t’s not a stretch to say that mechanical engineers breathe life into a building. While architects may conceptualize them and contractors may build them, without the efforts of the people who design and maintain their central systems—including the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems—the spaces wouldn’t be habitable.

This is especially true in Alaska, where huge temperature variations can cause buildings to be too hot, too cold, or too dangerous to occupy. Add to this the fact that these systems have a myriad of challenges of their own—cost, size, capacity—and it’s no surprise that those who do the work have passion for the job.

“Being a mechanical engineer is like taking a drink out of a fire hydrant,” laughs Dave Shumway, a consulting engineer for AMC Engineers for the past thirty years. “But you’re always dealing with new and interesting challenges on every project, and there’s always something to learn. It’s never boring.”

“The job is a lot of fun, and it’s definitely technically challenging,” agrees Mark Frischkorn, principal mechanical engineer at RSA Engineering. “Every job has a different set of challenges, and you only get one shot at it. You have to get it right the first time.”

Even in a temperate environment, there are many factors that influence what type of HVAC system goes into a building, including where it is located, heating and cooling load requirements, indoor air quality requirements, maintenance requirements, energy use, initial cost, and whether it needs to tie into other systems, including those in other buildings.

“We’re the guys who put energy where you want it instead of where it is,” says Frischkorn. “Nobody builds a building for the sake of having one. They want to do something inside of it to make money. The building is just an expense, and they want the lowest expense possible.

“Unlike in a big warehouse, where you can keep it at one temperature, in a building with twenty-five offices, everyone wants a different temperature,” he adds. “Owners want their employees to be happy, but they don’t want to use any energy they don’t have to. Some clients don’t care if they see the HVAC system, and others want it buried. And they don’t want it to take up a lot of space, because that space isn’t leasable.”

As if that wasn’t enough, add in the fact that Alaska has its own challenges, from remote locations to transportation expenses to extreme heat and cold. While there are some materials that perform better in Arctic climates, quite often the key to a building working affordably and efficiently is innovative use of existing technologies and a willingness to come up with new solutions.

“What clients are paying for is our expertise; contractors don’t just roll up with parts and start building. We have to figure it all out ahead of time, and we’re starting from scratch,” says Frischkorn. “First, you find out what kind of building a client wants—and then you have to figure out how to make it all work.”

Imagine putting a wrench on a piece of steel, and the bolt snaps off. Turns out, that can happen. When the temperature is -60˚F, things just don’t work the same way that they do in the Lower 48.

“HVAC systems in Fairbanks have to be designed to handle 100˚F in the summer and -60˚F in the winter; that’s a 160 degree ambient temperature swing,” says Shumway. “All of the systems we build need to be much stronger, with a lot more insulation, and have additional redundancies, like stand-by pumps and fans.

“It’s a whole different level of design than what you see in the Lower 48, except maybe in North Dakota or a couple of similar places,” he adds.

“When it’s extremely cold, it’s also extremely dry,” says Colin Fay, an associate at PDC Engineers. “In Southcentral, the winter is dry, but when you get to really cold spaces like the Interior, it’s even worse. With electronics everywhere, you have to make sure that it doesn’t get so dry that people get shocked touching computers or other equipment.

“In extreme cold, maintenance problems can become increasingly more dangerous,” he adds. “In order for a boiler or furnace to fire properly requires combustible air that comes in from the outside. If the air intakes frost up, it blocks combustion, which can result in a building filling with carbon monoxide.”

According to Emily Winfield, chief mechanical engineer at Design Alaska, costs are also a prohibitive factor when it comes to making a design work.

“Labor costs are high, shipping costs are high, and material costs are high, so you have to be very deliberate in the design process to capture costs effectively so that there are no surprises when the building owner bids the project,” she explains. “For example, you have to take into account how materials get to the site; there are a number of locations on the North Slope that have no road access. Sometimes things can be brought in by barge, or sometimes they can only be flown in, which adds enormously to the cost of materials.”

“It’s not unusual to see prices of $1,000 per square foot to build on the Slope, compared to Anchorage, where it may cost $200 or $300 per square foot, maybe less,” adds Frischkorn. “While there might be some local labor out there, you may also need to bring in other contractors or tradespeople. Now you’ve got sixty guys out there, and you have to build them a camp to live in and bring them food. That’s not even counting the sheer expense of shipping everything out by barge or plane.”

Maintenance is also a concern, considering that the nearest HVAC specialist may be hundreds of miles and a very expensive plane ride away. This is why it’s so important to design systems using manufacturers’ products that have good repair part support, as well as local technical support.

