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Revit MEP - HVAC and Electrical Plans Made EasySpeaker Name David Butts

ME500-1

Learn best practices and techniques for creating HVAC plans in Revit MEP. Well discuss how to set up theproject and import architectural backgrounds and then analyze the architectural rooms. Learning to addequipment and ductwork to the plan will be covered, as well as creating schedules and adding annotations tothe plan. Well also discuss how to create additional files that can be used to share data with consultants suchas air terminals, lights, and more. And finally, this sessions hands-on lab will include an all-new dataset.Come see what Revit MEP can do for you!

Topics Include:

- Set up a project with predefined standards- Import and work with architectural backgrounds- Adding HVAC and electrical equipment- Creating Systems and Adding Connecting Geometry- Add schedules and tags to views- Work with consultants through shared files

About the Speaker:

David is a Senior Technical Engineer for Advanced Solutions, Inc. and is from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.David's expertise is based on over 20 years of architectural and MEP engineering design and CADmanagement experience. He has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Architecture from WakeTechnical College. His Autodesk product specialties are in AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD MEP, Revit Architectureand Revit MEP. David is an AutoCAD MEP Certified Expert, an MEP Implementation Certified Expert, andteaches at CAD Camp and Autodesk University. He has been a part of the Autodesk reseller channel as aconsultant and instructor since 1997.

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Revit MEP - HVAC and Electrical Plans Made Easy

Revit MEP is the engineering tool that gives the engineer the ability to work closely with their architecturalclients, creating intelligent 3D models that help them create a more comprehensive design solution.Working in Revit, however, is a different beast than the traditional AutoCAD environment. Many engineershave told me that theyre very comfortable with AutoCAD and dont see a need to change. But thearchitects have begun to throw in their trump card many are doing so by sending the if you want towork with us, you need to be on the same platform letter.

So what does this mean to the engineer? For many, this represents a dramatic move outside of theircomfort zone and possible increases in production costs, changes in the deliverables theyreaccustomed to, and an investment in training and tools that they typically havent been spending toomuch money on. But, the reality is that things change the very tools you use today are dramaticallydifferent than what you used even as recently as 20 years ago not even a whole generation.

The real challenge lies in making sure the engineering firm understands what the underlying workflowprocess is, and how its not very different than what theyre doing right now. Its also helpful to understandwhat Revit does that makes it similar to AutoCAD, and how to build from that understanding that has

been in place for many years. This class and document is designed with the intent to help make thattransition as smooth as possible, with as little workflow interruption and discomfort for the firm aspossible. So lets get started

The Rules for Revit MEP

With most CAD packages its a good idea to use some form of guidelines to help everyday users obtainpredictable and consistent results. The same falls true for Revit MEP users over the years there havebeen many ways to create plans in both AutoCAD and Revit. By following the guidelines below, you canbe off to a good start.

1. Always start from a template when working with Revit MEP. The template includes predefinedfamilies, views, parameters and more that control how a project is going to be assembled, as well as

the look and feel of the drawings that are produced.2. Slow Down! Watch for tooltips, study the interface and get familiar with locations of the design bar,the project browser, the options bar, view control bar, status bar, toolbars, menus, system browserand typed commands.

3. To edit elements, pick with the mouse (left button),then right click. You can also simply right click on thedesign bar to change what bars are visible, as wellas right click on views and edit their name, delete aview, change or create view templates and more.

The example on the left shows a right click menu thatappears when an air terminal is selected this allows usto create similar air terminals, override graphics, changevisibility, find referring views and more.

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4. Draw accurately! Use object snaps and type distances in. Use the reference lines that appear whenyou pause your mouse to align and locate objects.

5. Define worksets at the start of a project. If a project is going to be large enough that the work needsto be broken up into pieces, create the worksets at the beginning.

6. Store common items on a network drive families and templates should be placed in a commonlocation so that others can share any changes automatically. Other items such as duct and pipesizes, construction types, wire sizes and more that are .XML files can also be pointed to a server, andre-pathed to those locations using the Setting menu.

Translation of AutoCAD Terms into Revit Terms

There are very similar behaviors and methods used by both AutoCAD and Revit, and its important toknow what these items are. Heres our handy-dandy decoder list for you, to help make the transition alittle easier:

AutoCAD Command Revit Command What it does Whats different?

