Units
The term ‘units’ can have several different applications in the context of the built environment.
The term can refer to devices that form part of a more complex mechanism and have a specified function. For example; air handling units, chiller units, consumer units, fan coil units and so on.
It can also refer to a unit of measurement, which is used as a standard for measuring similar items. When any other quantity of the same kind is measured it can be expressed in those units. For example, the physical quantities of length or height. Metres, centimetres and millimetres are units of length that represent a definite predetermined length. In other words, 5 metres refers to five times the predetermined length of a metre.
The International System of Units (SI) is the most commonly adopted system of units.
The main units that are used are as shown in table below.
The same unit symbol, i.e. m, mm, kg, should be used for singular and plural values (e.g. 1 kg, 10 kg), and no full stops or any other punctuation marks should be used after the symbol, unless it occurs at the end of a sentence.
For more information, see Notation and units on drawings and documents.
Units can also refer to parts of a buildings or development, such as a ‘housing unit’; that is, a separate and independent dwelling that is intended for habitation by a single household. Since 2001, a dwelling has been defined as a self-contained unit of accommodation. This can include individual houses as well as individual flats within a tower block.
In project management, the term unit might be used to refer to a group of workers responsible for a particular element of the project.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
Government responds to the final Grenfell Inquiry report
A with a brief summary with reactions to their response.
A brief description and background to this new February law.
Everything you need to know about building conservation and the historic environment.
NFCC publishes Industry White Paper on Remediation
Calling for a coordinated approach and cross-departmental Construction Skills Strategy to manage workforce development.
'who blames whom and for what, and there are three reasons for doing that: legal , cultural and moral"
How the Home Energy Model will be different from SAP
Comparing different building energy models.
Mapping approaches for standardisation.
UK Construction contract spending up at the start of 2025
New construction orders increase by 69 percent on December.
Preparing for the future: how specifiers can lead the way
As the construction industry prepares for the updated home and building efficiency standards.
Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment
A practical guide for built environment professionals.
Updating the minimum energy efficiency standards
Background and key points to the current consultation.
Heritage building skills and live-site training.
Shortage of high-quality data threatening the AI boom
And other fundamental issues highlighted by the Open Data Institute.
Data centres top the list of growth opportunities
In robust, yet heterogenous world BACS market.
Increased funding for BSR announced
Within plans for next generation of new towns.