ᐅ Planning the Utility Room (Spacing Between Equipment)

Hi, how did you plan your utility room?

Ours is 7.50m² (81 sq ft) and already packed with

• Brine heat pump
• Recirculation system
• Main electrical panel / distribution board
• Battery for photovoltaic system
• AC generator (photovoltaic)

We only have space for a washing machine because our design specialist says the individual devices need to be spaced as far apart as possible so they can be accessed from all sides (except the back). However, I’m not sure how accurate that advice is.

Therefore, I’d like to ask here: Do you also have such large distances between each device (about 50 - 70cm (20 - 28 inches)) and consequently no room left to fit anything else?

I’m grateful for any experiences or tips!

We have a technical room housing a brine heat pump, hot water storage tank, 2 m (6.5 ft) control cabinet, mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, 19-inch network rack, utility connections, and more. It is about 10 sqm (108 sq ft) and there is no space left for anything else.
That’s why we have a second room for the washing machine, dryer, drying rack, chest freezer, and similar appliances, which otherwise would never have fit in our house.
Edit: The inverter for the photovoltaic system is located in the garage.

Everything is very close together on my property. However, there is good access to the front everywhere.
You can also reach the water tank from one side.
So far, no one has complained. But I don’t have any photovoltaic panels yet.

Tolentino schrieb:

For me, everything is placed very close together. However, you can easily access everything from the front. The water storage tank can also be accessed from one side. So far, no one has complained. But I don't have any photovoltaic panels yet.

Thanks! What exactly do you mean by “very close together” in terms of spacing dimensions?

Not everything is in place yet, but the washing machine and dryer will probably be positioned right next to each other, and I might even have to stack them. They will most likely be located in front of the water softening system. I still need to build some kind of trolley to pull them forward for refilling the salt.

There won’t be much space left near the electrical panel, probably about 40cm (16 inches) if I’m lucky. The inverter might possibly be mounted on the wall there later.

I plan to install an open network cabinet just below the ceiling.

The water storage tank is located alone on the opposite side of the wall I just described, about 1.2m (4 feet) deep in a niche. As mentioned, one side is still accessible. The mechanical ventilation system is installed in another niche nearby, and next to it I will build a laundry sink. Space for drying clothes is only available by using clotheslines stretched across the room. But we dry almost everything indoors anyway, and in summer we can dry clothes outside.

olop01y schrieb:

Therefore, I would like to ask here: Do you also have such large gaps between each of the appliances (about 50 - 70cm (20 - 28 inches)) and as a result, no space left to fit anything else there?

Would it be a problem to pull the freezer out a bit when you need to access behind the heat pump?