Revit MEP Step by Step 2019 Metric Edition

Foreword iii
Revit MEP Step by Step 2019 Metric Edition
Copyright © 2018
by
Lu-Yen Chang
1
Contents
Foreword .......................................................................................... 4
What's New? .............................................................................................. 5
Revit Software ................................................................................... 6
Revit Working Environment ........................................................... 14
Exercise Files .................................................................................. 22
Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling ................................................. 27
1-1 Start a new Architectural Project ................................................... 28
1-2 Create First Floor Slab................................................................... 32
1-3 Setup Levels .................................................................................. 38
1-4 Draw Walls ..................................................................................... 43
1-5 Draw Restroom Partitions .............................................................. 51
1-6 Add Doors ...................................................................................... 57
1-7 Add Windows ................................................................................. 61
1-8 Add Stairs ...................................................................................... 66
1-9 Draw Second Floor Exterior Walls and Slab ................................. 74
1 - 10 Finish Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors and Windows .............. 82
1 - 11 Add Ceilings ................................................................................... 86
1 - 12 Add Roof ........................................................................................ 91
1 - 13 Add Room Information ................................................................... 95
Chapter 2 Mechanical Air Systems ............................................. 103
2-1 Prepare Mechanical System Modeling ........................................ 104
2-2 Create Spaces ............................................................................. 118
2-3 Create Zones ............................................................................... 136
2-4 Zone Color Fill Legend ................................................................ 146
2-5 Energy Analysis ........................................................................... 152
2-6 Place Air Terminals...................................................................... 163
2-7 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems ....................................... 179
2-8 Create Primary Supply Air Systems ............................................ 198
2-9 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts..................................................... 206
2
2 - 10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans ................................................... 213

2 - 11 Second Floor Air Systems ........................................................... 228
Chapter 3 Hydronic Piping Systems ........................................... 231
3-1 Prepare Hydronic Piping Modeling .............................................. 232
3-2 Place Radiators and Boilers ........................................................ 237
3-3 Create First Floor Pipe Runs ....................................................... 244
3-4 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler ............................................. 259
3-5 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs .................................................. 270
3-6 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler ....................................... 278
3-7 Add Circulator Pumps .................................................................. 288
3-8 Organize Mechanical 3D Views................................................... 304
Chapter 4 Electrical Systems ...................................................... 309
4-1 Prepare Electrical System Modeling............................................ 310
4-2 Define Required Lighting Levels.................................................. 322
4-3 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule .................................. 335
4-4 Add Lighting Fixtures ................................................................... 338
4-5 Adjust Stairwell Spaces ............................................................... 346
4-6 Add Switches ............................................................................... 351
4-7 Place Receptacles ....................................................................... 356
4-8 Create Electrical Usage Reports ................................................. 364
4-9 Add Electrical Equipment............................................................. 367
4 - 10 Create Power Circuitry................................................................. 376
4 - 11 Create Lighting Circuitry .............................................................. 386
4 - 12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment ..................................................... 399
4 - 13 Create Panel Schedules .............................................................. 409
4 - 14 Define Circuit Loads .................................................................... 416
4 - 15 Draw Conduits ............................................................................. 421
4 - 16 Create Switch Systems................................................................ 442
Chapter 5 Plumbing Systems ...................................................... 453
5-1 Prepare Plumbing Modeling ........................................................ 454
5-2 Add Plumbing Fixtures................................................................. 460
3
5-3 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines............................................. 472

5-4 Connect Urinal Drain Lines .......................................................... 482
5-5 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines ..................................................... 488
5-6 Create Flushing Water Piping...................................................... 499
5-7 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping ......................................... 509
5-8 Copy to and Connect Second Floor Plumbing Systems ............. 515
5-9 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes .............................................................. 527
5 - 10 Add Water Heater ........................................................................ 544
Chapter 6 Fire Protection Systems ............................................. 561
6-1 Prepare Fire Protection System Modeling................................... 562
6-2 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule .............................................. 569
6-3 Place Sprinklers ........................................................................... 572
6-4 Connect Sprinklers ...................................................................... 577
6-5 Modify Pipe Diameters................................................................. 596
6-6 Tag Pipe Diameters ..................................................................... 604
6-7 Add Fire Cabinet .......................................................................... 613
6-8 Connect First and Second Floor Fire Protection Systems .......... 621
Chapter 7 Interference Check...................................................... 629
7-1 Interference Check within Project ................................................ 630
7-2 Interference Check between Projects ......................................... 631
Appendix ...................................................................................... 641
Offset/Elevation Chart............................................................................ 641
About the Author .................................................................................... 642
Exercise File Hyperlink .......................................................................... 643
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4 Foreword
Foreword
From 2004 to 2013, author had been working at Intel California Folsom campus, around
6000 employee’s research center with seven buildings and one energy center, maintaining
and updating all the facility drawings, helping Intel In-house engineers with mechanical and
electrical projects, and providing as-built drawings for vendors to do all the renovation
works of the site. During that period, we just used the popular AutoCAD software to do the
drafting. Although in 2011 Intel has bought the License of Revit, but at Folsom site we didn’t
promote and use Revit to do the projects.
In 2013 spring, author left Intel and went back to Taiwan. During a short term working at an
architectural firm I got a chance to touch Revit. I found that Revit is an interesting software
but a tough one. In 2013 fall, author came back to Sacramento; I took one semester Revit
MEP course at Cosumnes River College. Nevertheless, the material that the professor
provided in lab session was out of date, I had to spend a lot of time to try and learn by
myself, as well as research online to get the information of the course.
During 2008 to 2010, Autodesk once provided user with many Revit tutorial materials (such
as Architectural, Structural and MEP). They also translated those tutorials into different
languages. After 2010 they dropped them. In 2011, Autodesk once released a more than
two thousand pages Revit MEP User’s Guide. But after 2012, users can only go online to
watch tutorial videos and browse web pages of related topics.
Since author has got involved with many MEP drawings at Intel, therefore Revit MEP did not
beat me. In my last year at Intel, I had keyed in hundreds of panel schedules from
handwritten schedules into Excel files. When I created them, I found the circuits in Excel
files are just dead records, they are not linking to the equipment in building. When
electrical equipment changed, added or removed, we still have to manually update these
Excel files. But had I use Revit to create these electrical equipment, not only I could
generate panel schedules quickly and accurately, but also could update them when
equipment changed. Another problem is, when there are hundreds of panels in our site,
finding a particular panel is a challenge. Had I use Revit to model all the panels; I could
easily find and spot a particular panel by using Revit’s System Browser.
Besides, during my period at Intel, a cross site CAD group spent a lot time to establish an
Intel CAD Standard that includes thousands of AutoCAD Layers and Blocks to be used for
Intel facilities and projects. In this Standard, it specifies the purpose and usage of every
layer. But the problem is, although we have this in-house standard, there is no enforcement.
It’s only for reference. It also arises many arguments among users and vendors. But if we
Foreword 5
use Revit, we don’t have to worry about the layers, because Revit has setup all the
mandatory object categories and sub-categories for us, although it is autocratic, but there
won’t be any layer compatible issue between drawings.
Since Revit is a rigorous software, users need to be very methodical to work with, thus
author choose Step by Step approach to lead readers step into the world of Revit. Author
does not have deep MEP background, but is willing to demonstrate the uses of the software
to help the MEP professionals to move into the era of Revit.
What's New?
In 2019 edition of this book we assign Energy Analysis Space Type information for each
space for better Cooling Loads Calculation.
Since different type space has different occupancy density that would have different heat
generated from human body, and different type space also has different lighting and power
load density that would have different heat generated from lighting fixtures and power
devices.
6 Revit Software
Revit Software
The Revit building information modeling software is a design and documentation system
that supports the design, drawings, and schedules required for a building project. The
Building information modeling (BIM) created by Revit delivers information about project
design, scope, quantities, and phases.
Since Revit uses parameters to model building, it not only creates 3D geometric information
for us, but also adds valuable information to these graphic elements. For example, a
window can have basic information of materials and dimensions; it can also include light
transmittance, thermal resistance (R value), heat transfer coefficient (U value) information
for energy analysis, besides, we can add manufacturer, model, cost and URL (Uniform
Resource Locator) information for this window, thus make the created model very
comprehensive and useful.
Revit MEP
In the beginning, Autodesk Revit software was focused on Architectural modeling. Later,
Autodesk introduced Revit Structure and Revit MEP. In 2013 Autodesk merged Architecture,
Structure and MEP altogether. Now Revit has included all three disciplines makes it a single
Revit Software 7
complete package. In Revit project editing screen we can see the first three tools tabs are:
Architecture, Structure and Systems. In Revit, Systems means MEP (Mechanical, Electrical
and Plumbing) systems.
Revit Terms
Before using Revit software we should familiarize some of Revit major terminologies. To
understand these terminologies will help us the executions of the software. It will also help
us understand the structure of the software and the design logic of Revit.
Project
In Revit, project is a database of information of our design (i.e. Building Information Model).
The project file contains all information for the building design, from geometry to
construction data. This information includes components used to design the model, views
of the project, and drawings of the design. In a project file, we can easily alter our design
and have changes reflected in all associated areas, such as: plan views, elevation views,
section views, schedules, and etc.
Element
In a project, Revit has three kinds of elements:
1 Model elements use to display the actual 3D geometry of the building, such as: walls,
doors, windows, roof, etc.
2 Datum elements help to define project context. Such as: grids, levels, and reference
planes.
3 View-specific elements use to describe or document the modeled buildings, such as:
dimensions, tags, and 2D detail components.
There are 2 types of model elements:
Hosts (or host elements) are generally built in place at the construction site, such as:
walls, roof, structural walls, ramps, etc.
Model components are all the other elements in the building model, such as: doors, windows,
furniture, beams, columns, AC units, electrical panels, sprinklers, etc.
8 Revit Software
There are 2 types of view-specific elements:

Annotation elements are 2D components that document the model and maintain scale
on paper, such as: dimensions, tags, and keynotes.
Details are 2D items that provide details about the building model in a particular view,
such as: detail lines, filled regions, and 2D detail components.
When creating a project, we add Revit parametric building elements to the design. Revit
classifies elements by categories, families, and types.
Revit Software 9
Category
A category is a group of elements that we use to model or document a building design. For
example, categories of model elements include slabs, walls, doors, windows. Categories of
annotation elements include tags and text notes.
Family
We group elements with a common set of parameters (properties), identical use, and
similar graphical representation into a family. For example, M_Single-Flush door is a family.
Although different elements in this family may have different sizes or materials, but their
usages are the same, all are single panel interior doors.
Type
Each family can have many types. For example, a M_Fixed family in window category has
many types of different sizes such as: 0406 x 0610mm, 0406 x 1220mm, 0406 x 1830mm …,
etc. Type parameters can be examined and set in Type Properties dialog box.
10 Revit Software
Instance
Instances are the actual items (individual elements) that are placed in the project. In
building we place model instances, on drawing sheet we place annotation instances. As the
following figure, we placed one M_Fixed : 0915 x 1220mm window instance, 39 M_Fixed :
1420 x 1420mm window instances, and two annotation instances describing those windows.
Instance parameters can be examined and set on Properties palette.

Revit Software 11
Object Style
The Object Styles tool of Revit is similar to AutoCAD’s Layers; it specifies line weights, line
colors, line patterns, and materials for model objects, annotation objects, and imported
objects in a project.
We can click Manage tab then select Object Styles to open Object Styles dialog box.
In Revit, the categories of objects are fixed; we cannot rename or delete them. However we
can create additional subcategories under these major categories. The subcategories
created by user only exist in that project which can be renamed and deleted. Besides, in
each view we can use Revit’s Visibility/Graphics Override tool to override these default
object styles.
12 Revit Software
Visibility/Graphics Override
We can open Visibility/Graphics Override dialog box in each view of a project to override
the original settings set in Object Styles of that view. We can also set the visibility, halftone,
detail level of the objects. The visibility in Revit’s Visibility/Graphics Override dialog box is
similar to the on/off or freeze/thaw in AutoCAD’s Layer Manager. Besides, we can filter and
do visibility/graphics overrides to specific objects. If a project has inserted linked models,
we can also do visibility/graphics overrides to them.
Note: we can type VG to open Visibility/Graphics Override dialog box.
Revit Software 13
Level
Levels are finite horizontal planes that act as a reference for level-hosted elements, such as
floors, ceilings, and roofs. It also is a reference for placing other elements, such as windows,
lighting fixtures, lavatories, sprinklers, etc. We should create levels for all known stories or
other needed references of the building. To add levels, we must be in a section or elevation
view.
View Range
Every plan and reflect ceiling plan (RCP) view has a view property called View Range. The
view range has four horizontal planes (Top, Cut Plane, Bottom and View Depth) that control
object visibility and display in the view. The top and bottom clip planes represent the
topmost and bottommost portion of the primary view range. The cut plane is a plane that
determines at what height certain elements in the view are shown cut. View depth is an
additional plane outside of the primary range. We can set the level of view depth to show
elements below the bottom clip plane, by default, it is coincident with the bottom.
Attention! The view depth plane of a reflect ceiling plan view is higher or coincident with
top plane.
14 Revit Working Environment
Revit Working Environment

Starting Screen
When we execute Revit 2019 software we will see the following starting screen:
Projects
Open: Open a Revit related file. (or click a right icon to open a recent project file)
New: Use a Revit template file to start a new project.
Construction Template: Use default construction template to start a new project.
Architectural Template: Use default architectural template to start a new project.
Structure Template: Use default structure template to start a new project.
Mechanical Template: Use default mechanical template to start a new project.
Families
Open: Open a Revit family file. (or click a right icon to open a recent family file)
New: Use a family template to start a new family.
New Conceptual Mass: Use default mass family template to create a conceptual massing
model.
Revit Working Environment 15
File Menu
When we click the File tab, Revit displays a menu that has: New, Open, Save, Save As,
Export, .… functions, similar to those application menus that some software have. On the
upper right, it lists recent accessed files. On the lower right, there is an Options button to
let us do some software settings, such as: User Interface, Graphic, File Locations, Rendering,
and etc.
InfoCenter
InfoCenter is a resource center that allows user to access many Autodesk product-related
information.
Help
Launch internet browser and go to Autodesk Revit 2019 online help web page.
Resources
Similar to InfoCenter, but added some online video links to introduce Revit software.
Project Editing Screen

When we start a new project or open an existing project we will see a screen similar to the
screen below:
File Tab
Same as the File Tab in Revit starting screen.
Quick Toolbar
The Quick access Toolbar contains a set of default tools. We can customize this toolbar to
display the tools that we use most often.
Tools Tabs
Revit uses tabs to categorize its tools. By clicking the tab we can get the desired tools.
During the editing, sometimes Revit displays additional contextual tab and tools which are
relevant to the current operation or selected object.
Ribbon
The ribbon displays all the necessary tools related to the current tab. Tools are categorized
by different panels. If a tool or a panel has a little down arrow, we can click it to get more
tools.
File Name - View Name

Display the file name and view name of current view.
InfoCenter
Same as the InfoCenter in starting screen.
Options Bar
It displays conditional tools dependent on the current operation or selected element.
Properties Palette
On Properties palette we can examine and set the parameters that define the properties of
elements.
Family/Type Selector
It is at the top of the Properties palette. It identifies the currently selected family and type.
When we click the little down arrow we can select a different family and type from its drop-
down list.
Project Browser
The Project Browser displays the hierarchies of views, schedules, sheets, families, and other
parts of the current project. We can expand each branch to display its lower level items.
Drawing Area
This is the main area for us to do the modeling. There is a Navigation Bar at its upper right.
If in 3D view, there is another 3D View Cube at its upper right to help us set different 3D
viewing angles.
View Control Bar

The View Control Bar provides a few functions to set the properties of current view, such as:
View Scale, Detail Level, View Style, Temporary Hide/Isolate objects, etc.
Status Bar
The status bar provides tips or hints on what to do. When we highlight an element or
component, the status bar displays the name of the family and type.
System Browser
When we press F9 function key Revit pops up a MEP System Browser on the right side of
drawing area. For MEP project, we can use this System Browser to find all components and
examine the hierarchies of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. It is a very useful
tool for MEP design and modeling.
We can dock the browser window above or below the drawing area or drag it into the
drawing area. Press F9 function key again to close it.
Context Menu
During the editing we can always right click the mouse button to pop up a Context Menu.
This menu will list the possible operations that we might conduct, which will accelerate the
editing process. For example, select a connector of a VAV box, right click mouse button, in
Context Menu select Draw Duct to draw a duct from that connector with correct type and
size.
Mouse Operations
Beside the Context Menu by right clicking, there are a few features of mouse operations:
 Wheel mouse wheel to zoom in and zoom out model in a view.
 Press wheel and move mouse to pan model in a view.
 In 3D view, press Shift key first, then press wheel and move mouse to spin 3D
viewing angle.
 When using mouse to pick objects, press Ctrl key can add objects to the selection set,
while press Shift key can remove objects from the selection set.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Revit provides many keyboard shortcuts to accelerate software executions. Below are a few
used in this book:
VG or VV (Visibility/Graphics)
WT (Tile Windows): Tile all opened view windows in drawing area.
ZA: Zoom All to Fit
ZZ: Zoom in Region
Dimension Snaps and Object Snaps

During the editing we always want to use length and angular snaps and all kind of object
snaps to get to the desired point or location. We can click Manage and select Snaps to open
Revit Snaps dialog box and do these settings.
Beside open Snaps dialog box to do the settings, during the command execution we can key
in object snap abbreviations such as: SE (Snap to Endpoint) to temporarily turn on that
snapping.
Rearrange Properties Palette and Project Browser

Since the number of views, schedules and families of a project would be large; also the
property contents of an element would be many, we can dock Properties palette and
Project Browser side by side to make it easier to examine them and do the settings during
the modeling.
1 Drag Properties palette right to the drawing area.