LA (Layer) VG (Visibility

Graphics)

Controls the visibility,

color, linetype andpenweight of anobject

Revit doesnt use

layers all objectstyles control theirown color, weight, etc.and control it by view

MS (Model Space) View Where you draw thephysical objects, addannotations

In Revit allannotations arecontrolled by the scaleof the view, and adjustautomatically Viewsalso restrict whatsvisible vertically in aview

Tool Palettes Design Bar Interface tool to help

create and draw allcomponents of aproject

Tool Palettes can be

customized, theDesign Bar cant, butyou can control whatbars are visible

XR (ExternalReference)

Link/Import Links a file in as abackground, allowsthe elements to beadded and removedby others

Use the copy/monitorfunction to trackchanges, as well asmake copies of itemssuch as levels androoms so they can beedited by theengineer. Roomname/number is still

controlled by thearchitect,energy/engineeringdata is controlled bythe engineer in thecopy.

Right Click Menu Add Selected

Right Click Menu Create Similar

Creates a copy withthe same settings

Not Much but checkthe offset elevation onelements properties

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Block/MvBlock/MvPart Family Both are groupings oflinework/3Dcomponents thatrepresent physicalobjects

Families have aprimary definition, butcan also includenested types wherethe user canparametrically controlthe size and shape ofan element donthave to have acatalog to organize asMvParts need.Families are stored inthe template in mostcases, rather than in aseparate folder

Properties Palette Options Bar Both set the instancevalues of elements

The options bar canalso allow a user tocreate systems,

circuits and changesas the commandstructure changes.The ElementProperties dialogue,which can beaccessed from theoptions bar, containsthe specific type andinstance parametersof an element

Project Navigator Project Browser Organizes the partsthat make up a project

Project Navigatorincludes separate

drawing files and theirrelated XML files thatlink them together;Project Browser usesa single file toorganize differentviews of a buildingmodel, and includesschedules and reportsabout that model inone location

There are more items that are similar between the two programs, but these are the primary items you can

deal with on a daily basis. By understanding whats similar in both programs will make transitioningbetween each much easier.

Setting Up a Project with Predefined Standards

Lets go back to the template for a minute. In most cases, you start from a general office template (I usethe Systems-default.rte as my start point) and then create additional templates based on the type ofbuilding, consultant or architect that Im working with (so that my standards for annotation, title blocks,etc. match) Key items to setup in the template include:

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- View templates controls the visibility, lineweights, colors, etc. of elements in a view differentviews can be defined for floor plans, ceiling plans, sections, elevations, details and more belowis an image showing the default view templates that ship with the systems-default.rtefile:

Predefined Views can also be created in the Project Browser heres an example of the ones that Iincluded with my template.

Each view represents what you would normallyconsider as plans, elevations, details, sections and 3Dviews. As a view is created, you can apply a view

template to the new view that specifies what disciplineit is and what the orientation of the view is set to.

While my template contains a few predefined views(which could be all thats needed if the building is justa single story), once the project is started, additionalviews will need to be created to reflect multipledivisions and levels of a building.

Linked backgrounds will automatically show up in newviews, and applying a view template will set thebackground display, penweights, visibility and colors.

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Additional Items that should be included in the template include:

- Parameters scheduling components for elements three types include instances, type andshared parameters (which are stored in a separate text file)

- Schedules reports of data collected from the elements

- Legends graphic tables that show equipment symbols and associated data

- Sheets predefine any sheets that are used from project to project

- Detail Views 2D details that are commonly used on a project

- Families element definitions for nearly every component that is created in a project, includingphysical and annotation objects below are some examples of what could be included in thetemplate as it relates to HVAC:

HVAC Elements

Family TypeAir Terminals Exhaust Air Grill 24 x 24 Face 12 x 12 Connection

Exhaust Diffuser - Hosted Workplane-based Exhaust Diffuser

Return Air Diffuser 24 x 24 Face 12 x 12 ConnectionReturn Diffuser Hosted Workplane-based Return DiffuserSupply Diffuser 24 x 24 Face 12 x 12 ConnectionSupply Diffuser Hosted Workplane-based Supply Diffuser

Supply Diffuser Sidewall StandardSupply Diffuser - RectangularFace Round Neck

12x12 - 6 Neck

12x12 - 8 Neck24x24 6 Neck24x24 8 Neck24x24 10 Neck24x24 12 Neck24x24 14 Neck24x24 16 Neck

Equipment Air Handler Standard

Chiller Air Cooled StandardExhaust Ventilator Downblast StandardHydronic Fin-Tube Radiator 0-3/4 NPT

