Building Utilities Reviewer Flashcards

Flashcards for Building Utilities Review

Siphon vortex water closet

A type of water closet where the flushing action is started by a whirlpool motion followed by a complete flush down.

Bidet

A plumbing fixture that is used for cleaning private parts.

Control and valves

Used for control, isolation, and repair of the water distribution system.

Nipple

Pipe fitting used in connecting male threaded pipes (threads are outside).

Back siphonage

Flowing back of used, contaminated or polluted water from a plumbing fixture or vessel into a water supply pipe due to a negative pressure in such pipe.

Waste pipe

Pipe that conveys only wastewater or liquid waste free of fecal matter.

Vent pipe

Used for ensuring the circulation of air in a plumbing system and for relieving the negative pressure exerted on trap seals.

Trap

A fitting or device designed and constructed to provide, when properly vented, a liquid seal which prevents the backflow of foul air or methane gas without materially affecting the flow of sewage or wastewater through it.

Stack

The vertical main of a system of soil, waste, or vent pipings extending through one or more stories and extended thru the roof.

House drain

Part of the lowest horizontal piping of a plumbing system which receives the discharges from the soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside of a building and conveys it to the house sewer outside of the building.

House sewer

Extends from the house drain at a point 0.60 meters from the outside face of the foundation wall of a building to the junction with the street sewer or to any point of discharge, and conveying the drainage of one building site.

Grease trap

A device designed and installed to separate and retain deleterious, hazardous, or undesirable matters from normal wastes and permits normal sewage or liquid wastes to discharge into the disposal terminal by gravity.

Ventilation

Portion of the drainage pipe installation intended to maintain a balanced atmospheric pressure inside the system.

Stack vent

The extension of a soil or waste stack above the highest horizontal drain connected to the stack.

Vent stack

The vertical vent pipe installed primarily for providing circulation of air to and from any part of the soil, waste of the drainage system.

Vent stack through roof

The uppermost end of vent stack above the roof.

Indirect waste pipe

Pipe that does not connect directly with the drainage system but conveys liquid wastes by discharging into a plumbing fixture, interceptor, or receptacle directly connected to the drainage system.

Backflow valve

Used in house drain to prevent the unlikely occurrence of back flows.

Sewage ejectors

Pumps the wastes up from the sump pit to the sewers (which are usually higher than basement levels).

Grease interceptor

Used for fixtures where grease may be introduced into the drainage or sewer system in quantities that can effect line stoppage or hinder sewage treatment or private sewage disposal.

Trap seal loss

Direct effect of the Minus & Plus Pressure inside the system due to inadequate ventilation of traps.

Wet vent

That portion of a vent pipe through which wastewater also flows through.

Dry vent

A vent that does not carry liquid or water-borne wastes.

Looped vent

A vertical vent connection on a horizontal soil or waste pipe branch at a point downstream of the last fixture connection and turning to a horizontal line above the highest overflow level of the highest fixture connected there. Used in spaces without partitions.

Circuit vent

A group vent pipe which starts in front of the extreme (highest) fixture connection on a horizontal branch and connects to the vent stack.

Relief vent

A vertical vent line that provides additional circulation of air between the drainage and vent systems or to act as an auxiliary vent on a specially designed system such as a “yoke vent” connection between the soil and vent stacks.

Unit vent

An arrangement of venting so installed that one vent pipe serve two (2) traps.

Cleanout

A pipe fitting containing a removable plug that provides access for repair or inspection of a pipe.

Main vent

The principal artery of the venting system to which vent branches are connected.

Fitting

Used in pipe plumbing systems to connect straight pipe or tubing sections, to adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes, such as regulating or measuring fluid flow.

Plumbing

The art and technique of installing pipes, fixtures, and other apparatuses in buildings for bringing in the supply of liquids, substances and/or ingredients and removing them.

Shallow well

The most common type of well, usually dug manually and around 15 meters deep.

Submersible pump

A type of pump that is designed to be fully immersible within a tank or other media storage receptacle.

Gate valve

A type of valve that is used mainly to completely close or completely open the water line (does not control flow of water).

Check valve

A type of valve that is used to prevent reversal of flow in the line.

Riser

A water supply pipe extending vertically to one full story or more to convey water into pipe branches or plumbing fixtures.

Service pipe

The pipe from the street water main or other source of water supply to the building served.

Water meter

A device used to measure in liters or gallons the amount of water that passes through the water service.

Washdown water closet

A type of water closet that flushes through a simple wash down action and discharges waste into a trapway located at the front of the bowl.

Reverse trap water closet

A type of water closet that flushes through a siphon action created in the trapway.

Septic tank

A watertight covered receptacle designed and constructed to receive the discharge of sewage from a building sewer, separate solids from the liquid, digest organic matter and store digested solids through a period of detention, and allow the clarified liquids to discharge for final disposal.

Grey water

Waste water with the exception of human wastes.

Black water

Water plus solid and liquid human wastes.

Storm water

Rain water.

Seepage pit

A loosely lined excavation in the ground, which receives the discharge of a septic tank; designed to permit effluent to seep through pit bottom and sides.

Cesspool

A non-watertight lined excavation in the ground which receives the discharge of a sanitary drainage system, designed to retain the organic matter but permitting the liquid to seep through the pit bottom and sides.

Standpipe

A pipe installed in buildings not as part of the water supply or waste disposal system but primarily for use as water conveyor in case of fire.

Dry standpipe

Standpipe is connected to the building exterior (max ht.= 1.20M) for connection to fire department

Wet standpipe

A piping network (line is directly connected to the main water line) connects to all levels of a building (at least 1 standpipe on each level).

Stairway landings

As much as possible, standpipes should be located in.

