True Power Systems · Consulting Engineers
True Power Systems delivers mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for Michigan architects, developers, and building operators. HVAC load and ventilation design, power distribution, plumbing and process piping, PE-stamped and coordinated in Revit.
Code Summary · Michigan
These are the editions Michigan actually enforces, verified against Code Books, Michigan LARA Bureau of Construction Codes. Drawings coordinated to the wrong edition fail plan review; ours are designed to these.
| Discipline | Adopted edition |
|---|---|
| Building | 2021 Michigan Building Code based on the 2021 International Building Code, effective April 2025 |
| Mechanical | 2021 Michigan Mechanical Code based on the 2021 IMC, effective March 2024 |
| Plumbing | 2021 Michigan Plumbing Code based on the 2021 IPC, effective March 2024 |
| Electrical | 2023 National Electrical Code Part 8 Electrical Code Rules, effective March 2024 |
| Energy | 2021 Michigan Commercial Energy Code IECC 2021 commercial provisions and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 |
| Fuel gas | Covered by the Michigan Mechanical Code Michigan publishes no standalone fuel gas code book |
| Accessibility | Michigan Building Code Chapter 11 with Michigan barrier-free design requirements |
| Existing buildings | 2021 Michigan Rehabilitation Code for Existing Buildings based on the 2021 IEBC |
Adopted and enforced by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes (LARA). Source: Code Books, Michigan LARA Bureau of Construction Codes
Design Criteria
ASHRAE Zones 5A / 6A / 7
cold
Michigan is a heating-dominated state across zones 5A through 7, and the Upper Peninsula is as cold as anywhere the code addresses. Envelope performance, freeze protection, ventilation air tempering, and snow and ice handling at intakes and exhausts drive the mechanical design here in a way they never do in the South.
Project Locations
Plan Review Notes
Michigan promulgates its construction codes as administrative rules through the LARA Bureau of Construction Codes under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act. They apply uniformly statewide, and local jurisdictions do not adopt their own code editions, so the technical requirements are the same wherever the project sits.
Michigan updated the trades ahead of the building code, and the staggered dates matter. The mechanical, plumbing, and electrical codes took effect in March 2024, while the building code and rehabilitation code followed in April 2025 and the commercial energy code in April 2025. A project spanning that window can sit against different vintages depending on when it was permitted.
The electrical code is worth flagging on its own: Michigan enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code, which is newer than most of the surrounding states and newer than the edition many out-of-state design teams are working from. Commercial energy compliance runs through the 2021 IECC commercial provisions or ASHRAE 90.1-2019. Every Michigan deliverable True Power Systems issues is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the state.
Services Schedule · Michigan
Full MEP scope under one roof, scheduled the way you'd schedule equipment. Every line ships sealed by a Michigan-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 Michigan climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from. | 2021 Michigan 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 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 Michigan actually enforces, which is not always the model code. | 2021 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan climate rather than a rule of thumb, with equipment schedules a contractor can actually buy from.
2021 Michigan 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 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 Michigan actually enforces, which is not always the model code.
2021 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan, 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 Michigan projects, from concept through construction administration. One engineering team across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, coordinated in your model.
MEP design for Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan plants and food processing facilities. Designed around the production line, not around a template.
Cooling and power design for Michigan data centers and mission-critical rooms, including redundancy strategy, capacity planning, and the electrical analysis that has to back the design.
MEP design for Michigan healthcare, K-12, and higher education facilities, where ventilation requirements, pressure relationships, and life-safety systems drive the design and the review.
Michigan Market Data
19,739
Manufacturing
600,757 workers
35,652
Healthcare & social assistance
683,899 workers
6,907
Educational services
349,692 workers
1,917
Data centers & hosting
10,323 workers
300,662 total Michigan 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 · Michigan
The questions Michigan design teams and owners ask before they hire us, answered the way we'd note them on a set.
Michigan enforces the 2021 Michigan Mechanical Code, based on the 2021 International Mechanical Code, which took effect in March 2024. It is promulgated as an administrative rule by the LARA Bureau of Construction Codes and applies uniformly statewide.
Yes. The 2021 Michigan Plumbing Code is based on the 2021 International Plumbing Code and took effect in March 2024, with Michigan amendments layered on top of the model code.
Michigan enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code, adopted under the Part 8 Electrical Code Rules effective March 2024. That is newer than most neighboring states, so design teams should confirm GFCI, surge protection, and disconnect requirements against the 2023 edition rather than an older one.
Commercial buildings follow the 2021 Michigan Commercial Energy Code, which adopts the 2021 IECC commercial provisions and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019 for nonresidential work. Either can serve as the compliance path.
Michigan spans ASHRAE climate zones 5A, 6A, and 7, so it is heating-dominated statewide and the Upper Peninsula is genuinely severe. Envelope performance, ventilation air tempering, freeze protection, and snow and ice handling at intakes and exhausts drive the mechanical design.
Construction documents used for permit must be sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Michigan. True Power Systems holds an active Michigan PE license and stamps every Michigan 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
Michigan MEP · Fee Proposal
Direct Lines
Ben True, P.E. · Principal
ben@truepowersystems.comNot in Michigan? 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 →