1 NPT

1-1/4 NPTIn-Line Circulator Standard

Parallel Fan Powered VAV Size 2 6 Inch InletSize 2 8 Inch InletSize 2 10 Inch InletSize 2 12 Inch InletSize 3 6 Inch InletSize 3 8 Inch InletSize 3 10 Inch InletSize 3 12 Inch InletSize 4 8 Inch InletSize 4 10 Inch InletSize 4 12 Inch InletSize 4 14 Inch InletSize 5 10 Inch Inlet

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Size 5 12 Inch InletSize 5 14 Inch InletSize 5 16 Inch InletSize 6 12 Inch InletSize 6 14 Inch Inlet

Size 6 16 Inch Inlet

Pump Base Mounted100 GPM Capacities_130 FeetHeads600 GPM Capacities_120 FeetHeads1000 GPM Capacities_115 FeetHeads

Split System AHU 3 Ton

5 Ton7 Ton

10 Ton

By taking the time to set the template up with relevant content and views, the user will spend much lesstime in the design and documentation process.

Import and Work with Architectural Backgrounds

The Import/Link functionality is a base part of Revit, and works exactly the same, whether the user is inRevit Architecture, Revit Structure or Revit MEP. Linking behavior is nearly identical to Xref behavior inAutoCAD both use attach and overlay as linking methods. Revit also includes a workset feature thatallows users to place items in buckets, allowing them to be worked on independently of the centralmodel file. In our exercise youre going to create everything in one project for simplicity.

Note: To access the project files included in this exercise, please download the .RVT filesincluded in the ME210-1L class data set. Download both .RVT files to complete the exercise.

Linking the Background

To start this project, youre going to create a new project from our template you created earlier.

1. Start from the file menu, select New, choose Project, and then choose the template you want tostart from. After the file opens, double click on the view you wish to be the default view for now,double click on 1-Mech as the default view. Once this is complete, go back to the file menu,choose Save As, then save the project to the location on your server (or wherever youre storingyour project files). NOTE: Dont work off of USB or other forms of external drives when usingRevit.

2. From the file menu, choose Import/Link, and then choose Revit as the file format.

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3. Once the dialogue is open, choose the file you wish to link to (in this case the ME210-1L_Butts_Small-School.rvtfile). You have a few options for placement stick with the defaultcenter-to-center positioning.

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4. Once the file is open, examine the background notice the architectural features that have beenlightened, and which features remain at a heavier pen setting. This is controlled by the currentview, and you can change the visibility of items by typing in VG for visibility graphics.

5. To control the visibility of the elements that belong to other disciplines, check the box at thebottom of the model categories tab. The other elements will become visible, and you can turnon/off items that you want to have shown in this particular view. Scroll down to the furniture item,and uncheck that box, so the furniture is no longer visible in that view.

6. To make sure that the view is set up correctly, you can right click on the view and apply a viewtemplate. The view template controls items such element visibility, lineweight, discipline, colorand detail level. Right click on the 1 Mech view in the Project Browser, then select Apply View

Template.

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7. Choose Mechanical Plan, and then choose OK to close the dialogue.8. Notice our furniture popped back on so you can override this view template (as well as create

new ones) by going back to the visibility graphics. Type in VG from the view, and turn off thefurniture, plants, entourage, and anything else that you dont want to see in an HVAC plan.

9. Right click on the view in the Project Browser, and choose Create View Template from View.Name the view template Mechanical HVAC Plan, and then choose OK.

10. The view template dialogue will appear items such as the scale of the view, detail level andview specific overrides can be edited. View rename can also be adjust to control what shows upvertically in the plan from the finish floor to the next floor, to a specified elevation above a level,or unlimited (which I might use if this was a single story building). To specify the view range,choose the Edit button.

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The default is the level above the current level. You can also set the range above and below thelevels, as well as set the cut plane, by adjusting the corresponding offsets. Choose cancel to exit thedialogue without saving the changes. Choose OK to exit the view template dialogue.

Up to this point, the workflow and processes youve followed is very similar to what an engineer usingAutoCAD would be experiencing. One of the main differences is that youre replacing the AutoCADmethodology of manipulating layers with control the visibility of elements since layers arent used,its much easier to set our template and project up to predetermine how items appear in differenttypes of view.

With every engineering design, the first step is usually to size and place equipment, Differentmethods are used to determine loads for ventilation, lighting and power. In this segment youre goingto assume that the sizing portions are complete, and youre ready to place equipment in our drawings

Note: For a detailed document on preparing a building for energy analysis, download theME210-1L_Butts.pdf class document from the AU website.