Now the Project Browser extends to the bottom of Options Bar.
2 Then drag Properties palette back to the right of Project Browser.

22 Exercise Files
Exercise Files
During the modeling, author provides exercise files for each section of this book (including
the finished drawings) to let reader complete the model of each chapter seamlessly. By
going through complete modeling processes reader can learn the powerful capabilities of
Revit and understand what BIM is.
Reader can download the exercise files from author’s Google Drive, the hyperlink is located
at the end of this book in Appendix section. It’s a zipped file about 555 MB. After
downloaded the zip file, extract all the folders and files to a convenient place in your
computer.
\Architectural Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling

02 Create First Floor Slab.rvt 1-2 Create First Floor Slab
03 Setup Levels.rvt 1-3 Setup Levels
04 Draw Walls.rvt 1-4 Draw Walls
05 Draw Restroom Partitions.rvt 1-5 Draw Restroom Partitions
06 Add Doors.rvt 1-6 Add Doors
07 Add Windows.rvt 1-7 Add Windows
08 Add Stairs.rvt 1-8 Add Stairs
09 Second Floor Exterior Walls and Slab.rvt 1-9 Draw Second Floor Exterior Walls…
10 Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors, Windows.rvt 1-10 Finish Second Floor Interior Walls...
11 Add Ceilings.rvt 1-11 Add Ceilings
12 Add Roof.rvt 1-12 Add Roof
13 Add Room Information.rvt 1-13 Add Room Information
14 Architectural Modeling Finished.rvt Final Architectural Model
c Office Building.rvt Architectural background drawing of this
book
\Mechanical Chapter 2 Mechanical Air Systems

02 Create Spaces.rvt 2-2 Create Spaces
03 Create Zones.rvt 2-3 Create Zones
Exercise Files 23
04 Zone Color Fill Legend.rvt 2-4 Zone Color Fill Legend

05 Energy Analysis.rvt 2-5 Energy Analysis
06 Place Air Terminals.rvt 2-6 Place Air Terminals
07 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems.rvt 2-7 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems
08 Create Primary Supply Air Systems.rvt 2-8 Create Primary Supply Air Systems
09 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts.rvt 2-9 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts
10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans.rvt 2-10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans
11 First Floor Air System Finished.rvt First floor Air System drawing
12 Mechanical Air System Finished.rvt Final Mechanical Air System drawing
\Mechanical Chapter 3 Hydronic Piping Systems

13 Place Radiators and Boilers.rvt 3-2 Place Radiators and Boilers
14 Create First Floor Pipe Runs.rvt 3-3 Create First Floor Pipe Runs
15 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler.rvt 3-4 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler
16 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs.rvt 3-5 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs
17 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler.rvt 3-6 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler
18 Add Circulator Pumps.rvt 3-7 Add Circulator Pumps
19 Hydronic Piping Finished.rvt 3-8 Organize Mechanical 3D Views
20 Mechanical System Finished.rvt Final Mechanical Systems drawing
\Electrical Chapter 4 Electrical Systems

02 Define Lighting Levels.rvt 4-2 Define Required Lighting Levels
03 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule.rvt 4-3 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule
04 Add Lighting Fixtures.rvt 4-4 Add Lighting Fixtures
05 Adjust Stairwell Spaces.rvt 4-5 Adjust Stairwell Spaces
06 Add Switches.rvt 4-6 Add Switches
07 Place Receptacles.rvt 4-7 Place Receptacles
08 Create Electrical Usage Reports.rvt 4-8 Create Electrical Usage Reports
09 Add Electrical Equipment.rvt 4-9 Add Electrical Equipment
10 Create Power Circuitry.rvt 4-10 Create Power Circuitry
11 Create Lighting Circuitry.rvt 4-11 Create Lighting Circuitry
12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment.rvt 4-12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment
13 Create Panel Schedules.rvt 4-13 Create Panel Schedules
14 Define Circuit Loads.rvt 4-14 Define Circuit Loads
15 Draw Conduits.rvt 4-15 Draw Conduits
16 Create Switch Systems.rvt 4-16 Create Switch Systems
17 Electrical System Finished.rvt Final Electrical Systems drawing
24 Exercise Files
\Plumbing Chapter 5 Plumbing Systems

02 Add Plumbing Fixtures.rvt 5-2 Add Plumbing Fixtures
03 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines.rvt 5-3 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines
04 Connect Urinal Drain Lines.rvt 5-4 Connect Urinal Drain Lines
05 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines.rvt 5-5 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines
06 Create Flushing Water Piping.rvt 5-6 Create Flushing Water Piping
07 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping.rvt 5-7 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping
08 Copy to and Connect Second Floor Plumbing 5-8 Copy to and Connect Second Floor
Systems.rvt Plumbing Systems
09 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes.rvt 5-9 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes
10 Add Water Heater.rvt 5-10 Add Water Heater
11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt Final Plumbing System drawing
\Fire Protection Chapter 6 Fire Protection Systems

02 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule.rvt 6-2 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule
03 Place Sprinklers.rvt 6-3 Place Sprinklers
04 Connect Sprinklers.rvt 6-4 Connect Sprinklers
05 Modify Pipe Diameters.rvt 6-5 Modify Pipe Diameters
06 Tag Pipe Diameters.rvt 6-6 Tag Pipe Diameters
07 Add Fire Cabinet.rvt 6-7 Add Fire Cabinet
08 Connect Fire Risers.rvt 6-8 Connect First and Second Floor Fire
Protection Systems
09 Fire Protection System Finished.rvt Final Fire Protection System drawing
The benefits of exercise files is that when reader get stuck with a section, he can skip that
section and continue with the next one, later when he has time he can come back to redo
the section that he has troubled with. Additionally, when finished one section, reader can
compare his work with the next exercise file to see if he has done correctly. Providing final
finished drawing of each chapter, reader can clearly see the final result that he will achieve.
Achievement is the key to learn software successfully. If a learner can achieve a milestone
of a section, with just a little achievement to gain some confidence, that will encourage
him/her to continue with more challenges.
In some sections author only guide reader with partial modeling, such as only complete the
first floor, or just complete the left side systems, reader needs to finish the second floor or
the right side system him/herself. To save time, reader or instructor can open the next
exercise file and jump to the next section directly.
Exercise Files 25
For each chapter, reader should create an exercise folder such as: Electrical Exercise in
computer to save his/her works, thus after each section he/she can review the models that
he/she has done.
Reader should not just open and browse these exercise files without going through the
steps covered in this book. Remember! To learn a software, it is vital to exercise it and do
the project by yourself, only practice it back and forth in order to master it. Thus you can
learn the features and tricks of it, and even to learn some limitations of it.
26
27
Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling

First, in chapter 1, we are going to model a two story office building. This office building will
be the object building for us to model its MEP (Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing) systems
that are covered by the chapters later in this book. It includes many private offices, four
open office spaces, different sized conference rooms, one lounge, two entrances, two stairs;
each floor has a men’s room and a ladies room and one mechanical/electrical room
respectively.
28 Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling
1 - 1 Start a new Architectural Project

In this section we will use an Architectural template file to start a new project.
Revit software comes with many templates that relate to disciplines such as: Architectural,
Structural, Mechanical, etc. We can choose a relevant template to start our project. In a
template file, it already sets up drawing units, views, levels and some settings which related
to the discipline. It also contains many related families. The file extension of template file is:
rte.
Use Predefined Template to create a project

1 Start Revit 2019. In its Starting Screen, under the Projects section, select “Architectural
Template”.
Note: If the Starting Screen does not display

”Architectural Template”, or your Architectural
template file is not Metric, select “New…”
under Projects. In New Project dialog box,
press Browse… button to find and open
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019
\Templates\US Metric\DefaultMetric.rte
architectural template file. Then press OK.
1 - 1 Start a new Architectural Project 29
Now we are entering Revit’s Project Editing Screen. In Drawing Area, only displays: East,
South, West and North four Elevation Symbols.
Examine the Preset Views of Architectural template

2 In Project Browser, take a look of all the Views that the template file has.
In Revit templates, Level 1 and Level 2 views normally mean First Floor and Second Floor.
Note: The full name of Ceiling Plan is Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP), which is a plan view of a
structure above the cutting plane; surfaces above cutting plane such as ceiling are
projected downward.
Set Project Units

1 Click the Manage tab, then select Project Units.
2 In Project Units dialog box, click the example button of Length Format.
3 In Format dialog box, for Units select Centimeters, for Rounding select 2 decimal places,
for Unit symbol select cm, put a check mark on Suppress on trailing 0’s.
4 Click OK to complete the settings of Length format, click OK again to finish the settings
of Project Units.
1 - 1 Start a new Architectural Project 31
Note: To increase Rounding decimal places can increase the accuracy of the drawing; also it
is much easier for us to find the discrepancies.
Display Project Base Point

1 Type VG or VV (Visibility/Graphics Overrides).
2 In Visibility/Graphics Overrides dialog box, scroll down to Site and expand it.
3 Check the Project Base Point check box to turn it on.
4 Click OK to complete the setting. Now we can see that Revit displays the Project Base
Point at the center of the screen.
Save Project
Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box, create an
Architectural Exercise folder at a convenient location on your hard drive, enter 01
Architectural Setup Finished for File name, then click Save.
Close Project
Click the File Tab then select Close.
1 - 2 Create First Floor Slab

When starting modeling this office building, we create a 3868 cm x 2488 cm, 20 cm thick
slab.
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\02 Create First Floor Slab.rvt
Measure Distance between Elevation Marks

1 Click the Measure button on Quick Toolbar.
2 As shown on the left, click a point near west elevation symbol, then drag the dimension
line horizontally to the point near east elevation symbol.
3 As shown on the right, click a point near south elevation symbol, then drag the
dimension line vertically to the point near north elevation symbol.
The distances between west and east elevation symbols, south and north symbols are
about 5000 cm or 50 meters. The footprint of our office building is 3868 cm x 2488 cm, thus
we don’t need to adjust (move) these elevation symbols.
1 - 2 Create First Floor Slab 33
Note: When measuring two points, all the dimensions displayed on screen are temporarily.
Draw a 20 cm thick Slab

4 Click the Architecture tab, select Floor.
5 In Family/Type Selector, verify that family is Floor, type is Generic 150mm.
Note: If Family/Type Selector is not displaying Floor and Generic 150mm, click the down
arrow on its right to find and select Floor family Generic 150mm type floor.
6 On Properties palette, click Edit Type, in Type Properties dialog box click Duplicate…
button.
7 In Name dialog box, change Generic 150mm 2 to Generic 200mm, press OK.
8 In Type Properties dialog box click Edit… button next to Structure.

9 In Edit Assembly dialog box, change the Thickness of Structure [1] from 15.00 cm to
20.00 cm, press OK.
10 Click OK again to finish the creation of new 20 cm slab.

11 Next, on Modify | Create Floor Boundary ribbon, select the Rectangle tool on Draw
panel, from lower left to upper right draw an approximate rectangle as shown.
12 Click the bottom horizontal dimension; change its value to 3868.

13 Click the left vertical dimension; change its value to 2488.
14 When done, click Finish Edit Mode to finish the editing of floor boundary.
Now we have a 3868 cm x 2488 cm 20 cm thick floor.
Align Slab Center to Project Base Point

15 At lower left of the drawing area, on View Control Bar, click 1 : 100, then select 1 : 200
to change the scale to 1 : 200.
Now the elevation symbols became twice big, and when we do the dimensions in the
following steps, the dimension text will become twice bigger.
16 Click Aligned Dimension button on Quick Toolbar.
17 In Family/Type Selector, verify that family is Linear Dimension Style, type is Diagonal -
2.5mm Arial. Then on Properties palette, click Edit Type.
18 In Type Properties dialog box click Duplicate… button.

19 In Name dialog box, change Diagonal - 2.5mm Arial 2 to Diagonal - 2.5mm Arial Red,
press OK.
20 Scroll down Type Parameters to find Color, then click the Black button.
21 In Color dialog box, select Red swatch, press OK.

22 Click OK again to finish the creation of new dimension type.
Now we based on a dimension type which has black color created a new dimension type
which has red color and set it to the current type.
23 Next, select the left edge of slab, then click the project base point, then select the right
edge of slab, move the dimension line below the slab to complete the horizontal
dimension of the slab.
24 Select the bottom edge of slab, then click the project base point, then select the top
edge of slab, move the dimension line to the left of the slab to complete the vertical
dimension of the slab.
25 When done, click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish the command.
26 Select the rectangle slab, then click one of its horizontal dimensions, change its value to
1934.
27 Select the rectangle slab again, click one of its vertical dimensions, change its value to
1244.
Now the center of slab has aligned to the project base point. We can delete these
dimensions which are just the tool to position our slab.
28 Hold Ctrl key, select horizontal and vertical dimensions, then click the button on
Modify panel (or press Del key) to delete them.
In order not to let the slab move accidentally, we use Revit’s Pin to lock it in place.
29 Select the slab first, then click button on Modify panel.
Save your work

Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box, navigate to
Architectural Exercise folder you created in previous section, enter 02 First Floor Slab
Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 3 Setup Levels
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\03 Setup Levels.rvt
Change the Preset Height of Level 2

1 In Project Browser, double click South under Elevations to open Elevation: South view.
1 - 3 Setup Levels 39
2 Use mouse wheel to zoon out model a little bit.

3 Select the Level 2 level line, then drag its right little control circle to the right of slab.
4 Drag its left little control circle to the left of slab to expand the level line.
5 Click the 400 cm, the level’s elevation.
6 Enter 370 to change Level 2’s height to 370 cm.

7 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
Now the line and symbol of Level 2 moved down 30 cm.
Add New Levels

8 On Architectural ribbon, select Level.
9 On the Options Bar at the bottom of the Modify | Place Level ribbon, verify that Make
Plan View is checked, then click the Plan View Types... button.
10 In Plan View Types dialog box, ONLY

select Floor Plan, then press OK.
11 In Offset: box, enter 370.

12 On Draw panel, click (Pick Lines) button.
13 As shown below, move mouse cursor to a little bit up of Level 2 line, when seeing a blue
dashed line appear at the top of Level 2, press down the mouse button.
Thus we create a Level 3 level line with an elevation of 740 cm.

15 Select Level tool on Architectural ribbon again.
16 On Options Bar, uncheck (turn off) Make Plan View, set Offset to 260 cm.

1 - 3 Setup Levels 41
18 Move mouse cursor to a little bit up of Level 1 line, when seeing a blue dashed line
appear at the top of Level 1, press down the mouse button.
19 Again, move mouse cursor to a little bit up of Level 2 line, when seeing a blue dashed
line appear at the top of Level 2, press down the mouse button.
20 On Options Bar, set Offset to 100 cm.

appear at the top of Level 3, press down the mouse button.