“When a system is down, you can’t wait four months to get a part,” says Shumway. “We pride ourselves on building custom systems using off-the-shelf parts.”

It also helps to have a maintenance staff on hand, though this is not always the case.

“The University of Alaska Fairbanks has a 24-hour central power plant, so they have staff that can handle more complex systems,” says Shumway as an example. “This allows us to recommend a system with an extra level of energy efficiency because they have the experienced staff to maintain it. That’s a whole different story than a client who may only have a subcontractor who comes out to check on the system every three months.”

And of course, energy efficiency is key, no matter where in the state these companies work.

“Saving energy has been important for years in Alaska, even before LEED and the push toward sustainability,” says Winfield. “In an Arctic climate, energy costs are very high, so we’re always looking at low-impact designs to make buildings more viable.”

She gives the example of using the heat from the exhaust airstream—which would normally be wasted—to heat incoming air. “We also design using much more insulation, as well as consider if outside-rated equipment may need to be located inside,” she says. “Even if it’s rated for the outdoors, it is probably not made for the temperatures that it’s going to experience here.”

“In Kotzebue, fuel oil is $6 a gallon, so owners have every incentive to keep a building as efficient as possible,” says Frischkorn of another factor that can drive design. “In the Interior, it can be even worse, up to $8 or $9 a gallon. Power costs $0.35 a kilowatt hour in Kotzebue, which is three times what it is in Anchorage, even when supplemented by the local wind farm.”

While LEED is still a hot topic in the Lower 48, clients aren’t jumping on the bandwagon in Alaska, possibly because some of its requirements are already built into Alaska design.

“In the late 2000s, there was a huge push to move toward LEED, but the market has now backed off,” says Fay. “LEED is a prescriptive-based rating system with points awarded based on simulations instead of how a building actually performs.

“In Alaska, doing what is sustainable does not always mean meeting requirements that were written in California or Georgia,” he continues. “While LEED recommends white roofs on schools to reflect heat, in the summer, our schools are not occupied, so heat is not a concern. But in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, ice and water stay on the roof longer with a white roof instead of taking advantage of the free heat provided by a black one.

“There are good LEED applications and poor applications; it’s all about how you manage them,” he adds. “It doesn’t make sense in Alaska to have a lot of designated parking spots for high-efficiency vehicles or bike racks and shower rooms in a facility at the end of a 20-mile dirt road just to get a LEED point. You’re not using the square footage to best serve the needs of the community you’re in.”

That said, Fay adds that he is passionate about sustainable buildings and creating a better built environment.

“I think that investing in mechanical engineering is the best place to spend money as an owner,” he says. “In extreme cases, you can create a living building with net positive water, where you’re actually putting water back into the aquifer, and net positive energy. If done correctly, the costs of a mechanical system may be almost nothing. Where you spend money is on the engineering design.”

While there is always a need for mechanical engineers in Alaska, there are also numerous job opportunities for HVAC technicians and those in affiliated trades.

To become a mechanical engineer requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and potential hires must pass a Fundamentals of Engineering exam. This is followed by four years of working as an engineering intern or Engineer in Training under a professional engineer (PE). After passing the eight-hour Principles & Practice of Engineering exam, licensed mechanical engineers may then stamp their own designs.

“Engineering is one of the most lucrative careers you can have with a four-year degree; you can make a very good living without needing an additional master’s or doctorate,” says Fay. “But you do need to be passionate about science and math.”

He adds that there are also numerous jobs at PDC that do not require a PE license, and that the company is actively hiring for both engineering and non-engineering positions throughout the state, including designing and drafting positions.

“The industry doesn’t just need engineers; we also need journeymen electricians and plumbers, and these are good-paying jobs,” adds Shumway. “We need people who can turn a wrench and run wiring. When we design these buildings with all of these energy savings, we are adding quite a bit of complexity to basic systems, and we need people who understand how they work and can operate and maintain them.”

Those who do choose to enter the field will find that there are many rewards.

“I’ve been in the industry for seven years, and I like that every day is different,” says Winfield, adding that Design Alaska is always looking to hire people passionate about the work. “There’s never a dull moment.”

“It’s really neat to go into a building and figure out what’s not working and how to improve it while not spending too much money in the process,” adds Frischkorn of the enjoyment he gets from the troubleshooting process. “And when you put stuff on paper and then see it come out of the ground—when there is a building where there wasn’t one before, and the air systems are moving and the water is moving, and it comes to life—that’s a pretty exciting thing.”