True Power Systems · Consulting Engineers
True Power Systems delivers mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for Kentucky architects, developers, and building operators. HVAC load and ventilation design, power distribution, plumbing and process piping, PE-stamped and coordinated in Revit.
Code Summary · Kentucky
These are the editions Kentucky actually enforces, verified against Codes Currently Adopted by Kentucky, Kentucky DHBC. Drawings coordinated to the wrong edition fail plan review; ours are designed to these.
| Discipline | Adopted edition |
|---|---|
| Building | 2018 Kentucky Building Code based on the 2015 International Building Code |
| Mechanical | 2015 International Mechanical Code |
| Plumbing | Kentucky State Plumbing Code (815 KAR Chapter 20) state-written, not the International Plumbing Code |
| Electrical | 2023 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code |
| Energy | 2012 International Energy Conservation Code commercial buildings |
| Fuel gas | 2012 NFPA 54 National Fuel Gas Code |
| Accessibility | 2009 ICC/ANSI A117.1 |
| Existing buildings | 2015 International Existing Building Code |
Adopted and enforced by the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC). Source: Codes Currently Adopted by Kentucky, Kentucky DHBC
Design Criteria
ASHRAE Zone 4A
mixed-humid
All of Kentucky sits in ASHRAE climate zone 4A, so systems have to carry both a real heating load and a humid cooling season. Latent capacity and dehumidification control matter as much as sensible tonnage here.
Project Locations
Plan Review Notes
Kentucky adopts and enforces construction codes at the state level through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, so the building, mechanical, and energy requirements are consistent statewide rather than negotiated jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Local building departments handle plan review and inspection, but they enforce the same adopted editions.
The detail that catches out-of-state design teams is plumbing. Kentucky does not adopt the International Plumbing Code. The Commonwealth writes its own plumbing code under 815 KAR Chapter 20, administered with its own licensing and inspection structure, so a plumbing design coordinated to the IPC is not automatically a Kentucky-compliant design. We design Kentucky plumbing to the state code.
Energy compliance is split. Commercial buildings are held to the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code while residential work follows an earlier edition, which affects envelope assumptions, equipment efficiency minimums, and the documentation a reviewer expects with the mechanical submittal. Every Kentucky deliverable True Power Systems issues is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth.
Services Schedule · Kentucky
Full MEP scope under one roof, scheduled the way you'd schedule equipment. Every line ships sealed by a Kentucky-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 Kentucky climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from. | 2015 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. | 2023 NFPA 70 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 Kentucky actually enforces, which is not always the model code. | Kentucky State Plumbing Code (815 KAR Chapter 20) |
| 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from.
2015 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.
2023 NFPA 70 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 Kentucky actually enforces, which is not always the model code.
Kentucky State Plumbing Code (815 KAR Chapter 20)
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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky, 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 Kentucky projects, from concept through construction administration. One engineering team across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, coordinated in your model.
MEP design for Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky plants and food processing facilities. Designed around the production line, not around a template.
Cooling and power design for Kentucky data centers and mission-critical rooms, including redundancy strategy, capacity planning, and the electrical analysis that has to back the design.
MEP design for Kentucky healthcare, K-12, and higher education facilities, where ventilation requirements, pressure relationships, and life-safety systems drive the design and the review.
Kentucky Market Data
7,148
Manufacturing
257,661 workers
24,977
Healthcare & social assistance
313,799 workers
2,275
Educational services
164,288 workers
592
Data centers & hosting
3,830 workers
158,455 total Kentucky 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 · Kentucky
The questions Kentucky design teams and owners ask before they hire us, answered the way we'd note them on a set.
Kentucky enforces the 2015 International Mechanical Code, adopted statewide by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction and applied alongside the 2018 Kentucky Building Code, which is based on the 2015 International Building Code.
No. Kentucky writes its own plumbing code under 815 KAR Chapter 20 rather than adopting the IPC. This is the requirement design teams from other states most often miss, because a plumbing design coordinated to the IPC will not automatically satisfy a Kentucky plan reviewer.
Commercial buildings in Kentucky are held to the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code. Residential work follows a separate, earlier edition, so the envelope and equipment efficiency assumptions are not interchangeable between the two.
Kentucky is entirely ASHRAE climate zone 4A, mixed-humid. Equipment has to handle a genuine heating season and a humid cooling season, so latent capacity and dehumidification control carry as much weight as sensible cooling tonnage.
Construction documents used for permit must be sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. True Power Systems holds an active Kentucky PE license and stamps every Kentucky deliverable.
Yes. Most of our work comes in as a consultant to the architect, carrying mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design from concept through construction administration. We model in Revit and coordinate against the architectural and structural models so conflicts surface before they reach the field.
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
Kentucky MEP · Fee Proposal
Direct Lines
Ben True, P.E. · Principal
ben@truepowersystems.comNot in Kentucky? 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 →