23 Press and hold mouse wheel to pan to the level symbol side and zoon in a little.
24 Double click Level 3, the level’s name, rename

it to Roof. When Revit asks if you want to
rename the corresponding views? Answer
Yes.
25 Double click Level 4, the level’s name, rename it to Ceiling 1.
26 Double click Level 5, the level’s name, rename it to Ceiling 2.
27 Double click Level 6, the level’s name, rename it to Parapet.
1 - 4 Draw Walls 43
Notice: When creating Level 4, Level 5 and Level 6, we unchecked (turn off) Make Plan View,
means we only use these levels for height references. Revit treats these levels by using
Black symbols to differentiate those levels with blue symbols that can make (create) plan
views. This is why when we rename Level 4, Level 5 and Level 6, Revit does not ask if we
want to rename the corresponding views.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 03 Level Setup Finished for File name. Click the File Tab
again then select Close.
1 - 4 Draw Walls
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\04 Draw Walls.rvt
Draw Exterior Walls

1 In Project Browser, double click Level 1 under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: Level 1
view.
2 On View Control Bar, click 1 : 200, then select 1 : 100 to change the scale to 1 : 100.
3 Click the Architecture tab, select Wall.
4 In Family/Type Selector, verify that family is Basic Wall, type is Generic - 200mm.
5 On the Options Bar at the bottom of the Modify | Place Wall ribbon, select Height, and
Unconnected, enter 350 cm, set Location Line to Finish Face: Exterior, check Chain, set
Offset to 0 cm.
6 Follow the order below, draw exterior walls clockwise for the building:
lower left corner -> upper left corner -> right 1527.7cm -> down 100cm -> right 242.6cm
-> up 100cm -> upper right corner -> lower right corner -> left 1527.7cm -> up 120cm ->
left 812.6cm -> down 120cm -> lower left corner
Notice: When dragging the cursor to create a new wall, we can enter the desired distance
from keyboard for that direction.
7 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish drawing the walls.
Note: If we set Location Line to Finish Face: Interior, we can follow the order below to draw
walls counterclockwise:
lower left corner -> right 1527.7cm -> up 120cm -> right 812.6cm -> down 120cm ->
lower right corner -> upper right corner -> left 1097.7cm -> down 100cm -> left
242.6cm -> up 100cm -> upper left corner -> lower left corner
1 - 4 Draw Walls 45
8 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to open the default 3D view.
Now we are viewing our model from RIGHT, FRONT, TOP angle.
9 Type VG, click Annotation Categories tab, find and turn off Levels.
Draw Interior Walls

view. (or, close the 3D view)
2 On Architecture ribbon select Wall.
3 In Family/Type Selector, click the down

arrow to find and select Basic Wall family
Interior - 135mm Partition (2-hr) type wall.
4 On Properties palette, click Edit Type, in

Type Properties dialog box click
Duplicate… .
5 In Name dialog box, change Interior - 135mm Partition (2-hr) 2 to Interior - 126mm
Partition, press OK.
6 In Type Properties dialog box click

Edit… button next to Structure.
7 In Edit Assembly dialog box, select the 8th layer: Finish 2[5] | Gypsum Wall Board | 0.95
cm, then press Delete button to remove it, press OK to finish the Editing.
Notice: Now the thickness of the wall changed from 13.55 cm to 12.60 cm.
1 - 4 Draw Walls 47
8 Press OK again to finish the creation of new 12.6 cm interior wall.

9 On Options Bar, select Height, and Unconnected, enter 265.2 cm, set Location Line to
Wall Centerline, set Offset to 0 cm.
10 Then draw 12.6 cm interior walls to create three rooms at lower left of the building
similar to the figure below.
Note: 265.2 cm is the ceiling level 260 cm + the thickness 5.2 cm of the grid ceilings.
11 Click Aligned Dimension button on Quick Toolbar, on Options Bar select Wall centerline,
dimension the 4 interior walls we just drew.
12 Select the right interior wall of first room; change its bottom dimension to 484 cm.
13 Select the right wall of second room; change its bottom dimension to 720 cm.
14 Select the right wall of third room; change its bottom dimension to 300 cm.
1 - 4 Draw Walls 49
15 Select the upper common wall of three rooms; change its left dimension to 484 cm.
Now we have used the dimension method correctly positioned the interior walls of these
three rooms.
17 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to view our model in 3D.

Refer to the drawing below, draw the rest interior walls approximately, then use dimension
method to position them to the correct locations. (This is what I call “Draw then Adjust”
feature of Revit)
Of course we might use Copy, Move, Mirror, Extend, Trim Corner, Split, Align tools on
Modify panel to complete these interior walls.
1 - 5 Draw Restroom Partitions 51
The reason to draw 265.2 cm high interior walls is that most spaces have hung ceilings, the
plenum space above these ceilings will run a lot of mechanical ducts and piping, therefore
these interior walls are not up to the slab above. Only interior walls around Elec/Mech
room, stairwell and restroom shafts (highlighted in red) are up to second floor slab. These
wall are 350 cm high, need to be drawn separately.
Save your work

When all finished, Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog
box, navigate to Architectural Exercise folder, enter 04 First Floor Wall Finished for File
name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 5 Draw Restroom Partitions

In this section we will use Revit’s model
lines to draw the partitions of toilets and
dividers between urinals in restrooms just
for references. In sections of Chapter 5
Plumbing Systems, we will place toilets,
urinals and lavatories that have MEP
connectors, and create plumbing systems
and piping for them.
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\05 Draw Restroom Partitions.rvt

1 Click the Architecture tab, select Model Line.
2 Move cursor to the left wall face of right restroom, when Revit displays the distance
between the Nearest point and the horizontal wall below, enter 152 from keyboard.
3 Drag cursor horizontally to the right, enter 152 from keyboard.

4 Drag cursor vertically to the wall below, when it touches the upper face of the wall,
press down mouse button.
5 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to end the command.

Now we have finished a 152 cm x 152 cm handicapped toilet stall partitions.
6 Select the upper horizontal partition line.
7 On Modify | Lines ribbon, click Array button.

8 On Options Bar, use Linear array, uncheck Group and Associate, enter 4 for Number.
9 Click an empty point in left restroom, drag cursor vertically up but DO NOT click, (the
dragging distance doesn’t matter) then enter 91 from keyboard.
Thus we arrayed the selected partition line 91 cm up 4 times (including itself).
10 On Architecture ribbon, select Model Line again.

11 On Draw panel click Pick Lines button.
12 On Options Bar, enter 50 for Offset.
13 Move cursor to the left wall face of right restroom, on its right a little bit, when seeing
Revit displays a blue dash line on its right, press down mouse button.
Now we copied the wall face line 50 cm to its right creating a green model line.
14 On Options Bar, enter 80 for Offset.

15 Move cursor to the model line we just created, on its right a little bit, when seeing Revit
displays a blue dash line on its right, press down mouse button. Click the leftmost
Modify button on ribbon.
Now we copied the model line 80 cm to its right creating another model line.
16 Click the Modify tab, select Trim/Extend to Corner.
17 First trim the corners of the model lines, then delete the unwanted model lines to get
the result as shown.
18 Drag mouse from right corner to left corner to cross select all partition model lines in
right restroom.
19 On Modify | Lines ribbon, select Mirror - Draw Axis.
20 Use keyboard to enter SM (Snap Middle) to turn on Midpoints object snap, next pick the
midpoint of the shaft wall.
21 Then draw a vertical mirror axis.
22 After mirroring, click the leftmost

Now we have mirrored the partition

and divider lines from right restroom to
left restroom.
23 On Modify ribbon select Trim/Extend Single Element.
24 Select the horizontal wall face for boundary, then select the vertical partition line below,
after extending click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
1 - 6 Add Doors 57
25 On Modify ribbon select Trim/Extend Multiple Elements.

26 Select the vertical partition line for boundary, then select the two horizontal partition
lines on its right, after extending click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
Thus we have finished the partition and divider model lines of restrooms.
Since there are many ways to draw these model lines, readers don’t necessarily use
author’s way. You can try your own method and way to draw them. These green model
lines will serve as references for section in Chapter 5 while placing MEP toilets and urinals.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 05 Restroom Partition Finished for File name. Click the
File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 6 Add Doors
In this section we will be practicing how to open doors on walls, and also how to flip doors
in and out, left and right.
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\06 Add Doors.rvt
1 On Architecture ribbon select Door.
2 Verify that the name on Family/Type Selector is M_Single-Flush and 0915 x 2134mm.
3 Drag the door to the upper wall of the lower left room.
4 Press Space bar to alter the door swinging.
5 Move it to let its dimension to the right wall become 10 cm, then press mouse button to
position the door.
After putting the door, we can select it; then click the Flip icons to flip it In and Out, Left and
Right.
1 - 6 Add Doors 59
6 Use the methods above, refer to the drawing below, finish placing all the single doors on
first floor.
Load Additional Door Family

Since there is only one single door family comes with Architectural template, we need to
pick and load a double door family from Library to add it at the front entrance.
7 On Architecture ribbon select Door.
8 On Modify | Place Door ribbon select Load Family.
9 In Load Family dialog box, find and open C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019

\Libraries\US Metric\Doors\M_Door-Double-Glass.rfa.
10 In Specify Types dialog box, find and select 1800 x 2100mm type, press OK.
11 Drag this double door to the outer side of the wall of south entrance, move it left or
right to let its dimensions to both sides of the walls become equal.
12 Then press mouse button to center the door.

13 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to end the Door command.
14 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to see the 3D result of first floor door placements.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 06 First Floor Door Finished for File name. Click the File
Tab again then select Close.
1 - 7 Add Windows 61
1 - 7 Add Windows
In this section we will be practicing how to create a new type of a window family. We will
also be practicing to use Revit’s Array and Mirror tools to quickly duplicate successive and
symmetrical windows.
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\07 Add Windows.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click Level 1 under Floor Plans to open that view.
2 On Architecture ribbon select Window.
3 On Properties palette, click Edit Type.
4 In Type Properties dialog box click Duplicate… .

5 In Name dialog box, change 0406 x 0610mm 2 to 1420 x 1420mm, press OK.
6 In Type Properties dialog box, set both

Height and Width to 142 cm.
7 Press OK to finish the settings of this
new window type.
8 Place a 142 x 142 cm window on the exterior wall of the room at lower left corner.
9 Pick the window just placed, click its left constrain dimension to the left wall, change it
to 43 cm. (Now the window moved to the correct location, this is the “Draw then Adjust”
feature of Revit)
10 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish placing the first window.
Notice: When picking the window, we can click icon to flip the window pane to inner or
outer.
11 Select the first window.

12 On Modify | Windows ribbon, click Array button, on Options Bar, use Linear array,
uncheck Group and Associate, enter 6 for Number.
13 Click an empty point inside the room, drag cursor horizontally to the right but DO NOT
click, (the dragging distance on the screen doesn’t matter) then enter 240 from
keyboard.
Thus we arrayed the selected window 240 cm right 6 times (including itself).
14 On Architecture ribbon select Window again, drag the window to the left wall of south
entrance, move it left or right to let both dimensions become equal, then press mouse
button to center this window on the wall.
15 Select all the windows we completed on the left side.
16 On Modify | Windows ribbon, select Mirror - Draw Axis.

17 Click the project base point, then draw a vertical mirror axis.
Now we have mirrored left 7 windows to the right side of the building.

Use the methods above, refer to the drawing below, finish placing all the windows on first
floor. The EQs on dimensions means they are equal distance on both sides. The small
window at north entrance uses 0915 x 1220mm type window.
19 After finish all windows, click the button on Quick Toolbar to see the 3D result of
first floor window placements.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 07 First Floor Window Finished for File name. Click the
1 - 8 Add Stairs
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\08 Add Stairs.rvt
When creating a turning stair, we need to know or calculate the width of steps in advance.
2 Click Measure button on Quick Toolbar.
3 Click two wall faces of south stairwell to get its horizontal net width of 287.4 cm.
Step width = (stairwell net width – gap between two turnings) / 2 = (287.4 – 4) / 2 = 141.7
cm.
1 - 8 Add Stairs 67
Create New Railing Type

4 In Project Browser, expand Families, expand Railings, expand Railing, double click
1100mm type to open Type Properties dialog box.
6 In Name dialog box, change 1100mm 2 to 1000mm 1 Baluster / Tread, press OK.
7 In Type Properties dialog box, change Top Rail Height from 110 cm to 100 cm, then click
the Edit… button next to Baluster Placement.
8 In Edit Baluster Placement dialog box, set Regular baluster family to M_Baluster -
Square : 25mm, set Dist. From previous to 20 cm, set Justify to Center, change Baluster
Per Tread from 2 to 1, set tread Baluster Family to M_Baluster - Square : 25mm, set all
Posts Baluster Family to None.
9 Click OK twice to finish the creation of this new railing type.
Now we can see there is a new 1000mm 1 Baluster /

Tread type railing in Project Browser.
Draw Stair
10 On Architecture ribbon select Stair.
1 - 8 Add Stairs 69
11 Verify that the name on Family/Type Selector is Assembled Stair : 190mm max riser
250mm going.
12 On Properties palette, set Top Level to Level 2, then click Edit Type.
14 In Name dialog box, press OK. (Here we don’t enter new name, just take the name that
Revit gives)
15 Click Non-Monolithic Landing next to Landing Type, then click the little square button on
the right to open another Type Properties dialog box.
16 In Type Properties dialog box, select System Family: Monolithic Landing.
Now we can see there are Construction and Material and Finishes parameters for this
landing type.
17 Press OK to back to Assembled Stair Type Properties dialog box.
18 Set both Right Support and Left Support parameters to Carriage (Open).
19 Press OK to finish the settings of stair.

20 On Options Bar, set Location Line to Run: Left, set Offset to 0 cm, set Actual Run Width
to 141.70 cm, check Automatic Landing.
21 On Modify | Create Stair ribbon, click the right most Railing.

1 - 8 Add Stairs 71
22 In Railing dialog box, select 1000mm 1 Baluster / Tread type that we created.
23 Pres OK to finish all the preparations for drawing stairs.

24 Pick the lower right end point of the left stairwell wall, move cursor straight up, when
seeing Revit displays 10 RISERS CREATED, 10 REMAINING at starting point, press down
mouse button.
25 Move cursor horizontally right, when it touches the face of right stairwell wall, press
down mouse button.
26 Move cursor down and pick the lower left end point of the right stairwell wall.
27 On Modify | Create Stair ribbon, click Finish Edit Mode to finish the stair.
28 When Revit displays the warning message, just close it.

29 Hold Ctrl key; select the inner and outer railings.

30 On Properties palette, change the Tread/Stringer Offset from 2.54 cm to 2.5 cm.
The reason we make this adjustment is because Revit’s default value for Tread/Stringer
Offset is 1 in. (2.54 cm). But in Metric system, the width of railing is 5 cm. if we zoon-in very
closely; we will see there is a tiny gap between the edge of railing and the edge of stair (or
stairwell wall). Since we will move the stair using its corner as a reference point (see the
coming steps). If we don’t make this adjustment, we might pick the wrong corner and move
it with a tiny discrepancy.
31 Drag mouse from left corner to right

corner to window select the stair and
railings, on Modify | Multi-Select
ribbon, click Move command.
32 Pick the upper left corner (Endpoint) of the outer railing.

33 Move cursor up and pick the upper left corner of the stairwell.
34 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish the moving of whole stair.
1 - 8 Add Stairs 73
Now we have finished the south stair of the building.
35 Click the button on Quick Toolbar, and zoom in to see the 3D result of the south
stair.
Use the same methods to complete the north stair. The net width of north stairwell is 237.4
cm, step width = (237.4 – 4) / 2 = 116.7 cm.
Save your work

When both stairs are done, Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As
dialog box, navigate to Architectural Exercise folder, enter 08 Stairs Finished for File name.
Click the File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 9 Draw Second Floor Exterior Walls and Slab

Open the exercise file: \Architectural\09 Second Floor Exterior Walls and Slab.rvt
Extend First Floor Exterior Walls to Parapet Level

1 Select 6 major exterior walls of the building except the recessed exterior walls at south
and north entrances.
2 On Properties palette, change Top Constraint from Unconnected to Up to Level: Parapet.
Now these 6 major exterior walls have risen up to the height of parapet.
1 - 9 Draw Second Floor Exterior Walls and Slab 75
Patch Second Floor Exterior Walls

view.
5 Use VG to turn off Elevations.
6 Type ZA (Zoom All) to zoom the entire model to fit the drawing area.
Attention! Because in Architectural template, Level 2 plan view has set its Underlay Range
Base to Level 1, therefore we can see the grey interior wall outlines of Level 1.
7 On Architecture ribbon, select Wall.

8 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select Basic Wall family
Generic - 200mm type wall.
9 On Properties palette, set Base Offset to -70 cm, set Top Constraint to Up to Level:
Parapet.
10 Draw 2 pieces of wall on second floor to fix the exterior walls at south and north
entrances. (Use the same direction as drawing the first floor exterior walls)
11 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to view model in 3D.
Now we have finished all the exterior walls of the building including the parapet walls of
roof.
Add Second Floor Slab

1 Close 3D view window, or in Project Browser double click Level 2 under Floor Plans to
open that view.
2 On Architecture ribbon, select Floor.
3 In Family/Type Selector, verify that current family is Floor, type is Generic 200mm.
4 On Modify | Create Floor boundary ribbon, click Rectangle button.
5 Draw a rectangle just inside the exterior walls of second floor.
6 Click Finish Edit Mode to finish the floor boundary.

7 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to end the command.
Now we see the stairs are blocked by second floor slab when they are going up to second
floor. Thus we need to create two vertical openings for them.
Vertical Openings
1 Close the 3D view back to the Floor Plan: Level 2 view.
2 On Architecture ribbon, select Vertical (on Opening panel).
Please notice the prompt on Status Bar at bottom left:
3 First, use cross cursor to click the edge of the slab that we just did.
4 On Modify | Create Opening Boundary ribbon, click the Rectangle button, draw two
rectangles at the stairwells as shown. (When drawing the rectangle, zoom in and snap to
the end point of lower right railing and upper left corner of the stairwell)
5 Click Finish Edit Mode to finish the creation of opening boundary. Click the leftmost
Now on Level 2 floor plan view we can see all the stair steps going down to first floor.
6 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to view these stairwell openings in 3D.
Shaft Openings
1 Again, close the 3D view back to the Floor Plan: Level 2 view.
Note: We can type WT (Window Tile) to display 3D and floor plan windows side by side to
avoid switching them back and forth.
2 On Architecture ribbon, select Shaft (on Opening panel).
3 On Properties palette, set Base Constraint to Level 2, set Base Offset to -20 cm, set Top
Constraint to Up to Level: Roof, set Top Offset to -20 cm.
4 Draw a 197.4 cm x 167.4 cm rectangle on top of the Rear Entrance as shown.
5 When done, click the Finish Edit Mode to finish the opening.
6 Click Architecture tab, select Shaft again.