This part of the project is called the 4-STEP program. The 4-STEP program is simple, and outlinesthe workflow for an engineering product:

- Add Equipment and Devices to the Model- Create Systems to Associate Different Equipment and Devices- Create the Connecting Geometry- Annotate!

Lets start with the first segment of adding equipment.

Adding HVAC and Electrical Equipment

Revit includes symbology that represents real-world elements that are used in design. Most of thiscontent is actual 3D model representations of a piece of equipment, while other smaller devices suchas light switches, junction boxes, receptacles, etc. are represented by an industry-specific schematicsymbol. In the BIM design world the equipment is placed in the plan, and then added as systems ofequipment. The next exercise covers how to place HVAC and electrical equipment in to the correctviews, and control their visibility for the sheet.

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There are three parts to this exercise:

- Adding VAV Boxes and Air Terminals- Adding Panels- Adding Light Fixtures

Adding VAV Boxes and Air Terminals

To create a system, you need to add both air terminals and air sources. The air source can be an airhandling units or VAV boxes, and the terminals could be grilles, ceiling terminals or slot terminals.The air sources and terminals are joined to a system later to help us create duct layouts, so itsessential to get these components in first. The next few steps will demonstrate how to place thesepieces of equipment.

1. Change to the 1 Mech view. From the Mechanical tab of the design bar, choose the AirTerminals command to place an air terminal. The options bar will change to list the availablefamilies. There will be several types of diffuser families, but there are two primary types hosted

and non-hosted component. A hosted component will have an options bar that appears like theexample below:

A hosted component looks for three different types of elements that can host an element theoptions include:

- Place on Vertical face- Place on Face- Place on Workplane

2. Choose the Supply Diffuser Rectangular Face Round Neck: 24x24 8. This particularcomponent is not a hosted element, but is designed to be related to a level, so when its placed ina room, its not set to an elevation, but instead is placed on the floor of the room.

3. Place an example in Room Seventh Grade 123. Once the first example is placed, you can editthis copys element properties, and then created additional copies from this example. To edit theexample, select it, then right click on the mouse, and choose Element Properties from the pop-upmenu.

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4. Choose the Element Properties option so you can change its offset elevation from the 1st

floor,and edit other properties such as type and instance parameters.

From this dialogue (which is unique basedon the element thats selected), you canchange several items. Types control allexamples of an element, while instanceparameters control each unique element.Change the offset value to 8 for theelevation, and change the flow to 250 CFM.

You can also turn on or off flow arrows, setthe total pressure at this terminal, andchange identity data and phasing fornew/existing/demolition items.

Select the Edit/New button to change typespecific parameters.

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5. Type parameters include information such as minimum and maximum flow values, physicaldimensions and identity data, such as model, manufacturer and more. Click OK to close thisdialogue, and click Ok to close the element properties dialogue.

6. Select both the diffuser and the tag, and then use the Copy command from the toolbar. Make

sure you have the multipleoption checked on the options bar, and insert 3 additional terminals inthe room, using the alignments provided or by typing in the distances between the terminals.

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Notice that the copied elements tags automatically increment themselves to maintain a sequence this value is the instance parameter Mark, and can be changed at the element properties as needed.

TIP: If you missed changing a parameter such as CFM (which I did here), right click on anelement, and then choose Select All Instances to create a selection set of all 4 terminals youjust placed.

7. To place a VAV box, go back to the Mechanical tab of the design bar and choose MechanicalEquipment. Select the Parallel Fan Powered VAV Box Size 5 12 Inch Inleton the options bar.Place the VAV box in the corridor as shown below to rotate it 90 degrees, tap the space baronce, so the outlet is facing the classroom. Click the modify button on the design bar or hitescape twice to exit the command.

8. To edit the VAV box, right click on the box andchoose Element Properties. Change the offsetelevation to 10 6, which controls the center of theconnection elevation (as it was defined in the VAVbox family). Choose OK to exit the dialogue.

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Adding Panels

Now you can add a power panel to the project. Double click on the 1 Power plan view in theproject browser to set the view current(get it? an electrical jokesorry).

1. Change the design bar to electrical (if you dont see the electrical bar, right click on the design barand check it to make it visible). Choose Electrical Equipment, and then choose the Load buttonon the design bar, so you can add a 120v lighting panelboard.

2. From the Open dialogue, choose the Electrical Components folder, then Electrical Equipment,and then Panelboard. Choose the Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 208V MCB - Surface.rfafile and choose Open.

3. The options bar will change to the example below make sure the 100 amp version of the 208VMCB panel is current.

4. This panel is a hosted component, and you want to choose a vertical wall face to place it. Choosea wall in the Elec 120 room located in the center of the first floor.

