considerable size, often requiring multiple rooms throughout the building, or even occupying one or more complete floors (see: mechanical floor

Mechanical floor

A mechanical floor, mechanical penthouse, or mechanical level is a storey of a high-rise building that is dedicated to mechanical and electronics equipment. "Mechanical" is the most commonly used term, but words such as utility, technical, service, and plant are also used...

).

Mechanical rooms typically house the following equipment:

• Air handler
  Air handler
  An air handler, or air handling unit , is a device used to condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system. An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling elements, filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and...
  
  s
• Boiler
  Boiler
  A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
  
  s
• Chiller
  Chiller
  A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycle. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool air or equipment as required.-Use in air conditioning:...
  
  s
• heat exchanger
  Heat exchanger
  A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact...
  
  s
• Water heaters
  Water heating
  Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating...
  
   and tanks
  Water tank
  A Water tank is a container for storing water. The need for a water tank is as old as civilized man, providing storage of water for drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many...
  
  
• Water pump
  Water Pump
  Water Pump is one of the neighbourhoods of Gulberg Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is near main Water Pump that supplies fresh water to the city of Karachi....
  
  s (for domestic, heating/cooling, and firefighting water)
• Main distribution piping
  Piping
  Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid....
  
   and valve
  Valve
  A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category...
  
  s
• Sprinkler
  Fire sprinkler
  A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected...
  
   distribution piping and pumps
• Back-up electrical generator
  Electrical generator
  In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
  
  s
• Elevator
  Elevator
  An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
  
   machinery
• Other HVAC
  HVAC
  HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
  
   (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) equipment

Equipment in mechanical rooms is often operated and maintained by a stationary engineer

Stationary engineer

A stationary engineer, also called operating engineer or power engineer, is a tradesman who operates heavy machinery and equipment that provide heat, light, climate control and power. Stationary engineer are trained in many areas, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, metallurgical,...

 or a maintenance technicians. Modern buildings use control systems to manage HVAC

HVAC

HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...

 cycles, lighting, communications, and life safety equipment. Often, the control system hardware is located in the mechanical room and monitored or accessed remotely.

Rooms with only electrical or electronic equipment are not considered mechanical rooms but electrical room

Electrical room

An electrical room is a room or space in a building dedicated to electrical equipment. The size of the electrical room is usually proportional to the size of the building. In large buildings there may be a main and subsidiary electrical rooms...

s.

See also

• Engine room
  Engine room
  On a ship, the engine room, or ER, commonly refers to the machinery spaces of a vessel. To increase the safety and damage survivability of a vessel, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces, the engine room is one of these spaces, and is generally the largest...
  
  
• Electrical room
  Electrical room
  An electrical room is a room or space in a building dedicated to electrical equipment. The size of the electrical room is usually proportional to the size of the building. In large buildings there may be a main and subsidiary electrical rooms...
  
  
• Steamfitter
  Pipefitter
  A pipefitter is a tradesman who lays out, assembles, fabricates, maintains and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually go through a mix of apprentice and trade school training. Journeyman pipefitters/steamfitters deal with industrial process piping and heating/cooling systems...