7 On Properties palette, set Base Constraint to Level 1, set Base Offset to 0 cm, set Top
Constraint to Up to Level: Roof, set Top Offset to -20 cm.
8 On Modify | Create Shaft Opening Sketch ribbon, click the button, then draw a
rectangle on top of the restroom middle shaft.
9 Click the Finish Edit Mode to finish the middle shaft opening.
10 Click Architecture tab, select Shaft again.

11 On Properties palette, set Base Constraint to Level 1, set Base Offset to 0 cm, set Top
Constraint to Up to Level: Roof, set Top Offset to 0 cm.
12 Click the button on ribbon; draw a rectangle on top of the restroom left shaft.
13 Click the Finish Edit Mode to finish the left shaft opening.
14 Use the same method to finish the restroom right shaft opening.
Now we can see there are 6 openings on second floor slab.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 09 Second Floor Exterior Wall and Slab Finished for File
1 - 10 Finish Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors and

Windows
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\10 Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors, Windows.rvt
Turn off Underlay Floor Plan

2 On Properties palette, set Underlay Base Range Level to None.
Now Level 2 is quite empty, only has 4 exterior walls, 2 stairs going down and 4 shaft
openings.
Copy First Floor Center Core

1 - 10 Finish Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors and Windows 83
4 Drag mouse from left corner to right corner to window select the central core of the
building.
5 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Filter.
6 In Filter dialog box, only select Doors, Lines and Walls three categories, press OK.
7 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, click Copy to Clipboard button.

8 Click the down arrow under Paste to drop down the list, select Aligned to Selected
Levels.
9 In Select Levels dialog box, select Level 2, press OK.
Now we can see the first floor central core (except stair) were copied to second floor.
Add Stair Railing

12 Zoom in the south stairwell.
13 On Architecture ribbon, select Railing.
1 - 10 Finish Second Floor Interior Walls, Doors and Windows 85
14 In Family/Type Selector, find and select Railing : 1000mm 1 Baluster / Tread.

15 On Options Bar set Offset to 2.5 cm.
16 From the right end point of the inner railing on second floor draw a horizontal line to
the left stairwell wall, click the button to finish the creation railing path. Click the
leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
17 Click the 3D view button on Quick Toolbar; zoom in the central core of second floor.
Please refer to the layouts and dimensions of the drawing below to finish south side and
north side of second floor (including all windows and north stair railing). When drawing
interior walls, remember to select Basic Wall family Interior - 126mm Partition type, set wall
Height to 265.2 cm except those walls around Elec/Mech room and Shaft which we set
them to 350 cm. We can also use the copy and paste method, copy some interior walls from
first floor to clipboard and paste them to second floor, then do the editing to finish the
work.
Save your work

box, navigate to Architectural Exercise folder, enter 10 Second Floor Interior Wall, Door,
Window Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 11 Add Ceilings
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\11 Add Ceilings.rvt
Since Revit’s grid ceilings we can only see their grids from below, thus we go to reflect
ceiling plan views to create them.
1 In Project Browser, double click Level 1 under Ceiling Plans to open Ceiling Plan: Level 1
view.
1 - 11 Add Ceilings 87

4 On Architecture ribbon, select Set (on Work Plane panel).
5 In Work Plane dialog box, set Specify a

new Work Plane to Level : Ceiling 1, then
press OK.
6 On Architecture ribbon, select Ceiling.
7 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to

find and select Compound Ceiling family 600 x
600mm Grid type ceiling.
8 On Properties palette, verify that Level is set to
Ceiling 1, set Height Offset from Level to 0 cm.
9 On Modify | Place Ceiling ribbon, verify that Automatic Ceiling is turned on.
10 Move mouse cursor inside the lower left room, when seeing that room is highlighted,
press down mouse button. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
11 On Architecture ribbon, select Ceiling again, continue to click the inside of the enclosed
rooms shown to put the grid ceilings for them.
12 Again, on Architecture ribbon, select Ceiling.

13 On Modify | Place Ceiling ribbon, select Sketch Ceiling.
14 In south entrance, draw a closed boundary as shown on the left figure.

1 - 11 Add Ceilings 89
15 On ribbon click the button to finish the creation of ceiling boundary.

17 Use the sketch ceiling boundary method; finish the other 4 grid ceilings separately.
18 On Architecture ribbon, select Set (on Work

Plane panel).
19 In Work Plane dialog box, set Specify a new
Work Plane to Level : Level 1, then press OK.
20 On Architecture ribbon, select Ceiling.

21 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow
to find and select Compound Ceiling family
Plain type ceiling.
22 On Properties palette, set Height Offset from
Level to 300 cm.
23 On Modify | Place Ceiling ribbon, verify that Automatic Ceiling is turned on.
24 By doing twice, click the inside of the recessed area of south and north entrances to
create plain ceilings for them.
Note: Since Plain type Compound Ceiling does not have surface pattern, thus we cannot see
them on ceiling plan, but if we draw section lines across them we can see them on
section views.
1 - 12 Add Roof 91
Use the methods above and refer to the drawing below, complete all 600 x 600mm grid
ceilings for second floor.
Save your work

box, navigate to Architectural Exercise folder, enter 11 Ceiling Finished for File name. Click
the File Tab again then select Close.
1 - 12 Add Roof
Open the exercise file: \Architectural\12 Add Roof.rvt
On this view we can see the hung ceilings of second floor.

1 In Project Browser, double click Roof under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: Roof view.
2 On Properties palette, click the Edit… button next to View Range, set both Primary
Range’s Bottom and View Depth’s Level to Level Below (Level 2).
Now we can see the interior wall tops of second floor.

1 - 12 Add Roof 93
3 On Architecture ribbon, select Roof.
4 In Family/Type Selector, verify that current family is Basic Roof, type is Generic - 400mm.
5 Press Edit Type to open Type Properties dialog box.
6 Press Duplicate… button, enter

Generic - 200mm for new type
name, press OK.
7 In Type Properties dialog box click Edit… button next to Structure.

8 In Edit Assembly dialog box, change the Thickness of Structure [1] from 40.00 cm to
20.00 cm, press OK.
9 Click OK again to finish the creation of new roof type.

10 On Properties palette, set Base Offset from Level to -20 cm.
11 On the Options Bar under Modify | Create Roof Footprint ribbon, turn off Defines slope.
12 Click the Rectangle button on Draw panel.
13 Draw a rectangle just inside the parapet walls; click Finish Edit Mode to finish the
roof boundary.
14 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon. When Revit displays the following message,
press No.
1 - 13 Add Room Information 95
Now we only see two restroom shaft openings on roof floor plan view.
Save your work

Architectural Exercise folder, enter 12 Roof Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again
then select Close.
1 - 13 Add Room Information

Open the exercise file: \Architectural\13 Add Room Information.rvt
Set Line Color and Pattern for Room Separator

2 Type VG, expand Lines category.
3 Click the Override… button next to <Room Separation>.
4 In Line Graphics dialog box, set Color to Magenta, set Pattern to Dash. Press OK.
5 In VG dialog box, expand Rooms category, turn on Interior Fill.
6 Press OK to finish settings.
Note: When creating rooms on second floor we need to do the same VG settings on Level 2
floor plane view.
7 On Architecture ribbon, select Room Separator.
8 In open areas draw six room separation lines (magenta dashed) as shown.
Create Rooms
1 On Architecture ribbon, select Room.
2 On Properties palette, set Constraint Upper Limit

to Level 2, set Offset to -20 cm, enter Office for
Identity Data Name.
3 Move mouse cursor to the center of lower left room, then click.
4 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish placing the first Room.
Note: If the Visual Style on View Control Bar is set to Wireframe, please set it to Hidden Line
to see the light blue Interior Fill.
5 Again, select Room on Architecture ribbon.

6 This time on Modify | Place Room ribbon, select Place Rooms Automatically.
Now Revit placed 24 named “Office” rooms for us.

In architectural drawings we usually don’t tag (label) narrow spaces like shafts. Next we
delete those shaft rooms that Revit automatically created.
7 Window select the region as shown that contains three restroom shafts.
9 In Filter dialog box, only select Rooms category, press OK.
Now only 3 shaft Rooms are filtered.

10 Press Del key to delete them. When Revit displays the warning message, just close it.
Attention! When we deleted rooms, the associated tags were also deleted.
11 According to the drawing below correct all room names and numbers.
Use the same method, according to the drawing below complete all the rooms on second
floor.
Save your work

box, navigate to Architectural Exercise folder, enter 13 Room Information Finished for File
Up to here we have finished the Architectural modeling of this chapter. Readers can open
the exercise file: \Architectural\14 Architectural Modeling Finished.rvt to take a look of the
final result of this office building.
Architectural Background File - c Office Building.rvt

The c Office Building.rvt file in Architectural folder which will be used as architectural
background for MEP modeling in this book is the file that has some minor touches of the
finished drawing, such as: adjustments of ceiling grid in some rooms, adding a hanging side
wall for grid ceiling in south stairwell and adding reference lines for lighting fixtures and air
diffusers to facilitate readers when laying out them.
102
103
Chapter 2 Mechanical Air Systems

In this and next chapters, we will model the Mechanical Systems of the office building that
we created in chapter 1.
In chapter 2, we model the Air Systems. The air systems of this office building is from the
roof top AC units to send the cool airs to the VAV boxes in the plenum spaces above ceilings,
then from the VAV boxes to distribute cool air to supply diffusers of each space. Return airs
are collected by return diffusers and plenums back to the roof top AC units. First floor
return airs also use second floor shaft to transfer airs to roof AC unit. Restroom return airs
are not back to roof AC units, instead, they are exhausted by the restroom shafts and
exhaust fans on the roof. (Please refer to the finished drawings at the end of this chapter)
In chapter 3, we model the heating systems. The heating systems of this office building is
from the boilers in Elec/Mech room to use hydronic piping system sending heating water to
the radiators of perimeter rooms. (Please see the finished drawing at the end of Section 3-
7)
We assume that this office building is built at Boston, MA, USA (Revit project default
location), the modeled mechanical systems can suitable to the buildings located at places
with similar weather of this area.
104 Chapter 2 Mechanical Air Systems
2 - 1 Prepare Mechanical System Modeling

1 Start Revit 2019. In starting screen, under the Project Section, select “Mechanical
Template”.

”Mechanical Template”, or your Mechanical
template file is not Metric, select “New…” under
Projects. In New Project dialog box, press
Browse… button to find and open
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Templates
\US Metric\Mechanical-Default_Metric.rte
mechanical template file. Then press OK.
Examine the Preset Views of Mechanical template

2 In Project Browser, take a look of all the Views that the template file has.
The views in a project are arranged in a tree structure

beginning with major disciplines then sub-disciplines
then different kinds of views. Under a major discipline
we can add more sub-disciplines based on our needs
such as Fire Protection. Under a sub-discipline we could
have views for Floor Plans, Ceiling Plans, 3D Views,
Elevations and Sections. Each view serves a particular
need.
Mechanical (Discipline)
HVAC (Sub-Discipline)
Floor Plans (to create HVAC spaces and zones, place mechanical equipment)
1 - Mech
2 - Mech
Roof - Mech (to place rooftop mechanical equipment)
2 - 1 Prepare Mechanical System Modeling 105
Ceiling Plans (to place HVAC equipment on and above ceilings, run ductworks)
1 - Ceiling Mech
2 - Ceiling Mech
3D Views
{3D} (default 3D view, each project at least has one)
Elevations (to run and examine ductworks outside the building)
East - Mech
North - Mech
South - Mech
West - Mech
Sections (to run and examine ductworks inside the building)
Section 1
Plumbing (Discipline)
Plumbing (Sub-Discipline)
Floor Plans (to place plumbing fixtures and equipment, run pipes)
1 - Plumbing
2 - Plumbing
3D Views
3D Plumbing (additional 3D view which is optional)
Elevations (to run and examine pipes outside the building)
East - Plumbing
North - Plumbing
South - Plumbing
West - Plumbing
The view name starting with “1 -“ and “2 -“ means “first floor” and “second floor”. We can
add more floor plans or roof plan based on our needs.
The so called “Ceiling Plan” is Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP), which is a plan view of a
structure above the cutting plane.
Since in this chapter we only model the HVAC systems of the building, to simplify and
reduce confusing, let’s delete all the views under the Plumbing sub-discipline and Plumbing
discipline.
3 Hold Ctrl key, select all 7 views

under Plumbing discipline, then
press Del to delete them.
Please note, now the Plumbing
discipline is gone.
Set Project Units

4 Click OK to complete the settings of Length format, but not yet to finish the whole
settings.
5 On Discipline dropdown list, select HVAC.

6 Click the example button of Duct Size.
7 In Format dialog box, for Rounding select 1 decimal place, for Unit symbol select mm,
put a check mark on Suppress on trailing 0’s.
8 Click OK to complete the settings of Air Flow format, click OK again to finish the settings
of Project Units.
Note: For consistency, we set the Length format same as the Length format in Architecture
Project.
Load Architectural Background Drawing

1 Click the Insert tab, select Link Revit.
2 In Import/Link RVT dialog box, find and select the exercise file: \Architectural\c Office
Building.rvt
3 At the bottom of dialog box, verify Positioning: is Auto - Origen to Origen, then press
Open.
The line works of linked model is grey out with brightness of 50%.
4 Click Manage tab, then click Additional Settings to expand its drop down list, select
Halftone / Underlay.
5 In Halftone/Underlay dialog box change Brightness from 50% to 70%, press OK.
Now we can see the line works of linked model become darker.
6 Select the imported architectural background model, on Modify panel, click (Pin).
Thus the linked architectural drawing won’t be moved accidentally.


Since the default height of Level 2 in Mechanical template is 400 cm, we have to modify it
to match the height in architectural background model.
1 In Project Browser, double click South under Elevations to open Elevation: South view.
2 As the figures shown below, select and drag the host’s level symbols to the right of link
model’s level symbols.
3 Click the 400 cm of Level 2; enter 370 to change its height to 370 cm.
Add New Levels and Views

Since there are only Level 1 and Level 2 levels in Mechanical template, we have to add
more levels according to architectural background model.
5 Click the Architecture tab, select Level.
6 On the Options Bar at the bottom of the Modify | Place Level ribbon, verify that Make
Plan View is checked, then click the Plan View Types... button.
7 In Plan View Types dialog box, ONLY select Floor Plan, then press OK.

appear at the top of Level 2, press down the mouse button. Thus we create a Level 3
level line.

level line.
level line.