5. To edit the panel, right click on it and chooseelement properties.

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6. From this dialogue, you edit several key instance parameters, including:

- Elevation- Mounting- Number of Breakers- Mains- Enclosure Type- Circuits- Circuit Naming- Circuit Prefix Separator- Circuit Prefix- Modifications- Short Circuit Rating- Panel Name

7. Make adjustments as needed change the panel name to LP-1. To take a look at the circuits,

choose the Edit button next to the circuits line.

8. Exit the Edit Circuits dialogue by choosing OK.9. In the electrical view, select the panel. On the options bar, select the distribution system that will

feed the panel in our case, a 120/208 Wyeconfiguration.

Since you dont have any lights placed in the project, the table will appear blank until you assignthose devices to a circuit.

Adding Lighting Devices

Well begin by changing to the 1 Lighting plan view by double-clicking on the view. In order to seelighting devices, in most case you need to be in a ceiling plan view. Depending on the type of light(whether its hosted or not), you may have to place a single example, and then change to anotherview in order to see it to edit its properties for offset elevation. In our case, the view hasnt beensetup, so lets see how to fix this when things dont work quite right.

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1. From the electrical design bar, choose the Light Fixture tool. Place a Plain Recessed LightFixture: 2x4 120element and notice that its not visible. Dont panic a warning dialogue willappear in the lower left corner to tell you whats wrong:

2. To fix this, right click on the 1 Lighting view in the project browser and choose Apply ViewTemplate. Choose the Electrical Ceilingview, and then choose OK. The light will appear in theview. Right click on the light, go to element properties and change its offset elevation to 8.

3. To check the alignment of the light to the ceiling grid, change to the 1 Ceiling Elec plan view.

4. Select the light, and then choose the Movecommand to move it to a grid intersection, using snapoptions such as endpoint and intersection to move the light to the grid.

5. Select the light again, and use the Copycommand to copy the light around the room as describedin the example below:

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6. To run a quick coordination check between our lights and the air terminals, change back to the 1-Lighting plan view. Type in VG, then check the Air Terminal box to make them visible.

Since you have a few conflicts, you can use the move command to rearrange where our terminals areplaced.

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TIP: To move an object to a specific point, you can type in the shortcut for one of the defaultobject snaps that are set in Revit for example, SE is the shortcut for the endpoint snap.Heres a list of the other snaps settings and shortcuts from the Snaps dialogue (located on theSettings pulldown menu):

Move the air terminals so you have this final layout:

Once you get our equipment placed, you can begin to create systems to connect these elementstogether.

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Create Systems to Associate Different Equipment and Devices

In order to use the program effectively, you have to create systems to connect items together.Systems for HVAC items could include supply, exhaust and return, while electrical systems are joinedby circuits and distribution systems (panels feeding other panels). In this exercise you can create asystem that connects our VAV box to our terminals, and a circuit on panel LP-1 than connects thelights. You can look at how the loads from the systems are tracked and totaled. There are twoexercises in this section:

- Creating a Supply Air System- Creating a Lighting Circuit

Creating a Supply Air System

To create the supply air system, double click on the 1 Mech view in the project browser to set itcurrent.

1. Choose one of the terminals in the classroom. On the options bar, choose the blue icon to createan air supply system.

2. The options bar will change to an system options bar there are three options to review:

- Edit System Icon

- Add Equipment to System Icon

- Remove Equipment from System icon

Choose the Edit system icon and note the change to the design bar:

3. The edit system bar is very similar when working with different types of systems,including air and piping systems, and power circuit connections. When working withcreating systems, make sure that you either Finish or Cancel a system if you dontexit these commands when finished, other commands such editing tools and draftingtools will not work correctly.

4. When the edit system design bar is active, the options bar will also change toreveal additional tools that can be used to help create and edit a system:

5. From here you can change the name of a system, choose the equipment supplying the system, andtrack the number of elements included within a system.

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6. In the view, the background will lighten up, and the system components will be highlighted. Ascomponents are added, and equipment selected, they will also be highlighted.

7. On the Edit System design bar, choose Addto system, and then choose the otherterminals in the room.

8. On the Edit System design bar, chooseSelect Equipment, and then choose theVAV Box.

9. Our system is now connected you canchoose System properties to see what thetotal system information is.

The dialogue for system properties shows the total flow from the connected terminals, the number ofterminals, the type of equipment that is servicing the terminals, the system type and the staticpressure (which hasnt been calculated yet). You can also rename the system in this dialogue as well.

