Mastering Autodesk Revit MEP 2016 CHAPTER 14: Circuiting and Panels

Electrical Settings Wiring Settings Global project settings for calculations related to wire sizing Tick mark annotation and display options Voltage drop settings Available wire sizes per ampacity based on material, rating and insulation The electrical settings for your project will determine your ability to connect devices and equipment and also define how wiring and electrical information is displayed. In the Wiring settings section of the dialog box you can define the ambient temperature to be used in order to apply a correction factor to the load of a circuit. Tick marks for wiring are also defined in the Wiring section of the Electrical Settings dialog box. You can create an annotation family to use as a tick mark if the defaults do not comply with your standards. Volt drop settings can also be applied in the Wiring section of the dialog box. Wire sizes that are available for use in the project can be defined based on their material, temperature rating and insulation. Sizes can be applied for specific ampacities.

Electrical Settings Voltages Distribution Systems Define values and maximum/minimum Relates to connector voltages in equipment and device families Custom voltages can be created per project requirements Used to establish Distribution System properties Distribution Systems Define behavior of systems Phase, configuration, number of wires, L-L and L-G voltages The Voltage Definitions section is for defining voltages and establishing the minimum and maximum values for the voltages used in your project. This allows for different ratings on devices or equipment. These voltages will be used to establish different distribution system definitions. You can define the distribution systems to be used in your project in the Distribution Systems section of the Electrical Settings dialog box. The connectors in your electrical families need to coincide with the systems you define so that you can assign devices and equipment objects to a system. You can create single or three phase systems in delta or wye configurations and establish the number of wires for the system. will be used to establish different distribution system definitions.

Electrical Settings Load Classifications Defined in project settings or families Property of connectors in electrical families, used to apply demand factor settings established in projects Customizable Use preset list or create your own as needed Load classifications defined in families will be available in projects when family is loaded The load classifications of the connectors in your electrical families determine which demand factor they will take on in your project. There are many load classifications that come with the default electrical templates. You can create your own using the buttons below the list, in the lower-left corner of the dialog box. Custom classifications are available in projects when defined in a family and the family is loaded into the project.

Electrical Settings Demand Factors Defined factors can be assigned to load classifications Three methods for defining behavior of a demand factor Constant – set value By Quantity - assign different factors to ranges of items or the same factor to items depending on how many there are By Load - assign different factors to ranges of loads or the same factor to the total load connected to a panel In the Demand Factors dialog box you can define the demand factors that are assigned to load classifications. The default electrical templates come with an extensive list of demand factors and you can create your own using the buttons in the lower-left corner of the dialog box. The Calculation Method section is where you determine how the demand will be calculated. Additional load can be added to the calculated result using the check box at the bottom of the dialog box.

Creating Circuits and Wiring Type defined by connector properties in electrical families Circuits are the systems for the electrical components Available for creation upon selection of component in project Panel can be selected once circuit is created Circuits are not wires and vice-versa A system (circuit) is not created just by drawing wire between components Device family with power and data connectors, selected in project You can create circuits for devices or equipment to keep track of the loads within your panels. Circuits are the “systems” that Revit MEP recognizes for electrical design. You can create a circuit for devices or fixtures without selecting a panel, so that at a minimum you have removed them from the default system and therefore your project file performance will not suffer. It is important to realize that circuits and wires are not the same thing. Circuits are the actual connection between elements while wires are simply a symbolic representation of the connection. The type of circuit that you can create for a device depends on the properties of the connector in the device family. The most important property is the System Type, which defines what kind of circuit can be created for the device.

Creating Circuits and Wiring Editing Wiring Grips allow for changing wire graphics Change End Offset – control where the wire is drawn to Move Vertex - control what the wire is connected to Move Vertex - control arc of wire + or – used to add or remove hot conductors Wire can be connected to components but shown drawn from elsewhere Must be connected at one end for homerun When a circuit is created you have the option to automatically generate the wiring. If the wiring that is automatically generated is not exactly how you want to show the connection of the devices, you can edit it after it is created. When you select a wire there are grips that allow you to change the arc and location of the wire. The number of hot conductors can be controlled using the “+” and “-” grips.

Creating Circuits and Wiring Editing Circuits Contextual tab with circuit editing tools Circuits can be moved Up, down, across, or to a specific location Easy visual editing When a circuit is selected, all other elements are gray Properties palette contains data for a selected circuit When you select a device or fixture that has a circuit the Electrical Circuits contextual tab appears with tools for editing and managing the circuit. This tab is similar to the tab that appears when you create a circuit.

Creating Circuits and Wiring Wiring Display Easily controlled by View Filters Filters can be created for specific wire types, created in the Electrical Settings Allows for varying display of wire in same view Wire type created for underground wiring View with filter applied to display underground wire as dashed Using a filter to control the display of wires in your project is an effective method for distinguishing between different wire types. Creating wire types for specific use and using view filters that are applied to those types allows you to show wire such as underground, overhead or low voltage wire in the same view and be able to identify the different types.

Creating Circuits and Wiring Panel Properties Determine what information wire tags will display for circuits Three options for circuit naming Panel Name - places the name of the panel in front of the circuit number. Prefixed - places the prefix defined in the Circuit Prefix parameter in front of the circuit number Standard - does not add any additional information to tags that display the circuit number Standard Panel Name Prefixed In the instance properties of a panel you can provide information about it that is to appear in the panel schedule. You can define how the circuit tags will display when wires are tagged in your drawings by editing the Circuit Naming, Circuit Prefix and Circuit Prefix Separator parameters.