Rename Levels
When creating new levels Revit will give us some temporary names, thus we should rename
them to the names we want.
15 Double click the name of Level 3, enter Roof to change its name to Roof. When Revit
asks if you want to rename the corresponding views, press Yes.
16 Use the same method, rename Level 4 to Ceiling 1, rename Level 5 to Ceiling 2.
17 Click Ceiling 1 level, on Properties palette, set its Computation Height to 5.2 cm.
Note: 5.2 cm is the thickness of grid ceilings.
18 Click Ceiling 2 level, on Properties panel, also set its Computation Height to 5.2 cm.
Note: When creating new levels, all we have to do is to create them in one elevation view
or in one section view, after creation, other elevation or section views can see them.
Rename Views
In Project Browser we can see there are 3 new floor plan views, they have the same names
as the names of associated levels, however, views are not necessary to have the same name
as their associated levels, we can rename them to the names according to their usages.
19 In Project Browser, select newly added floor plan views, right click mouse button, on
Context Menu, select Rename,
rename Ceiling 1 to 1 - Plenum,
rename Ceiling 2 to 2 - Plenum,
rename Roof to Roof - Mech, respectively.
When Revit asks if you want to rename the corresponding level and views, all answer No.
If we answer Yes, the associated level and the other views it created will also be renamed,
this is not what we want.
Modify View Ranges of Plenum Floor Plans

1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plenum under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 1 -
Plenum view.
2 On Properties palette, scroll down to View Template, click Mechanical Plan button.
3 In Assign View Template dialog box, set Name to <None>, click OK.
Attention! We have to set View Template to <None> in order to edit its View Range.
4 Click View Range’s Edit… button. In View Range dialog box, change Cut plane’s Offset
from default’s 120 cm to 60 cm.
Because the default 120 cm Offset was too high, it was above Level 2.
5 Use the same method, open 2 - Plenum floor plan view, set its View Template to
<None>, then change View Range’s Cut plane’s Offset from 120 cm to 60 cm.
Modify Roof - Mech Floor Plan View

1 In Project Browser, double click Roof - Mech under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: Roof -
Mech view.
2 On Properties palette, scroll down to View Template, click Mechanical Plan button.
4 Click View Range's Edit… button. In View Range dialog box, set Cut plane Offset to 200
cm; set Bottom to Level Below (Ceiling 2), Offset 5 cm; set View Depth to Level Below
(Ceiling 2), Offset 5 cm.
5 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style to Wireframe.
Now on Roof - Mech view we can see the interior walls of second floor, the purpose is that
when we place rooftop AC units on this view we can position them at the right spots.
6 Type VG, click Annotation Categories tab, find and turn off Elevations (4 elevation
symbols).
The MEP modeling in this book, basically we can turn off all 4 elevation symbols (South, East,
North, West) on all floor plan and ceiling plan views, this can reduce the zooming
operations during the editing. If we want open these elevation views, we can just double
click the south, east, north or west elevation view names in Project Browser. But we have to
do the above VG settings for each floor plan views.
8 Open 1 - Mech, 1 - Plenum, 2 - Mech, 2 - Plenum, 1 - Ceiling Mech, 2 - Ceiling Mech six
plan views respectively, proceed the previous two steps:
7 Type ZA to zoom model to fit the drawing area.
Save your work
box, create a Mechanical Exercise folder at a convenient location on your hard drive, enter
01 Mechanical Setup Finished for File name, then click Save. Click the File Tab again then
select Close.
2 - 2 Create Spaces
Besides modeling building information, Revit has the capabilities to do energy analysis and
lighting calculation. In order to calculate building heating and cooling loads, we have to
create (place) spaces everywhere in the building, whether they are occupied spaces or
unoccupied spaces, thus to get the correct results.
Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\02 Create Spaces.rvt
2 - 2 Create Spaces 119
Duplicate Views
1 In Project Browser, select 1 - Mech floor plan view, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu, select Duplicate View -> Duplicate.
2 Select duplicated 1 - Mech Copy 1 view, right click mouse button, on Context Menu,
select Rename, rename it to 1 - Space.
3 In Project Browser, select 2 - Mech floor plan view, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu, select Duplicate View -> Duplicate.
4 Select duplicated 2 - Mech Copy 1 view, right click mouse button, on Context Menu,
select Rename, rename it to 2 - Space.
Turn on Room Bounding Parameter

1 Select the linked architectural background model.
2 On Properties palette, click Edit Type button.
3 In Type Properties dialog box, put a check mark on Room Bounding parameter, press OK.
Important! We have to turn on the Room Bounding of linked architectural model in order to
use its room enclosures to create spaces.
Create Spaces
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Space under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 1 - Space
view.
2 On View Control Bar, set Detail Level to Coarse to simplify the line work of interior walls.
3 Click the Analyze tab, select Space.
4 On Properties palette, set Constrain Upper Limit to Ceiling 1, set Limit Offset to 0 cm.
5 Scroll down to find Space Type in Energy Analysis category, click <Building>, when Revit
displays a little … square button on its right, click it.
6 In Space Type Settings dialog box, find and select Office - Enclosed, press OK.
7 On Modify | Place Space ribbon, select (or make sure already turn on) Tag on Placement.
8 Move cursor to the center of bottom left room and click.
9 Continue to move cursor to the center of two other rooms on the right and click. Click
the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to end the command.
Automate Spaces
10 Again, select Space on the Analyze ribbon.
11 On Modify | Place Space ribbon, make sure Tag on Placement already been turned on,
click Place Spaces Automatically.
12 Press Close.
Now Revit created 22 spaces for us.
Extract Room Names from Linked Architectural Model

13 Click the Analyze tab, select Space Naming.
14 In Space Naming dialog box, just click OK.

Now Revit extracted the room information (name and number) from the linked
architectural file and transferred them into the corresponding space tags of our spaces.
Although we could create space by picking each individual room, but use Place Spaces
Automatically can put space tags right in the centers of the spaces, and use Space Naming
tool to transfer tag information very quickly. Another good thing of using Place Spaces
Automatically is that Revit will search all the spaces for us, so there won’t be any missing.
Attention! When creating space, we have to pay attention to its Constraint Upper Limit and
Offsets.
15 Type VG, find and expand Spaces, turn on Interior under Spaces, press OK.
Now we can see all spaces fill with light green color.
Use Leaders to annotate small shaft spaces

16 Click the tag of shaft space of left restroom.
17 On the Options Bar at the bottom of the Modify | Space Tags ribbon, turn on the Leader.
18 Drag the tag to the upper left as shown.

19 Rename the tag name to Shaft and tag number to 123.
20 Same situation, add leaders to the other two shaft space tags, drag them to the right
and rename them correspondingly.
Note: When we created spaces with associated tags in one plan view, the other plan views
of the same floor (level) will also have those spaces but don’t have tags. For example,
in this model we created spaces in Space - 1 view, Mech - 1 view gets the identical
spaces but does not have tags on them. Nevertheless, we can use copy and paste
method to copy space tags to the view that needs them. Or, we can go to the view
that already has spaces to re-tag them.
Modify Shaft Spaces

Since three restroom shafts go all the way to roof, we need to set their Upper Limit to the
bottom of roof.
21 Hold Ctrl key; select 3 shaft spaces of restrooms.
22 On Properties palette, change their Upper Limit to Roof, set Limit Offset to -21 cm, scroll
down to find Energy Analysis, uncheck Occupiable, set their Condition Type to
Unconditioned.
Note: When Revit calculates Heating and Cooling Loads it won’t count those Unconditioned
spaces.
Modify Upper Limits of Elec/Mech Room and Stairwells

23 Select Elec/Mech space, on Properties palette, set its Upper Limit to Level 2, set Limit
Offset to -20 cm.
24 Select both stairwell spaces, on Properties palette, set their Upper Limit to Level 2, set
Limit Offset to 0 cm.
Create Plenum Spaces

25 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plenum under Floor Plans to open that view.
26 Type VG, find and expand Spaces, turn on Interior and Reference under Spaces, press
OK.
Now in plenum floor plan we can see 6 spaces (3 restroom shafts, Elec/Mech Room and 2
stairwells) which have Upper Limit higher then grid ceiling.
Note: When turning on Spaces Reference, we can see the crossing lines of the spaces.
27 Click the Analyze tab, select Space.

28 On Properties palette, set Upper Limit to Level 2, set Limit Offset to -20 cm, set Base
Offset to 5.2 cm, scroll down, enter Plenum for Name, in Energy Analysis category, put a
check mark next to Plenum (Note: Revit grays out Occupiable and Condition Type, and
change Space Type to Plenum).
29 This time we don’t use Place Spaces Automatically, rather we directly place the space as
shown below. When finished, click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
30 Use the above methods, according to the figure below, finish second floor’s spaces.
Notice: When creating second floor spaces we don’t need to do the restroom shafts, since
we already extended first floor restroom shaft spaces to the bottom of the roof. If
we have Revit Place Spaces Automatically, then we will get 3 overlapped shaft
spaces. If that is the case, we have to delete second floor restroom shaft spaces.
Don't forget to set second floor Elec/Mech room Upper Limit to the bottom of roof. Set
second floor HVAC shaft Base Offset to -20 cm, Upper Limit to the bottom of roof also,
uncheck Occupiable, set Condition Type to Unconditioned.
31 Like first floor plenum, finish second floor plenum’s space. On Properties palette, set
Upper Limit to Roof, set Limit Offset to -20 cm, scroll down, enter Plenum for Name, on
Energy Analysis category, put a check mark next to Plenum.
Create Section View to Examine Spaces
1 After finished all spaces of

the building, in Project
Browser, double click 1 -
Space under Floor Plans to
open that view.
2 Click the Section button
on Quick Tool Bar, from
top to bottom draw a
section line as shown.
3 Double click the section symbol to open the section view.

4 Type VG, click Annotation Categories tab, find and turn off Levels.
5 Click Model Categories tab, find and expand Spaces, turn on Interior and Reference,
press OK.
6 On Properties palette, find and uncheck Crop Region Visible. Now the Crop Region box
disappeared.
7 As the following figures, move around mouse cursor to highlight each space, or pick
spaces.
(Stairwell space)
(Shaft spaces)
(Plenum spaces)
8 In Project Browser, click + in front of ??? to expand Section 1 view.

9 On Properties palette, set its Sub-Discipline to HVAC.
Now Section 1 view moved to Sections (building Section) under HVAC Sub-Discipline and ???
is gone.
Energy Analysis Space Type

In order to get more accurate Cooling Loads Calculation (in Section 2-5), we should assign
appropriate Energy Analysis Space Type for each space.
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Space under Floor Plans to open that view.
2 Hold Ctrl key select two Open Office spaces.
3 On Properties palette, scroll down to find Space Type in Energy Analysis category, click
Office - Enclosed, when Revit displays a little … square button on its right, click it.
4 In Space Type Settings dialog box, find and select Office - Open Plan, press OK.
5 Hold Ctrl key select two Conference spaces.

6 On Properties palette, scroll down to find Space Type in Energy Analysis category, click
Office - Enclosed, when Revit displays a little … square button on its right, click it.
7 In Space Type Settings dialog box, find and select Conference Meeting/Multipurpose,
press OK.
The table below shows different interior heat gains of a few different space types.
Space Type Area per Person Lighting Load Density Power Load Density
Office - Open Plan 20.000 m² 11.84 W/m² 16.15 W/m²
Conference Meeting 2.000 m² 13.99 W/m² 10.76 W/m²
/Multipurpose
Lounge/Recreation 4.000 m² 13.02 W/m² 5.81 W/m²
Restrooms 10.000 m² 9.69 W/m² 3.23 W/m²
Use the same method and according to the table below to finish all space’s Energy Analysis
Space Type of first floor and second floor.
Spaces Energy Analysis Space Type

Office 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, Office - Enclosed
201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210,
211, 212, 213
Open Office 112, 113, 214, 215 Office - Open Plan
Conference 111, 114, 204, 216 Conference Meeting/Multipurpose
Guest Room 103 Office - Enclosed
Lounge 210 Lounge/Recreation
Men’s Room 115, 217, Ladies Room 116, 218 Restrooms
Elec/Mech 117, 219 Electrical/Mechanical
Janitor 220 Office - Enclosed
Front Entrance 120, Rear Entrance 118 Lobby - Hotel
Corridor 119, 221, 222 Corridor/Transition
Stairwell 121, 122, 223, 224 Stairway
Shaft 123, 124, 125 Office - Enclosed
Save your work

When all finished, click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box,
navigate to Mechanical Exercise folder you created in previous section, enter 02 Spaces
2 - 3 Create Zones
When analyzing the energy consumption of a building, we can group spaces into different
zones to differentiate their HVAC systems or HVAC requirements, then specify Service Type,
Heating/Cooling/Outdoor Air information for those zones, thus we don’t have to specify
these information for every space.
2 - 3 Create Zones 137
Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\03 Create Zones.rvt

2 Type VG, find and expand HVAC Zones, turn on Interior Fill and Reference Lines. Click
Annotation Categories tab, find and turn off Sections, press OK.
3 Click the Analyze tab, select Zone.
Now Revit displays the Edit Zone ribbon and has the Add Space button turned on.
4 On Properties palette, enter 1 - Office - South for Name, then continuously pick 5 office
and one guest room spaces on the south side of the building.
5 On Edit Zone ribbon, select Finish Editing Zone.
6 Use the same method, select Zone on Analyze ribbon again, pick 3 office, a lounge and a
conference spaces on the north side of the building to create a zone named 1 - Office -
North.
7 Select Zone on Analyze ribbon again, pick Open Office 112 space on the west side of the
building to create a zone named 1 - Open Office - West with only one space.
8 According to the table and figure below, complete the rest zones of first floor except
two stairwells spaces.
Zones Spaces
1 - Office - South Office 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, Guest Room 103
1 - Office - North Office 107, 108, 109, Lounge 110, Conference 111
1 - Open Office - West Open Office 112
1 - Open Office - East Open Office 113
1 - Conference Conference 114
1 - Restroom Men’s Room 115, Ladies Room 116
1 - Elec/Mech Elec/Mech 117
1 - Entrance - North Rear Entrance 118
1 - Corridor Corridor 119
1 - Entrance - South Front Entrance 120
1 - Shaft Shaft 123, 124, 125
1 - Plenum Plenum 126
10 Type VG, find and expand HVAC Zones, turn on Interior Fill and Reference Lines, click
11 Click the Analyze tab, select Zone, pick Plenum 126 space to create a zone named 1 -
Plenum with only one space.
13 Type VG, find and expand HVAC Zones, turn on Interior Fill and Reference Lines, click
14 According to the table and figure below, complete all the zones of second floor except
two stairwells spaces.
Zones Spaces
2 - Office - South Office 201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, Conference 204
2 - Office - North Office 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, Janitor 220
2 - Open Office - West Open Office 214
2 - Open Office - East Open Office 215
2 - Conference Conference 216
2 - Restroom Men’s Room 115, Ladies Room 116
2 - Elec/Mech Elec/Mech 219
2 - Corridor Corridor 221, 222
2 - Shaft Shaft 225
2 - Plenum Plenum 226
Stairwell - South Stairwell 121, 223
Stairwell - North Stairwell 122, 224
Define Multi-Level Zones

15 Click the Close Hidden Windows button on Quick Toolbar.
17 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Space and 2 - Space views side by side.
18 Type ZA (Zoom All) to zoom the entire model to fit the drawing area for both views.
19 Click the Analyze tab, select Zone.

20 On Properties palette, enter Stairwell - South for Name, pick the south stairwell space in
left window 1 - Space view , then pick the south stairwell space in right window 2 -
Space view.

22 Select Zone on Analyze ribbon again.

23 On Properties palette, enter Stairwell - North for Name, pick the north stairwell space in
right window 2 - Space view, then pick the north stairwell space in left window 1 - Space
view.

26 Same as first floor Plenum, use Plenum 226 space to create a zone named 2 - Plenum.
Rename Views
Since we added zones in those two Space views under Floor Plans, we rename them to
Space and Zone.
27 In Project Browser, select 1 - Space view, right click the mouse button; rename it to 1 -
Space and Zone.
28 In Project Browser, select 2 - Space view, right click the mouse button; rename it to 2 -
Space and Zone.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 03 Zones Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again
then select Close.
2 - 4 Zone Color Fill Legend

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\04 Zone Color Fill Legend.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Space and Zone under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan:
1 - Space and Zone view.
2 Use VG to turn off HVAC Zones Reference Lines.
3 Click the Analyze tab, select Color Fill Legend.

2 - 4 Zone Color Fill Legend 147
4 On Properties palette, click Edit Type button. In Type Properties dialog box, put a check
mark on Show Title parameter, press OK.
5 Place a color fill legend at the upper right of the drawing.
6 In Choose Space Type and Color Scheme dialog box, select HVAC Zones and Scheme 1,
press OK.
7 Select the color fill legend we just placed, on Modify | Color Fill Legends ribbon, select
Edit Scheme.
8 In Edit Color Scheme dialog box, enter Level 1 HVAC Zones for Scheme Definition Title,
press OK.
9 In Project Browser, double click 2 - Space and Zone under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan:
2 - Space and Zone view.
10 Same situation, use VG to turn off HVAC Zones Reference Lines.
11 Click the Analyze tab, select Color Fill Legend. Like first floor, place a color fill legend at
the upper right of the building.
12 In Choose Space Type and Color Scheme dialog box, select HVAC Zones and Scheme 1,
press OK.
Edit Scheme.
14 In Edit Color Scheme dialog box, select Scheme 1 on the left, then click the Duplicate
button below.
15 When Revit displays New Color Scheme

dialog box, press OK to accept Schema 2
for the Name.
Attention! Now the Schema 2 displayed on the left is the current color scheme.
16 Enter Level 2 HVAC Zones for Scheme Definition Title.

17 Scroll down the zone list, change 2 - Corridor’s color to grey, change 2 - Shaft’s color to
orange, press OK.
Now the colors of these two zones became grey and orange respectively.
We can set different color combinations of the legends of our own likes, but it’s better to
duplicate the schema to a new one, then make changes on the new one, so we can keep
the original one just in case we still need it.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 04 Zone Color Scheme Finished for File name. Click the
2 - 5 Energy Analysis
Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\05 Energy Analysis.rvt
Project Information and Energy Settings

1 Click the Manage tab, select the Project Information.
2 In Project Information dialog box, click the Edit… button next to Energy Settings.
3 In Energy Settings dialog box, verify that Ground Plane is Level 1, Project Phase is New
Construction, then press the Edit… button next to Other Options.
Note: We can also click the Analyze tab and find Energy Settings tool at the very end of the
ribbon.
2 - 5 Energy Analysis 153
4 In Advanced Energy Settings dialog box, verify that Building Type is Office; HVAC System
is Central VAV, HW Heat, Chiller 5.96 COP, Boilers 84.5 eff.
5 Click <Building> next to Schematic Types, when Revit showing a little square button at
its right, click it.
6 In Schematic Types dialog box, click All button to turn on all overrides.
7 Set Roofs Analytic Construction to 8 in lightweight concrete (U=0.7291 W/(m²·K)).
8 Press OK four times to end the settings.