10. Choose Finish System to close the Edit System design bar. Our system is now complete, so youcan move on to the power size and connect the lights to the panel.

Creating a Lighting Circuit

To create the lighting circuit, lets change back to the 1 Lighting view.

1. To turn off the air terminals, type in VG while the cursor is in the view, then uncheck the box forAir Terminals.

2. The procedure for creating a circuit is very similar to creating an air supplysystem choose a light fixture, and then choose the Create Circuit icon:

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This will change the options bar to an electrical options bar with four options:

- Edit Circuit

- Select a Panel for Circuit

- Disconnect Panel from Circuit

- Circuit Properties3. Choose the Edit circuit icon the design bar will change to an Edit Circuit design bar.

4. Choose Add to Circuit, and then choose the remaining lights in theclassroom.

5. Choose Select Panel, and choose the LP-1 panel you placed earlier inthe electrical room.

6. Choose Circuit Properties to see the information about the circuit7. The load name is determined by the location of the first light fixture

chosen to define the circuit.

8. We can also edit the amperage of the circuit, and review what the loads are on the circuit. Otherinformation includes phase loads, wiring type, voltage drop, power factor and state, whether ornot the load is balanced, and the number/type of wire(s).

9. Choose OK to close the dialogue, and then choose Finish Circuit. The circuit is now complete.

Now that you know how systems work, you can begin to examine how the connecting geometry such asduct and wiring can easily be added to the project.

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Create the Connecting Geometry

The beauty of working with system-based elements is that they know the relationship they have with eachother. You can leverage this relationship to create layouts that are determined by a network of parts, bythe bounding perimeter, or by the intersecting linework between the elements. In this chapter, lets startby covering these three items:

- Checking the Project Settings- Adding Supply Air Ductwork- Adding Wiring to Lights

Checking the Project Settings

Before you start, you need to review a few project settings that can be stored with the template. Revitallows you to predefine behavior for duct, pipe, wiring, hidden objects and more by adjusting themechanical and electrical settings. These settings are located (appropriately) under the Settings menu.Note: Nearly every item in the setting menu is project specific with the exception of project informationand options.

1. On the setting menu, choose Mechanical Settings:

2. To edit how the duct is going to behave, choose Duct Settings > Conversion > Main. Check theduct type and change it to Round Duct / Tees. Change the Offset to 10 6 to match thecenterline of our VAV box.

3. Choose the branch settings, change the duct type to Round Duct / Taps, and change the heightto 10 6. Verify that flex duct type is set to Flex Duct Round: Flex Round, and the maximumflex duct length is set to 6 0.

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4. Click OK to exit the dialogue.5. From the setting menu, choose Electrical Settings.

6. This dialogue allows you to change the wiring sizing information and add types of wire. You canalso create and edit voltage definitions, distribution systems, and change demand factors. ClickOK to close the dialogue.

Adding Supply Air Ductwork

You can now start to add duct to connect the equipment and terminals together. Revit includes auto-routing tools to help you create preliminary layouts. Change the view back to the 1 Mech view, soyou can learn a couple of ways to see preliminary routing.

1. To quickly see a potential layout path, select one of the air terminals. Move your mouse slightlyover the terminal until you see a crossing arrow symbol when the symbol appears, tap the TABkey. A routing solution will appear, and if you select the diffuser again, the routing solution willchange to a red color.

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2. Continue to work on the layout by choosing the Layout button on the options bar. The layoutbutton will also appear when you select a terminal that is part of a system.

The design bar will change to a Layout Paths design bar, and the options bar willlist solution types, options and settings. The settings you created under the

Mechanical settings can be adjusted by using the Settings button on the optionsbar, so you can use either location to set the duct type and main/branchelevations.

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3. The routing solution is color-coded to help usknow whats controlling the duct type. Bluelines indicate the main run settings, andgreen lines indicated branch runs. On theoptions bar, cycle through the settings untilyou get to solution 6 of 6, and then chooseFinish Layout from the design bar.

The finished layout appears next. If you have aclean layout, all the duct and fittings will be

applied, and you can edit the layout rather thanspend a lot of time drafting the layout.

To edit a duct or terminal, simply select the item,and then select a grip to drag a component toanother location. If you want to move an entirebranch, use the following steps:

1. Move your mouse over a terminal. Withoutselecting the terminal, tap your tab key.

2. The entire branch becomes highlighted left click and youllhave all of the items in the branch selected.

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3. Left Click and HOLD on the duct you can now drag the entire branch to a new location whilemaintaining the connection to the main.