Wet Standpipe Coverage

The number of wet standpipes shall be determined so that all portions of the building are within 6 meters of a nozzle attached to a hose 23 meters long.

3 to 6m

Distance of sprinkler pipes.

Sprinkler head

Sprinkler head.

Pendent

Sprinkler Head

Upright

Sprinkler Head

Pendent

For basement parking what type of sprinkler is suitable to use?

Dry

Type of sprinkler system that are installed in spaces in which the ambient temperature may be cold enough to freeze the water, rendering the system inoperable.

Pendent

For offices what type of sprinkler head is best to use?

Natural system

Storm water system does not use gutter or downspout?

Independent system

Storm water system brings collected water directly to the reservoir.

Combined system

Storm water system combines storm water with sanitary waste.

Gutter

The roofing element usually located along the entire perimeter of the roof used for collecting rainwater.

Fire alarm station

A manually operated alarm-initiating device that may be equipped to generate a continuous signal or a series of coded pulses.

Circuit supervision

The circuit arrangements in fire alarm system that indicate a malfunction in the wiring of alarm devices by sounding a trouble bell.

Linear heat detector

Heat detector is applied to long, narrow elements, and applied typically in cable trays, cable bundle of all sorts, conveyors and large long equipment.

Infrared radiation detector

Flame detector is long range and very sensitive which react in milliseconds and react to most types of fires.

Buzzer

Signal device is consisting of an electromagnetic coil that, when electric power is applied to it will cause a thin metal piece to vibrate.

Siren

Signal device is consisting of an electric motor that produces a continuous high-pitched sound (100dB max) and can be used only in a place with normally high ambient sound.

Photoelectric device

Intrusion detection device operates on the simple principle of beam interruption, which is quite effective indoors, but outdoors, dusts, insects and birds can show the location of the beam, permitting it to be circumvented.

Mechanical motion detector

Intrusion detection device is basically a spring mounted contact suspended inside a second contact surface which is very sensitive and can be activated by sonic booms, wind and even a heavy truck passing by.

Grounding

Systems is interconnected to all electrical equipment to provide a direct path to earth in order to protect people and equipment from fault currents.

Amperes

The unit of measurement of the movement of electric charge known as an electric current.

Armored cable

Types of wires has a galvanized steel spiral metal sheath and may be installed in dry, indoor locations with product designation BX.

Circuit

The entire course an electric current travels, from the source of power, through an electrical device, and back to the source.

Copper

Materials is a good conductor and most commonly used for electrical wires.

Parallel wiring

Types of wiring includes several light fixtures or receptacles that operate on the same circuit with the hot and neutral wires running together from one housing box to another and wires to individual devices branch off from them.

Circuit Breaker

An automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit and Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and interrupt current flow.

Governor

A safety device designed to stop an elevator car automatically before the car’s speed becomes excessive.

Buffers

A safety device usually placed in the elevator pit and the main purpose is not to stop a falling car but to bring it to a partially cushioned stop if it would over travel the lower terminal.

Parallel

Escalator arrangement is simpler to visualize and also more common and requires floor space around escalators, which is used in stores to display special sale merchandise.

Automated dumbwaiter

Equipment, which is also known as ejection lift because of the method of delivery, and this device is ideally suited for delivery of food carts, linens, dishes and bulk-liquid containers.

Hoistway

A vertical shaft for the travel of one or more elevator which includes the pit and terminates at the underside of the overhang machinery space floor for electric elevators, or at the underside of the roof over the hoistway of a hydraulic elevator.

Machine room

Normally located near the base of the hoistway containing hydraulic pump unit and electronic controls of hydraulic type elevators.

Truss

Escalator components is a welded steel frame that supports the entire apparatus and the tracks are steel angles attached to this component, which the step rollers are guided, thus controlling the motion of the steps.

Moving walk

Conveying systems uses a flattened pallet in place of a step where the drive mechanism, safeties, brake, handrails, and so on—the unit is similar to an escalator.

Active fire protection

Structural fire protection in buildings includes manual and automatic detection and suppression of fires, like using and installing a fire sprinkler system or finding the fire alarm and/or extinguishing it.

Average trip time

A key selection criterion for elevators that is considered as the average time spent by passengers from the moment they arrive in the lobby to the moment they leave the car at an upper floor.

Centralized system

HVAC systems is in one place that distributes the equipment’s function to a specific floor or zone.

Centralized system

HVAC systems has the disadvantages of demanding maintenance, many potential threats to the occupied spaces and regular cleaning to maintain air quality.

Direct refrigerant

HVAC system type eliminates the distribution trees of air and water, relying instead on heat/cooling device adjacent to or within the space to be served.

Duct

HVAC equipment carries air to and from conditioned space and contains dampers to direct and modulate air flow.

Heat exchanger

HVAC equipment includes condensers and evaporators in refrigeration equipment, water and steam coils in air handlers.

Preliminary design phase

HVAC design process considers the most general combinations of comfort needs and climate characteristics?

Design development phase

HVAC design process applies one of the design alternatives which has probably been chosen as the most promising combination of aesthetic, social and technical solutions for the program?

Equipment capacity

What is considered the critical decision in sizing the heating equipment?

Dampers

HVAC components are valves that allow some or all of the airflow through a duct to be cut off that can be manually operated by building occupants, or automatically operated by centralized control systems.

Refrigerants

Gases at normal temperatures and pressures, and must be compressed and liquefied to be of service later as heat absorbers in HVAC systems.

Reverberation

The perpetuation of reflected sound within a space after the source has ceased.

All of the above

A source of airborne sound

Structure-borne

Sound travelling through solid building components such as floors, walls and ductwork