Space Heating and Cooling Load Schedule

1 Click the Analyze tab, select Schedule/ Quantities.
2 In New Schedule dialog box, select Spaces for Category, enter Heating and Cooling Loads
for Name, press OK.
3 In Schedule Properties dialog box, select Name, Number, Calculated Cooling Load,
Calculated Heating Load from Available fields, click Add parameter(s) button to add
them to Schedule fields. Move Number to the very top.
4 Click Sorting/Grouping tab, set Sort by: Number, Ascending.

5 Press OK to finish the settings.
Now Revit created a schedule based on the fields (parameters) we selected and the sorting
method we set. In this schedule we see that all the values for Calculated Cooling Load and
Calculated Heating Load are Not Computed, this is because we haven’t asked Revit to
calculate these loads.
Heating and Cooling Loads

1 Click the Analyze tab, select Heating and Cooling Loads.
2 In Heating and Cooling Loads dialog box, click Boston, MA next to Location parameter,
when Revit showing a little square button at its right, click it.
3 In Location Weather and Site dialog box, we can use Internet Mapping Service to search
and spot, or use Default City List to set project’s location. Here we don’t make any
change, just press OK to use the default location.
4 Back to Heating and Cooling Loads dialog box, click Details tab.
5 Select 1 - Office - South zone, then press Highlight button.
6 Press the … buttons of Heating Information and Cooling information on previous figure
respectively.
Here we can do Heating and Cooling settings for this zone.

The default temperature settings have two decimal places, due to the conversions from
Fahrenheit to Celsius. Their original Fahrenheit temperatures of Heating Set Point and
Heating Air Temperature are:
70 °F equals 21.11 °C
90 °F equals 32.22 °C
Cooling Set Point and Cooling Air Temperature are:
74 °F equals 23.33 °C
54 °F equals 12.22 °C
7 Press OK to end the settings.
8 Expand the 1 - Office - South zone and select 106 Office space.
Here we can set Space Type, Construction Type, People Occupancy and Electrical Loads for
individual space.
Surface Analysis
Next we will spread out all the surfaces that relate to the calculations of heating and cooling
loads of that space.
9 Press Analytical Surfaces radio button.
10 Press the Highlight button at upper right to clear Highlight. Then press the Isolate button.
11 Zoom in 106 Office, and expand all its surface elements.

12 Select the Floors of 106 Office.
13 Select the Exterior Walls of 106 Office.

14 Select the windows of 106 Office.
15 Select one of the Interior Walls that has a Door on it.

16 Select the Ceiling of 106 Office.
Calculate Loads
17 Press the Calculate button at the bottom. Momentarily, Revit generates a Heating and
Cooling Loads Reports for us.
2 - 6 Place Air Terminals 163
Attention: This Heating and Cooling Loads Reports is very thorough, use the scroll bar
scrolling down to browse more details, such as the calculation for each zone and
for each space. It lists all the load calculation related modeling information.
18 In Project Browser, double click Heating and Cooling Loads under Schedule/Quantities
to open that schedule.
Now the schedule displays the values of Calculated Cooling Load and Calculated Heating
Load. Since we set shaft and plenum spaces to Unconditioned earlier, thus their loads
remain Not Computed.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 05 Energy Analysis Finished for File name. Click the File
2 - 6 Place Air Terminals

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\06 Place Air Terminals.rvt
Cooling Supply Airflow Analysis

First we create a Cooling Supply Airflow schedule to help us design the supply air diffusers.
1 In Project Browser, select Heating and Cooling Loads schedule, right click mouse button,
on Context Menu, select Duplicate View -> Duplicate.
2 Rename the duplicated schedule to Cooling Supply Airflow.
3 On Properties palette, click Edit... button next to Fields.

4 In Schedule Properties dialog box, remove Calculated Heating Load from Schedule fields.
5 Add Calculated Supply Airflow and Actual Supply Airflow from Available fields to
Schedule fields.
6 Click Add Calculated parameter button.
7 In Calculated Value dialog box, enter Airflow Delta for Name, for Discipline select HVAC,
for Type select Factor, the Formula enter (Actual Supply Airflow-Calculated Supply
Airflow)/Calculated Supply Airflow, press OK.
8 Click Formatting tab at the top of dialog box.

9 Select Airflow Delta field, then click Conditional Format... button.
10 In Conditional Formatting dialog box, select Not Between for Test, enter 0 % and 5 % for
Value, set Background Color to red.
Note: Less than 0 % means not enough cooling; more than 5 % means too cold that wastes
energy.
11 Press OK twice to finish the settings and create a Cooling Supply Airflow schedule.
In this schedule we can see that all the values for Actual Supply Airflow are 0 L/s, and the
percentages of Airflow Delta are -100% with red background. This is because we haven’t
placed any supply diffuser in these spaces.
Add Diffusers
1 Click the Close Hidden Windows

button on Quick Toolbar.
2 In Project Browser, double click 1

- Ceiling Mech under Ceiling
Plans to open Ceiling Plan: 1 -
Ceiling Mech view.
3 Use VG to turn off Sections in Annotation Categories.
4 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Ceiling Mech view and Cooling Supply Airflow schedule
side by side.
Supply Diffusers
6 Click the Systems tab, then select Air Terminal.
7 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Supply Diffuser
family 600 x 600 Face 300 x 300 Connection type diffuser.
8 On Properties palette, set Constrain Level to Ceiling 1.
9 Place the first supply diffuser on the ceiling grid of 101 Office as shown below. Click the
Note: Since 1 - Ceiling Mech view does not have space tags, we cannot tell the number and
name of a space, but when we move mouse cursor touching the invisible reference
line of a space, the pop-up tooltip and Status Bar will display its name and number.
Now in the schedule we see that the Calculated Supply Airflow of 101 Office is 77.0 L/s
(Liter per second), the Actual Supply Airflow is 235.0 L/s, and the Airflow Delta is 205.20%.
Because the Airflow Delta exceeds 5%, therefore it still has red background.
Note: 235 L/s is the default air flow of this supply diffuser.
Adjust Supply Diffuser Airflow

10 Select the diffuser we just placed, on Properties palette, change its Flow to 80 L/s.
Now the red background color of Airflow Delta disappeared, since the supply airflow of 101
Office has satisfied our design requirement.
11 Next, place two supply diffusers on the ceiling grid of 102 Office as shown.
Now we see the Actual Supply Airflow of 102 Office is 470.0 L/s.
12 Select both diffusers in 102 Office, on Properties palette, change their Flow to 55 L/s.
55 x 2 = 110 L/s, so 102 Office has met our design requirement.

13 Pan model to left, place one supply diffuser on the ceiling grid of 103 Guest Room as
shown.
14 Select that diffuser, on Properties palette, change its Flow to 45 L/s, uncheck RightArrow
and LeftArrow.
Now we see the diffuser in 103 Guest Room only displays the up and down arrows. The
airflow of this room has also met our design requirement.
Return Diffusers
15 Select Air Terminal on Systems ribbon again.
16 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Return Diffuser
family 600 x 600 Face 300 x 300 Connection type diffuser.
17 On Properties palette, set Constrain Level to Ceiling 1.
18 Place one return diffuser in each of 101 Office, 102 Office and 103 Guest Room as
shown. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
19 Select all these three return diffusers, on Properties palette, uncheck all four direction
arrows.
Note: Since the air system uses the plenum space above grid ceiling to collect return air and
uses second floor shaft to convey air back to roof AC unit, therefore we don’t worry
about the air flow of return diffusers.
Exhaust Grilles
20 Select Air Terminal on Systems ribbon again.
21 On Modify | Place Air Terminal ribbon select Load Family.

\Libraries\US Metric\Mechanical\MEP\Air-Side Components\Air Terminals\
M_Exhaust Grille - Rectangular Face Square Neck - Hosted.rfa.
23 On Properties palette, set Constrain Elevation to 230 cm.
24 Place an exhaust grille on the shaft wall in each restroom as shown.
Note: We don’t install ceiling return diffuser in restroom, rather we use shafts and roof
exhaust fans to exhaust restroom odors to outside.
Diffuser Air Flow Arrows

Personally I don’t like to display the air flow arrows for return diffusers. Turn them off can
simplify the drawing. Without showing return air flow arrows we can still tell them by their
one diagonal line symbols. On the contrary, the exhaust grilles we placed on the restroom
shaft walls, this family needs an air flow arrow, so it would be much easier for us to identify
them on floor plan view.
Finish First Floor Air Diffusers

Please follow the green diffuser reference lines provided by author to finish placing all the
diffusers on first floor (note: the orange reference lines are lighting fixtures), and use
Cooling Supply Airflow schedule to calculate and modify the airflows of supply diffusers.
Don’t forget to adjust the diffuser arrows of 104 Office and 119 Rear Entrance.
Note: For Elec/ Mech room, stairwells and shafts we don’t install diffusers. Elec/ Mech
room and north stairwell could use transfer grilles and ducts to provide some
ventilation. But if in warmer areas we need provide cooling air for them.
Tag Air Diffusers

After finishing all the diffusers, next we shall tag (label) the CFM for all supply diffusers.
1 Use VG to turn off Ceilings.
2 As the following figure, pick a supply diffuser as you like, right click mouse button.
3 On Context Menu, select Select All Instances -> Visible in View.
Now on Properties palette, we see that there are 56 supply diffusers selected.
4 Then click the Annotate tab, select Tag All.

5 In Tag All Not Tagged dialog box, verify Only selected objects in current view radio
button is on, on Category list, select Air Terminal Tags, verify that Leader is unchecked ,
verify Tag Orientation is Horizontal, then click OK.
Now all the supply diffusers are tagged, we can see the L/s and the Mark number for each
supply diffuser.
6 As the following figure, pick a diffuser tag as you like, right click mouse button, on
Context Menu select Edit Family.
7 In Family Editor screen, select the 1i text and the horizontal line between the two texts,
then on Properties palette, uncheck Visible.
8 On ribbon, click Load into Project and Close.
9 When Revit asks if you want to save changes to M_Diffuser Tag.rfa? Press No.
10 In Family Already Exists dialog box, press Overwrite the existing version.
Now all supply diffuser tags only show L/s values.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 06 First Floor Air Terminal Finished for File name. Click
2 - 7 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems 179
2 - 7 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\07 Create Secondary Supply Air Systems.rvt
1 In 1 - Ceiling Mech view, use VG to turn off Air Terminal Tags in Annotation Categories.
Place VAV (Variable Air Volume) Boxes

In order to stand out the VAV boxes in the drawing, first we use VG to set the color of
mechanical equipment to Cyan.
2 Type VG, find Mechanical Equipment; click the Override… button of Projection/Surface
Patterns.
3 In Fill Pattern Graphics dialog box, set Pattern to Solid fill, set Color to Cyan, press OK.

5 Click the Systems tab; then select Mechanical Equipment.
6 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_VAV Unit - Parallel
Fan Powered family Size 3 - 200mm Inlet type VAV box.
7 On Properties palette, set Constrain Offset to 310 cm.
8 Move the VAV box to the upper right of 101 Office, press Space Bar to rotate it to the
orientation shown, then place it. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
Please notice that the PrimaryToSupplyRatio of this VAV unit is 0.200000.
9 Select the VAV box we just placed.

We can see that the Outlet dimensions
of this type VAV box are: 350.0 mm x
280.0 mm.
10 Click the Manage tab; then click MEP Settings button to drop down its list; then select
Mechanical Settings.
11 In Mechanical Settings dialog box, select Rectangular under Duct Settings.
We see there is no 280.0 mm on rectangular duct size list.

12 Press New Size… button, enter 280 mm, press OK to add this duct size to the list.
13 Press OK again to end the settings.

In order to emphasize the selected objects, we set object Selection and Pre-selection colors
to Red.
14 Click the File Tab, select Options at bottom right.
15 In Options dialog box, click Graphics on the left, set both Selection and Pre-selection
colors to Red, press OK.
Note: User can set objects Selection and Pre-selection colors for his/her needs to facilitate
editing the drawings.
Connect VAV Boxes to Diffusers

16 Select the supply diffuser in 101 Office.
17 On Modify | Air Terminals ribbon, select Duct on Create Systems panel.
18 When Revit displays Create Duct System dialog box, press OK.
19 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon select Select Equipment.
20 Select the VAV box we placed.
21 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon select Generate Layout.
22 On the Options Bar under Generate Layout ribbon, set Solution Type to Network, then
click Settings… button on the right.
23 In Duct Conversion Settings dialog box, verify that Duct Type is Rectangular Duct: Radius
Elbows / Tees; set Offset to 310 cm.
24 Click Branch on the left, verify that Duct Type is Rectangular Duct: Radius Elbows / Tees,
set Offset to 310 cm, set Flex Duct Type to Flex Duct Round : Flex - Round, keep
Maximum Flex Duct Length to 180 cm, press OK.
25 Click the arrow button on Options Bar repeatedly, when Revit shows the layout solution
as same as the solution shown on the left figure, click Finish Layout.
26 Use VG to turn off the Pattern of Flex Ducts.
Thus we can see the edges of Flexible Duct.

27 Select Mechanical Equipment on Systems ribbon; place the same VAV box in 102 Office
as shown.
28 Select both supply diffusers in 102 Office.
29 On Modify | Air Terminal ribbon select Duct.

31 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon; select Select Equipment.

33 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon; select Generate Layout.

34 On Options Bar, set Solution Type to Network, click the arrow button repeatedly, when
Revit shows the layout solution as same as the solution shown on the left figure below,
click Finish Layout.
35 Select Mechanical Equipment on

Systems ribbon; place the same
VAV box in 103 Guest Room as
shown.
Attention! The bottom of VAV Box is 288.25 cm which allows it to sit on top of the 265.2 cm
interior wall.
36 Select the diffuser in 103 Guest Room.


41 Notice! Here we do not use Generate Layout tool, we just click the leftmost Modify
button on ribbon to finish creating the system.
Because the distance between diffuser and VAV box is pretty close, we can draw a flexible
duct to connect them together instead of using the steps of Generate Layout and finding
Solution.
42 Select the connector at the bottom of the VAV box, right click mouse button; on Context
Menu select Draw Flex Duct.
43 Drag the flex duct from the bottom of the VAV box to the center of diffuser of its lower
right; then click the mouse button.
44 Select Mechanical Equipment on Systems ribbon; place the same VAV box in Front
Entrance as shown.
45 Select the four supply diffusers of Front Entrance.

50 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon select Generate Layout.

51 On the Options Bar under Generate Layout ribbon, set Solution Type to Network, then
click Settings… button on the right.
52 In Duct Conversion Settings dialog box, click Branch on the left, set Duct Type to
Rectangular Duct: Mitered Elbows / Tees, set Flex Duct Type to None, press OK.
53 On the Options Bar, click the arrow button repeatedly, when Revit shows the layout
solution as same as the solution shown on the left figure below, click Finish Layout.
54 Select Mechanical Equipment on Systems ribbon; place the same but rotate 90 degree
VAV box at the lower right of Open Office.
55 Use the same method to create a system and generate layout solution of connecting 4
supply diffusers to VAV box as shown, but Not To click Finish Layout.
56 Select Edit Layout on the leftmost of Generate Layout ribbon.

57 Select the vertical branch duct as shown on the left figure, drag it right to the location as
shown on the middle figure, then click Finish Layout.
Now the vertical ducts avoided the middle return diffuser.

58 Zoom to the upper left of the building.
59 Select Mechanical Equipment on Systems ribbon; place the same VAV box on top of the
conference room wall as shown.
60 Use the same method to create a system and generate layout solution of connecting 2
supply diffusers to VAV box as shown, but Not To click Finish Layout.
61 Select Edit Layout on the leftmost of Generate Layout ribbon.

62 Select the left horizontal branch duct as shown on the left figure; hold Ctrl key select the
right horizontal branch duct as shown on the middle figure, then drag the move symbol
up to the location as shown on the right figure.
63 When the right horizontal branch duct is not interfering with the return diffuser, click
Finish Layout.

65 Use VG to turn off Levels in Annotation Categories and c Office Building.rvt in Revit Links.
66 Select the highlighted 10 mitered duct elbows.

67 In Family/Type Selector, change them to M_Rectangular Elbow - Radius family 1 W type.
68 Select highlighted 2 mitered duct elbows above the conference room.

69 In Family/Type Selector, change them to M_Rectangular Elbow - Radius family 1.5 W

type.
Size the Ducts

70 As the following three figures, move mouse cursor on or select one conference room
duct, press Tab key a few times, when seeing all the ducts are highlighted, press mouse
button to select them.
71 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Duct/Pipe Sizing.
72 In Duct Sizing dialog box, set Sizing Method to Friction 0.4 Pa/m, for Constraints, set
Branch Sizing to Calculated Size Only, set Restrict Height to 280 mm, press OK.
Now we see all the ducts and fittings shrank a little bit.
73 As the following figure, use the same method and duct sizing settings to size the ducts
on the south side of the building.
Use the methods showing above, according to the drawings below, place the rest VAV
boxes, create systems and connect diffusers, and size the ducts for the first floor secondary
supply air systems.
Save your work

box, navigate to Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 07 Secondary Supply Air Systems
2 - 8 Create Primary Supply Air Systems

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\08 Create Primary Supply Air Systems.rvt
Draw Primary Main Ducts

Before drawing primary main ducts, in order to differentiate primary and secondary ducts,
we use VG’s Filter to set a different color to primary ducts.
1 Type VG, click Filters tab first, then press Edit/New… button.
2 In Filters dialog box, press the New button at the bottom left to create a Round Duct
filter, for Categories, select Ducts, for Filter Rules, set Family Name equals Round Duct.
2 - 8 Create Primary Supply Air Systems 199
3 Press OK back to Visibility/Graphic Overrides Filters dialog, then press the Add button.
4 In Add Filters dialog box, select Round Duct, press OK.
Now we see Round Duct is on the filter’s Name list.
5 Click the Override… button of Projection/Surface Lines, in Line Graphics dialog box, set
Color to RGB 000-222-000, press OK.
6 Press OK again to finish the settings.