The idea is to use the routing tools to come up with common and simplerouting solutions. Its easier to use grips to drag items around to otherlocations that it is to create them from scratch. While some cases willstill require you to manually add duct, this method will help create mostlayouts in a fraction of the time.

Adding Wiring to Lights

To add wiring to our lights, start by changing back to the 1 Lighting view.

1. Select a light fixture, and then tap the tab key to see a preliminary wiring layout.

2. Left click to accept the layout. The options bar will include two wiring options:

The first icon is for arc type wiring, and the second for chamfered wiring. Select thearc type wiring option.

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The wiring layout will appearuhin two steps. Once the wiring is placed, you can select the wireand use the grips to stretch midpoints, move the tick marks, etc. Since the objects are all part of thesame circuit, you can select any wire and edit its specific element properties:

3. Note the circuit load name, which was createdwhen the circuit was added. You can changewire types or edit wire type by selecting the

Edit/New icon.

4. The wire type includes the material,temperature rating, insulation, maximum sizeand other wire information. When changing thetype, you are changing all examples of thattype.

Now that you have all of our physical elements created, you can begin to wrap up the project.

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Add Schedules and Tags to Views

Once we have physical elements created, you can use some of the elements properties to populate tags,schedules and other forms of reports. Since the data used for tags and schedules lives with the elements,as the elements change, the data changes with the net result being a much lower number of manualtasks needed to complete a set of drawings. In this chapter, the following items will be covered:

- Adding Tags to Elements- Creating an Air Terminal Schedule- Creating a Room Lighting Analysis Table

Adding Tags to Elements

Tag families can be defined in your template, and are assigned by category. This method allows you touse one command to tag multiple types of elements at once. To tag our duct, change to the 1 Mechview.

1. From the Mechanical design bar, choose the Tagcommand on the flyout, choose By Category.

2. The options bar will show the orientation of the tag and whether or not to include a leader. To seewhat items have families defined, choose the Tags button.

3. The tags dialogue will appear, showing what items have tag families associated with them.

4. Select the Load button if you want to add tag families to the project, or to change a tagassignment. Once the family is in the project, locate the family under the Families portion of theproject browser to edit, or place a tag, and then right click, choosing Edit Famiy from the pop-upmenu.

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5. Choose OK to close this dialogue.6. Move your mouse over ducts and the VAV box, and note how the tag changes to match the

specific type of object. Select one of the ducts to add the tag.

The duct label masks the duct. You can change the orientation of the tag bysimply selecting it, and then change the orientation setting on the optionsbar.

7. Note the view control settings in the lower left corner of the view.

These settings control the scale, detail level, shading, shadows and crop region of the view. Youcan also temporarily isolate objects to work on them, and reveal hidden elements in the view

using the last two icons.

8. Select the scale on the left side of the icons. Adjust the scale to 1/4 = 1-0. The view will zoomout to fit zoom back in to your duct work and note how the size of the tags adjusts automaticallyto match the scale.

Since each view is a unique representation ofthe model, all you have to do is duplicate aview to create an enlarged plan, and adjustthe scale and crop region to show just whatyou want to see. Tags can be placed indifferent locations in different views, but theircontent is always driven by the properties of

the element.

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Creating an Air Terminal Schedule

To create an air terminal schedule, use the Schedules/Quantitiestool from the design bar to begin.

1. From the New Scheduledialogue, choose the Air Terminalsas the category.

The name of the schedule changes to match the category. Choose OK to continue.

2. On theFields

tab of the Schedule Properties dialogue, double click on the available field on theleft panel to add them as schedule fields. You can move items up or down in the schedule asneeded.

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3. Choose the Sorting and Groupingtab to edit how the data will be sorted. For the first sort,choose Type Mark, and then make sure Itemize Every Instanceis still checked. If you want toinclude grand totals, check the box.

4. Choose the Formattingtab. Choose Flowas a field to edit, then check the calculate totalstoinclude what the total flow will be to these terminals.

5. Choose Conditionalformat this will allow us to define rules that let us know when flow hasntbeen assigned to a terminal. Change the test value to Less Than or Equal to, and then set thevalue to 0 CFM. Change the background color to red, so any diffuser that has a CFM valueequal to or less that O will be highlighted in the schedule.

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6. Choose OK to close the dialogue, and then choose OK to close the Schedule Properties

dialogue.7. Review the schedule from here you can add information such as type mark, manufacturer and

model, as these are instance parameters that are text-based, but stored with the family. Allexamples will be updated to include the information. Below is an example that has already beenadjusted.