7 Click Systems tab, select Duct.
8 In Family/Type Selector select Round Duct family Taps type.

9 On Options Bar or Properties palette, verify that Diameter is set to 300 mm and Offset is
set to 310 cm.
10 On left side of building draw a horizontal duct as shown. Click the leftmost Modify
button on the ribbon.
11 Select Duct on Systems ribbon, from the right side of horizontal duct draw duct down
then left as shown.
12 Same situation, on right side of building, draw a horizontal duct and an L shape ducts
taps to it.
Connect VAV Boxes to Primary Ducts

1 Select the VAV box in 101 Office.
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Connect Into.

3 In Select Connector dialog box, select Connector 0 : Supply Air : Round 200 mm : Row
direction In, press OK.
4 Then select the horizontal duct outside the office to connect them together.
5 Select the VAV box in 102 Office.

direction In.
8 Select the horizontal duct outside the office to connect them together.
9 Select the VAV box in Open Office.

direction In.
12 Select the same horizontal duct to connect them together.
13 In front entrance, select the upper connector the VAV box, right click mouse button; on
Context Menu select Draw Duct.
14 Draw duct up then right to connect to the vertical main duct on the right.
Use the methods above, according to the drawing below, finish connecting the rest VAV
boxes to the adjacent main ducts.
15 Select the highlighted 5 round elbows.

16 In Family/Type Selector, change their type from 1.5 D to 2 D.
Check Connectivities
17 Move mouse cursor on top of a primary duct on each side, press Tab key a few times to
examine the connections of VAV boxes and primary ducts.
18 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to view the primary ducts in 3D.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 08 Primary Supply Air System Created for File name. Click
2 - 9 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts

In this section we will use Velocity Method to size the primary supply air ducts.
Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\09 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts.rvt
Divide Primary Ducts

1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Mech under Ceiling Plans to open that view.
2 Click Modify tab, select Split Element.
2 - 9 Size Primary Supply Air Ducts 207
3 As shown below, by following the direction of air flow, pick the points at about 40 cm
after the VAV boxes tapping the main duct to split the main ducts into many pieces.
When we split the main ducts Revit actually inserted a 6 mm short round union between
the split ducts. Then when we re-size the primary ducts Revit will alter the ducts at these
split points and replace these unions with round transitions.
Size Primary Ducts

4 Move mouse cursor on top of a primary duct on left side, press Tab key a few times, when
seeing all connected primary ducts are highlighted, press mouse button to select them.
5 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon select Duct/Pipe Sizing.
6 In Duct Sizing dialog box, set Sizing Method to Velocity 5.1 m/s, for Constraints, set
Branch Sizing to Calculated Size Only, uncheck Restrict Height, press OK.
Now we can see the left side main ducts have been split into many segments with different
sizes, they shrank gradually while toward the ends.
7 Same situation; select the primary ducts on right side, use Velocity Method to re-size them.
Modify Splits
1 Select the left side 2 split vertical ducts as shown. On Properties palette we can see their
Diameters are the same: 175.0 mm.
2 Select the right side 2 split vertical ducts as shown. On Properties palette we can see
their Diameters are the same: 200.0 mm.
3 Select the lower side 4 split horizontal ducts as shown. On Properties palette we can see
their Diameters are the same: 140.0mm.
4 Click the Manage tab; then click MEP Settings button to drop down its list; then select
Mechanical Settings.
5 In Mechanical Settings dialog box, select Round under Duct Settings.

When Revit sizes the ducts, it rounds up duct sizes only to those sizes defined in Mechanical
Settings. This is why some split ducts have the same sizes.
6 Select and delete the union fittings between the split ducts that have same sizes (those
the black arrows pointed in previous two drawings).

8 Zoom in the right side to take a look of the split primary ducts with different sizes.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 09 Primary Supply Air Duct Sizing Finished for File name.
2 - 10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans 213
2 - 10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click Roof - Mech under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: Roof -
Mech view.
2 Use VG to turn off Sections in

Annotation Categories.
3 Click Systems tab, select Mechanical Equipment.

4 On Modify | Place Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Load Family.

\Libraries\US Metric\Mechanical\MEP\Air-Side Components\Air Conditioners\
M_Rooftop AC Unit - 53-88 kW - Bottom Return Connection.rfa, in Family/Type Selector
select 63 kW type AC Unit.
From the Heating and Cooling Loads Calculation in section 5, the Peak Cooling Total Load of
this building is 113,931 Watt, divide by 2 (stories), we get 56,965.5 Watt, therefore we
choose 63 kW AC Unit.
6 Press space bar to adjust the orientation of this AC unit and put it near to second floor
shaft.
7 Select Mechanical Equipment on System ribbon.

8 On Modify | Place Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Load Family.
\Libraries\US Metric\Mechanical\MEP\Air-Side Components\Fans and Blowers\
M_Centrifugal Fan - Rooftop - Upblast.rfa.
10 On Modify | Place Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Place on Face.
11 Place two exhaust fans on top of the restroom shafts.

Attention! Since these two shafts have openings at roof, we have to put exhaust fans aside
first, then move them to the centers of the shafts.
Draw Supply Duct Riser

1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Mech under Ceiling Plans to open that view.
2 Use VG to turn on Sections in Annotation Categories.
3 From bottom to top draw a section line passing through second floor shaft.
4 Drag the section far clipping control arrow to the location as shown.
5 On Properties palette, set section’s Sub-Discipline to HVAC. (Now we can see Section 2
in Project Browser)
6 Double click the section symbol to open this section.
7 Use VG to turn off Levels.
8 On View Control Bar set Detail Level to Fine.

9 Drag the upper and lower Crop Region control circles to expand the view.
10 On Properties palette, uncheck Crop Region Visible.
11 Select the left connector (Out) at the bottom of the AC unit, right click mouse button; on
12 In Family/Type Selector select Rectangular Duct family Mitered Elbows / Tees type duct.
13 On Status Bar, set Width to 508 mm, set Height to 900 mm.
14 Draw duct down to first floor plenum aligning to the center of round duct (as shown on
the left figure), then turn left pass through that round duct (as shown on the right
figure). When finished, click the leftmost Modify button on the ribbon.
15 Select the last horizontal duct we just drew.

16 On Modify | Duct ribbon select Cap Open Ends to add an end cap on its left.
Connect Primary Ducts to the Riser

1 Zoom in the primary supply duct riser.
2 Click Modify tab, select Trim/Extend Single Element.
3 Select the right side of the rectangular duct, then select the round duct on its right, Voila!
4 Select the left side of the rectangular duct, then select the round duct on its left, Voila!
Create Return Air System

1 Type ZA (Zoom All) to see the entire model.
2 Select any a return diffuser in drawing, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select
Select All Instances -> Visible in View.
Now we have selected 35 return diffusers.
3 On Modify | Air Terminals ribbon select Duct.

Now we used these 35 return diffusers created a Mechanical Return Air 1 system.
5 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon click Select Equipment. Then select the roof AC unit.
6 Click the leftmost Modify button on the ribbon.
Now the color of all 35 return diffusers become magenta.
Notice: The color of roof AC unit changed from blue to black, because now it is an
equipment that belongs to two systems, a supply system and a return system.
7 In Project Browser, double click Section 2 to return to that view.

8 Select the right connector (In) at the bottom of the AC unit, right click mouse button; on
9 Draw a 50 cm return duct down as shown.
Attention! The color of return ducts is magenta.
10 Click the button on Quick Toolbar and zoom in to see the return duct just drew.
11 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style to Wireframe.

Now we can clearly see the return duct.

Since this return duct was drawn from the return air connector of the AC unit, therefore it is
added to Mechanical Return Air 1 system.
The first floor return air is collected via first floor plenum, then conveyed up via second
floor shaft, then sucked by this return duct under the AC unit.
Create Exhaust Air Systems

1 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style back to Hidden Line.
2 Select the exhaust grille (on the shaft wall) in Ladies Room.
3 On Modify | Air Terminals ribbon select Duct.

Now we created a Mechanical Exhaust Air 1 system.

5 On Modify | Duct Systems ribbon click Select Equipment. Select the roof exhaust fan
right above the grille.
6 Click the leftmost Modify button on the ribbon.

Attention! Now the color of exhaust fan and grille all became green which is the color for
exhaust air system.
7 Same situation, use the exhaust grille in Men’s Room and the roof exhaust fan right
above it to create a Mechanical Exhaust Air 2 system.
8 Type ZA (Zoom All) to see the entire model.
Now we can clearly tell 3 air systems in our model: Supply is blue, Return is magenta,
Exhaust is green.
Check System Connectivities

9 Move mouse cursor on top of any a duct in drawing, press Tab key a few times to
examine the connections of entire supply air systems.
10 Type VG, click Revit Links tab, turn on c Office Building.rvt

11 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style to Shaded to take a look of 3D shaded effect.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 10 AC Unit and Exhaust Fans Added for File name. Click
Up to here is the mechanical modeling of first floor air systems. Readers can open the
exercise file: \Mechanical\11 First Floor Air System Finished.rvt to take a look of the
modeling result.
2 - 11 Second Floor Air Systems

Basically the creation of second floor air systems is same as the first floor; we can use the
same methods and procedures:
1 Layout air terminals including: supply diffusers (according to Cooling Supply Airflow
schedule), return diffusers and restroom exhaust grilles.
2 Create secondary supply air systems, layout VAV boxes and connect supply diffusers to
them, use friction method to size secondary ducts.
3 Draw primary main ducts, connect VAV boxes to them.
4 Use velocity method to size primary ducts.
2 - 11 Second Floor Air Systems 229
5 Add roof AC unit and connect primary ducts to it, create second floor return air system,
add second floor restroom exhaust grilles to first floor exhaust systems.
Please refer to the sections 6 to 10 and base on the drawing below to finish the second
floor air systems.
Be aware! When creating second floor air systems, there are a lot of settings need to repeat.
Now we have gone through the mechanical air system modeling of an entire office building.
Readers can open the exercise file: \Mechanical\12 Mechanical Air System Finished.rvt to
take a look of the final modeling result.
231
Chapter 3 Hydronic Piping Systems

In this chapter we will create Hydronic Piping Systems for a two story office building. We
first layout the radiators around the perimeter rooms, then connect the boilers in first floor
Elec/Mech room to the radiators of both floors.
Although hydronic piping systems and mechanical air systems are two independent systems
that can be modeled separately (in Revit MEP Step by Step 2017 version), but in 2018 and
2019 versions we continue to add hydronic piping to the mechanical air systems file that we
created in previous chapter which makes the project file more complicated, nevertheless
readers can learn how to manage a much complicated Revit project in these newer versions.
232 Chapter 3 Hydronic Piping Systems
3 - 1 Prepare Hydronic Piping Modeling

Since we are going to model the Hydronic Piping Systems in Mechanical project drawing, we
need to create separate views for just viewing the Hydronic Piping Systems.
Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\12 Mechanical Air System Finished.rvt
1 In Project Browser, select 1 - Mech view, right click the mouse button, on Context Menu
select Duplicate View -> Duplicate.
2 Rename the newly created 1 - Mech Copy 1 view to 1 - Hydronic Piping.
3 Type VG, click Filters tab, then press Edit/New... button.

3 - 1 Prepare Hydronic Piping Modeling 233
4 In Filters dialog box, press the New button at lower left to create a VAV Box filter, for
Categories select Mechanical Equipment, for Filter Rules set Family Name equals
M_VAV Unit - Parallel Fan Powered.
5 Press the New button again to create a Rooftop AC Unit filter, for Categories select
Mechanical Equipment, for Filter Rules set Family Name equals M_Rooftop AC Unit - 53-
88 kW - Bottom Return Connection.
6 Press the New button again to create a Rooftop Exhaust Fan filter, for Categories select
Mechanical Equipment, for Filter Rules set Family Name equals M_Centrifugal Fan -
Rooftop - Upblast.
7 Press OK back to Visibility/Graphic Overrides Filters dialog, click Add button to add VAV
Box to filter list and turn it off.
8 Click Model Categories tab, turn off Air Terminals, Duct Fittings, Ducts, Flex Ducts, HVAC
Zones and Spaces.
3 - 1 Prepare Hydronic Piping Modeling 235
9 Click Annotation Categories tab, turn off Section too, then press OK.
10 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Hydronic Piping and {3D} views side by side.
Now we can see in 1 - Hydronic Piping view all the Mechanical Air System components have
been turned off.
12 Use the same method, duplicate 2 - Mech view to a 2 - Hydronic Piping view, do the
same VG settings as 1 - Hydronic Piping view. (as from step 7 to 9)
Note: The VG component’s on/off such as VAV box, Air Terminals, need to be done on each
view, but the filter’s name (like VAV Box) and rules are only set once.
13 In Project Browser, duplicate {3D} view to a 3D Hydronic Piping view.

14 Type VG, click Filter tab, add VAV Box, Rooftop AC Unit and Rooftop Exhaust Fan three
filters and turn them off.
15 Click Model Categories tab, also turn off Air Terminal, Duct Fittings, Ducts and Flex Ducts.
16 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style to Hidden Line.
17 Type WT and Type ZA.
Now we can see in 3D Hydronic Piping and 2 - Hydronic Piping views all the Mechanical Air
System components are turned off.
Save your work

When done, Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box,
navigate to Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 12 Hydronic Piping Setup Finished for File
3 - 2 Place Radiators and Boilers 237
3 - 2 Place Radiators and Boilers

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\13 Place Radiators and Boilers.rvt
Load Additional Radiator Family

1 In Project Browser, expand and take a look of the Mechanical Equipment families.
Since the M_Radiator - Hydronic Fin Tube family came with Mechanical template can not
place on (attach to) the walls of a linked architectural model. We can only go to the
architectural model to attach this radiator. Therefore we need to load another radiator
family.
2 Click Insert tab, then select Load Family.
3 Load C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Mechanical\MEP

\Air-Side Components\Heat Distribution Devices\M_Radiator - Hosted.rfa family.
Unfortunately, the System Classifications of both connectors of this radiator were set to
Hydronic Supply. We need to change one of them to Hydronic Return in order to make it
work. (Note: Author has found this is a mistake of Metric version of this family, the Imperial
version of this family, its right connector is classified as Hydronic Return system)
Edit (Modify) Radiator Family

4 In Project Browser, select just loaded M_Radiator - Hosted family, right click mouse
button, on Context Menu select Edit.
5 In Family Editor screen, select the right connector of the radiator, then on Properties
palette, change its System Classification from Hydronic Supply to Hydronic Return. On
ribbon, click Load into Project and Close.
6 When Revit asks if you want to save changes to M_Radiator - Hosted.rfa? Press No.
Place Radiators
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Hydronic Piping under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan:
1 - Hydronic Piping view.
2 Click the Systems tab; then select Mechanical Equipment.
3 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Radiator - Hosted
family 25 type radiator.
4 On Properties palette, enter 142 cm for Length, set Flow to 0.25 L/s.
5 Place this radiator in 101 Office as shown.
Tip: When placing the radiator, it’s better to place it away from the window a little (which
would be easier), then use the Align tool to align it with that window.
6 Click the Modify tab; use Align tool to align the center of the radiator to the center of
the left window.
7 Select the properly placed radiator, click Array tool on the ribbon, on Options Bar
uncheck Group and Associate checkbox, enter 6 for Number, then pick a start point on
screen, drag the second point to the right, enter 240 cm to array 6 radiators.
8 Use the same method; place a vertical radiator on the west wall outside 101 Office.
9 Use the Array tool to array 6 radiators up with 240 cm intervals as shown.
According to the following figure finish placing all the radiators of first floor. Note: the
window at rear entrance is a smaller one, when placing set its length to 91.5 cm.
Attention! It is not recommended to use Mirror tool when placing radiators, because it will
flip their In and Out connectors and cause the changing of their flow directions.
Place Boilers
1 Click the Systems tab; select Mechanical Equipment.
2 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Boiler family Standard type boiler.
3 Place two boilers in Elec/Mech Room on the north side of the building, then dimension
them similar to the figure shown below.
4 Select the placed boilers, use modify dimension method to position them to the
relations shown below.
5 Delete the dimensions of boilers.