8. Lets test your conditional formatting out. From the 1 Mech view, choose an air terminal, rightclick and choose Create Similar. Create a copy, and then right click on the copy chooseElement Properties to change the offset to 8 (note that create similar does NOT match the offsetvalues, but does match the CFM). Change to CFM value to 0. Change back to Air TerminalSchedule view to see the results.

9. Notice that our new terminals CFM value shows up as red letting you quickly know that we stillneed to set a value for this terminal. In the cell, click on the 0 CFM and change it to 250 yes,you can change the value of the terminal without actually going to the view.

10. With the one of the cells of the last diffuser selected, choose the Showbutton on the options bar.

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The 1 Mech view will become current, and the terminal will be selected, allowing us to makeadditional changes as needed. Close the dialogue to end the command.

Creating a Room Lighting Analysis Table

One of the most popular schedules used is the Room Lighting Analysis schedule. Light fixturefamilies can include IES data files and lumens values that help determine fc loads in a room. Letstake a look at how we can track electrical and lighting data with a schedule you may not necessarily

print on a sheet, but need to help with determining design criteria.

1. From the Electrical design bar, choose Schedule/Quantities.2. At the New Schedule dialogue, choose Rooms. Rename the schedule to Room Lighting

Analysis, and then choose OK to continue.3. On the fields tab, choose the following fields to include:

- Number- Name- Required Lighting Level- Average Estimated Illumination- Ceiling Reflectance- Wall Reflectance

- Lighting Calculation Workplane- Lighting Delta

Now heres a problem RequiredLighting Load and Lighting Deltadont exist, so they have to becreated. To add a new parameter,choose Add Parameter.

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4. Since this is a project specific parameter, it will only be visible in schedules. Change the nameand group as indicated above, and then choose OK to close the dialogue.

5. The Lighting Delta field is a calculated Value. To add this field, choose Calculated Value fromthe fields tab of the schedule.

6. Change the discipline to Electrical, choose Illuminancefor the type, and then type the formula inas Average Estimated Illumination Required Lighting Level make sure you spell it correctly;otherwise the formula will not work!

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7. On the formatting tab, choose the lighting deltafield, and then choose Conditional Format. Editthe formula as shown below:

8. Choose OK to close the dialogue. For the reflectance values and Workplane, change thesefields to hidden so they dont appear in the schedule.

9. Our final schedule should look similar to this example:

As you begin to set the required lighting levels, the delta will update to show that no lights have beenplaced in these rooms as lights get added, their properties from the family will update the averageestimated illumination. When the light levels fall inside of the 10 fc delta, the conditional formattingwill change the dialogue back to white for rooms that meet the requirements.

From this point, you simply create your sheets and then drag and drop the views onto the sheets. Itsthat simple youre ready to print.

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Work with Consultants Through Shared Files

Finally youre at our last segment. This short section is a quick overview of how you can get someof the elements back to the architect, so they can add them as linked files to their project. Thesimplest way to do this is to create a coordination view, and then create a group that can be easilyexported.

To create the view, go to the View pulldown.

1. From the view pulldown, select New Ceiling Plan.2. In the next dialogue, choose the first floor, and then choose OK

3. The new view will appear under a new discipline folder for Architectural. This occurs when youhavent assigned a view template to the view. To make this change, right click on the new view,and then choose Apply View Template. Skip this step and rename the view to Coordination Plan.

4. In the new view, zoom into the classroom area. Youll see the terminals and lights weve alreadyplaced. To place them in a group, select all of the lights and terminals.

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5. Once the elements are selected, pick the Grouptool in the upper right corner of the Revit window.The group tool will appear name the group First Floor MEP Coordination, and then choose OK.Move your mouse over the items to show the group:

6. On the project browser, go to groups and located the First Floor MEP coordination group.

7. Right click on the group, and choose save group. A new dialogue will appear:

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8. Click on the save button to save it to our current folder. This file can now be linked back into thearchitectural project.

9. After saving the group, select it in the current view. On the options bar, choose Ungroup. Checkthe elements in the other views theyll still be connected to their systems, duct, wiring, etc.

Conclusions

Revit MEP includes many powerful tools to create and edit HVAC and electrical designs. Developingand implementing a good workflow makes this tool a valuable asset to the engineer, by reducingredundant tasks, redirecting efforts to design instead of drafting, and offering ways to examine data inthe project in a more uniform and coordinated fashion. Learn how to use this tool, and start to enjoyyour job again!

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