6 In Project Browser, double click 3D Hydronic Piping under 3D Views to open the view
that only displays the hydronic systems.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 13 Radiators and Boilers Placed for File name, then click
Save. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
3 - 3 Create First Floor Pipe Runs

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\14 Create First Floor Pipe Runs.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Hydronic Piping under Floor Plans to open that view.
Set First Floor Piping View Range

For first floor hydronic piping, in order to see the piping connecting to the radiators under
the slab, we set the View Bottom to -100 cm; on the other hand, in order to see the piping
running above boiler without seeing the second floor Hydronic piping, we set View Top at
312 cm of Level 1.
2 On Properties palette, click View Range's Edit… button to set view range as follow:
Set Hydronic Piping Colors

3 Type VG, click Filters tab first, then press Edit/New… button.
4 In Filters dialog box, press the New button at bottom left to create a Hydronic Supply
filter, for Categories, select Pipe Fittings and Pipes, for Filter Rules, set System Type
equals Hydronic Supply.
3 - 3 Create First Floor Pipe Runs 245
5 Press the New button again to create a Hydronic Return filter, for Categories, select Pipe
Fittings and Pipes, for Filter Rules, set System Type equals Hydronic Return.
6 Press OK back to Visibility/Graphic Overrides Filters dialog, then press the Add button.
7 In Add Filters dialog box, select Hydronic Return and Hydronic Supply, press OK.
Now we see Hydronic Return and Hydronic Supply are on the filter’s Name list.
8 Select Hydronic Supply, click the Override… button of Projection/Surface Lines, in Line
Graphics dialog box, set Color to RGB 255-000-128, press OK.
9 Select Hydronic Return, click the Override… button of Projection/Surface Lines, in Line
Graphics dialog box, set Color to RGB 128-000-255, press OK.
10 Press OK again to finish the settings of hydronic piping color.

Since a Hydronic piping system contains a Hydronic Supply and a Hydronic Return two
systems, we create two logic systems for them first, then do the pipe runs for them. Besides,
to avoid pipe running too long, we divide the pipe runs into two sides, left and right, after
finished, we connect two side pipe runs to the boiler in Elec/Mech room.
First Floor Left Supply System

1 Select the radiators on the left side of the building as shown.
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, on Create Systems panel select Piping.
3 When Revit displays Create Piping System dialog box, press OK.
4 On Modify | Piping Systems ribbon select Select Equipment.
5 Select the upper boiler in Elec/Mech room.
6 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish creating the supply system.
First Floor Left Return System

1 Again, select the radiators on the left side of the building.
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Piping as well.
4 On Modify | Piping Systems ribbon select Select Equipment as well.

5 Select the same boiler in Elec/Mech room.
6 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish creating the return system.
First Floor Left Supply Pipe Run

1 Select the radiator in Rear Entrance as shown. (or any other radiator on left side)
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Generate Layout.
3 In Select a System dialog box select

Hydronic Supply 1, press OK.
4 On the Options Bar under Generate Layout ribbon, set Solution Type to Perimeter, then
click Settings… button.
5 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Offset to -50 cm, click Branch on the left, set
Offset to -50 cm as well, then press OK.
6 On the right of Options Bar, set Inset to 0 cm.
The Inset value is the horizontal offset distance from the perimeter equipment (radiators)
that insetting to the perimeter piping, set it to 0 cm means there is no offset.
that all perimeter pipes run through the radiators as same as the solution shown on the
figure below, click Finish Layout.
8 When Revit displays a warning dialog box on the bottom right, close it.
The warning message means the pipe runs did not connect to the boiler properly. That’s all
right; we will fix that later.
The pipe run we see is a single line piping drawing.
9 On View Control Bar, set Detail Level to Fine. Then the single line drawing became
double line drawing.
10 Click the Thin Line button on Quick Toolbar so double line piping can be seen more
clearly.
First Floor Left Return Pipe Run

1 Move cursor to the radiator in Rear Entrance (or any other radiator on left side), press
Tab key repeatedly, when the Status bar on the bottom left displays Piping Systems :
Piping System : Hydronic Return 1, press down mouse button.

3 On the Options Bar under Generate Layout ribbon, set Solution Type to Perimeter, then
click Settings… button.
5 On the right of Options Bar, verify that Inset is 22.5 cm.

that all perimeter pipes are 22.5 cm off from the radiators as same as the solution
shown on the figure below, click Finish Layout.
First Floor Right Supply System

1 Select the radiators on the right side of the building as shown.
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Piping.
4 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to finish creating the supply system.
First Floor Right Return System

1 Again, select the radiators on the right side of the building.
2 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Piping as well.
3 When Revit displays Create Piping System

dialog box, press OK.
4 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon
to finish creating the system.
Attention! When creating systems for the right side we only include radiators, we don’t
include boiler. Later, when we generate the pipe run and connect them to the
left side, they will be merged to the left side systems that contain boiler.
First Floor Right Supply Pipe Run

1 Select any radiator on the right side as shown.
3 In Select a System dialog box select Hydronic Supply 2, press OK.
4 On Generate Layout ribbon select Place Base.
5 Spot the Base at the location as shown.

6 On Options Bar, set Offset to 290 cm, set Diameter to 80 mm, then click Solutions.
7 On Options Bar set Solution Type to Perimeter.

left figure below, click Finish Layout.
First Floor Right Return Pipe Run

1 Move cursor to any radiator on the right side, press Tab key repeatedly, when the Status
bar on the bottom left displays Piping Systems : Piping System : Hydronic Return 2, press
down mouse button.

3 On Generate Layout ribbon select Place Base, then spot the Base at the location as
shown.
5 On Options Bar, set Solution Type to Perimeter, set Inset to 22.5 cm.
shown on the figure below, click Finish Layout.
7 When Revit displays the following warning message, just close it.
8 In Project Browser, double click the 3D Hydronic Piping view.
9 On View Control Bar, set Detail Level to Fine.

10 Type VG, click Revit Links tab, turn off c Office Building.rvt
11 Click Filters tab, add Hydronic Supply and Hydronic Return; set their color to RGB 255-
000-128 and RGB 128-000-255 respectively, then press OK.
Now the 3D view displays colored piping.

3 - 4 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler 259
Note: If we don’t satisfy the system and pipe runs that we created and want to redo them,
first we need to delete all the pipe runs; then we (press F9 to) open the System
Browser to find and delete that system.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 14 First Floor Pipe Runs Finished for File name. Click the
3 - 4 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\15 Connect First Floor Piping to Boiler.rvt
2 Zoom in the Elec/Mech Room as shown.
When connecting the right side pipe runs to the boiler, in order to see the locations of
lighting fixtures and diffusers, we need to raise the height of view Cut plane and set Visual
Style to Wireframe.
3 On Properties palette, click View Range's Edit… button. In View Range dialog box change
Cut plane Offset from 120 cm to 300 cm.
4 On View Control Bar change Visual Style to Wireframe.
Now we can see the reference lines of lighting fixtures (in orange) and diffusers (in green).
Note: Since many horizontal piping (and ducts) are hung at different heights, therefore we
always want to adjust the view ranges to examine the piping that we are working on.
5 Follow the following 3 figures, first, click the end point of supply pipe on the right side,
right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Draw Pipe, then draw pipes bypassing
stair steps, lighting fixtures and second boiler’s outlet to the point near to the outlet of
first boiler.
Attention! When making the last turn to go up, make sure to snap and line up with the first
boiler outlet.
6 Same situations, click the end point of return pipe on the right side, right click mouse
button, on Context Menu select Draw Pipe, then draw pipes bypassing stair steps,
lighting fixtures and second boiler’s outlet to the point as shown.
7 Dimension the distances between pipes and wall faces and between them like the figure
shown below.
8 Select dimensioned pipes, use modify dimension method to move them to the relations
as shown.
9 When all finished, delete the dimensions.

Note: Sometimes we use dimension method to position objects precisely; sometimes we

just select them and use arrow keys to move (adjust) them approximately.
11 Click the blue mark on the corner of LEFT, BACK and TOP of 3D View Cube to switch to
that viewing angle.
12 Delete the highlighted pipes and elbow fittings.
13 Select highlighted elbow as shown.
14 On Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon select Connect Into.
15 Select the highlighted return pipe shown on the left figure, then Revit connected them
together.
16 Select highlighted elbow as shown. On Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon select Connect Into.
17 Select the highlighted supply pipe shown on the left figure, then Revit connected them
together.

18 Adjust view to display the back side of the boilers, delete the highlighted supply pipe.
19 Select the remaining elbow; click the rotate icon on its side to turn it upward.
20 Select the elbow on the back of the boiler, click the + above to change it to T.
21 As shown below, select highlighted elbow of supply pipe, on Modify | Pipe Fittings
ribbon select Connect Into, then select the highlighted supply pipe above the boiler to
have Revit connect them together.
22 As shown below, select highlighted T of return pipe, on Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon
select Connect Into, then select the highlighted return pipe above to have Revit connect
them together.
23 Select the boiler for first floor heating, on Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon select
Connect Into, then select the supply pipe above, thus Revit T-in to the supply pipe right
on the top of the boiler’s outlet.
24 Zoom out a little to view the connections of first floor’s boiler.
25 Type ZA (Zoom All) to see the entire connections of first floor hydronic piping.
26 Move cursor to any pipe, press Tab key a few times to check the connection of the
systems.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 15 First Floor Boiler Connected for File name. Click the
3 - 5 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\16 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs.rvt
Note: The exercise file already finished laying out all the radiators on second floor.
Set Second Floor Piping View Range

For second floor hydronic piping, in order to see the boilers located in first floor Elec/Mech
room, we set View Bottom to 130 cm of Level 1.

3 - 5 Create Second Floor Pipe Runs 271
Now we can see the first floor boilers and some pipe runs of first floor Hydronic piping.
Set Second Floor Hydronic Piping Colors

3 As same as 1 - Hydronic Piping view, use VG to set the colors of Hydronic Supply and
Hydronic Return piping. Also set the Detail Level to Fine.
Note: The VG filter overrides such as color, style, need to be done on each view that uses
them, but the filter’s name and rules are only set once.
Second Floor Left Hydronic Systems

4 As shown below, select the radiators on the left side of second floor. Like the right side
of first floor, use these radiators to create Hydronic Supply 2 and Hydronic Return 2 two
piping systems (without picking boiler equipment).
Attention! When we connected first floor right side supply and return piping to the boiler,
the Hydronic Supply 2 and Hydronic Return 2 systems were merged into
Hydronic Supply 1 and Hydronic Return 1 systems, therefore the systems we
created here are still Hydronic Supply 2 and Hydronic Return 2.
Second Floor Left Supply Pipe Run

5 Select any radiator on the left side as shown.
7 In Select a System dialog box select Hydronic Supply 2, press OK.
9 Spot the Base at the location as shown.

11 On Options Bar, set Solution Type to Perimeter, then click Settings… button.
13 On the right of Options Bar, set Inset to 0 cm.

left figure, click Finish Layout.
Second Floor Left Return Pipe Run

15 Move cursor to any radiator on the left side, press Tab key repeatedly, when the Status
bar on the bottom left displays Piping Systems : Piping System : Hydronic Return 2, press
down mouse button.

17 On Generate Layout ribbon select Place Base, then spot the Base at the location as
shown.
19 On Options Bar, set Solution Type to Perimeter, then click Settings… button.
21 On the right of Options Bar, set Inset to 22.5 cm.

shown on the left figure, click Finish Layout.
Second Floor Right Hydronic Systems

23 As shown below, select the radiators on the right side. Like the left side, use these
radiators to create Hydronic Supply 3 and Hydronic Return 3 two piping systems
(without picking boiler equipment).
Second Floor Right Supply Pipe Run

24 Like the left side, refer to the Base location shown below to complete Hydronic Supply 3
pipe run of right side.
Second Floor Right Return Pipe Run

25 Like the left side, refer to the Base location shown below to complete Hydronic Return 3
pipe run of right side.
26 When Revit displays the following warning message, just close it.
27 In Project Browser, double click 3D Hydronic Piping to view both floor pipe runs in 3D.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 16 Second Floor Pipe Runs Finished for File name. Click
3 - 6 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\17 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler.rvt
2 Zoom in the region as shown.
When connecting second floor pipe runs to boiler, in order to see first floor Elec/Mech
room and the locations of lighting fixtures and diffusers, we need to lower the height of
view Cut plane and set Visual Style to Wireframe.
3 On Properties palette, click View Range's Edit… button. In View Range dialog box change
Cut plane Offset from 120 cm to -25 cm.

3 - 6 Connect Second Floor Piping to Boiler 279
4 On View Control Bar change Visual Style to Wireframe.
Now we can see first floor Elec/Mech room and the reference lines of lighting fixtures and
diffusers.
5 Use window select method to delete these four vertical pipes and four elbows as shown.
6 Click Manage tab, then select Snaps.
7 In Snaps dialog box, uncheck the Length

dimension snap increments check box,
press OK.
8 Follow the following 4 figures, first, click the end point of supply pipe on the left side,
right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Draw Pipe, then draw pipes bypassing
diffuser, lighting fixtures, and stair steps to connect to the supply pipe on the right side.
Attention! When pipe turning to the boiler, make sure to snap to the outlet of the second
boiler.
Attention! When making the last turn to go up, be sure to snap to the supply pipe above.
9 Follow the following 3 figures, click the end point of return pipe on the left side, right
click mouse button, on Context Menu select Draw Pipe, then draw pipes bypassing
diffuser, lighting fixtures, and stair steps to connect to the return pipe on the right side.
Attention! When making the last turn to go up, be sure to snap to the return pipe above.
The reason that we run pipe like this is to leave the lower left corner space for water heater
and its piping above.
11 Move cursor to any pipe of first floor, press Tab key a few times, when seeing all
radiators, piping and boiler are highlighted, press down mouse button to select them.
12 On View Control Bar, click Temporary Hide/Isolate button, select Hide Element on the
list.
Now the selected first floor hydronic piping systems were hidden. We also see the window
has a cyan border which means this view is in Temporary Hide/Isolate mode.
13 Click the blue mark on the corner of LEFT, FRONT and TOP of 3D View Cube to switch to
that viewing angle.
15 Select the boiler for second floor heating, on Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon
select Connect Into.
16 In Select Connector dialog box, select Connector 0 : Hydronic Supply : Round : 80 mm :
Row direction Out, press OK.
17 Select the supply pipe above, thus Revit T-in to the supply pipe right on the top of the
boiler’s outlet.

18 Select the boiler again, on Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon select Connect Into.
Notice: This time we don’t see the Select Connector dialog box, because there is only one
connector left, that is Connector 1 : Hydronic Return : Round : 80 mm.
19 Select the return pipe above, thus Revit T-in to the return pipe from the boiler’s inlet on
its back.
Now we have finished the connections of piping and boiler of second floor.
20 On View Control Bar, click Temporary Hide/Isolate button, select Reset Temporary
Hide/Isolate on the list.
Now we can see the first floor hydronic piping systems again.
21 Type ZA (Zoom All) to see the entire pipe connections of both floors.
22 Move cursor to any pipe of second floor, press Tab key a few times to check the system
connection of second floor.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 17 Second Floor Boiler Connected for File name. Click the
3 - 7 Add Circulator Pumps

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\18 Add Circulator Pumps.rvt
1 Click the blue mark on the corner of RIGHT, BACK and TOP of 3D View Cube to switch to
that viewing angle. Zoom in the region as shown.
Since the piping above boilers are too high to install pumps, we need to do some
adjustments.
3 - 7 Add Circulator Pumps 289
2 Delete the highlighted pipes and elbow fittings.
3 Select two Tees above the boilers, on Properties palette, set their Offset to 180 cm to
move them down.
4 Select the T of right boiler.

6 Select the shorter supply pipe above to connect them together.
7 Select the T of left boiler.

9 In Select Connector dialog box, select Connector 1 : Hydronic Supply : Round : 80 mm :
Row direction Bidirectional, press OK.
10 Select the left supply pipe above to connect them together.
11 Select the T of left boiler again.

Notice: This time we don’t see the Select Connector dialog box, because there is only one
connector left, that is Connector 2 : Hydronic Supply : Round : 80 mm.
13 Select the other supply pipe above to connect them together.
Now we have finished the adjustments of the piping above boilers.
Size Hydronic Pipes

Before adding circulator pumps we use Velocity and Friction method to size these hydronic
pipes.
1 Move cursor to one supply pipe of the first floor, press Tab key a few times, when seeing
all supply pipes are highlighted, press down mouse button to select them.
3 In Pipe Sizing dialog box, set Sizing Method to Velocity 2.5 m/s and Friction 250 Pa/m,
for Constraints, set Branch Sizing to Calculated Size Only, uncheck Restrict Size, press OK.
Now the supply pipe coming out from the first floor boiler increased (from 80 mm to 100
mm). The branch supply pipes to the radiators also increased a little bit (from 25 mm to 32
mm).
4 Move cursor to one return pipe of the first floor, press Tab key a few times, when seeing
all return pipes are highlighted, press down mouse button to select them.

6 Use the same sizing settings that calculating supply pipes to calculate the return pipes.
Now the first floor return pipes from the radiators also increased a little bit (from 25 mm to
32 mm).
7 Select supply and return pipes of second floor, use the same method to calculate their
sizes.
After sizing, next figure labeled the diameters of supply pipes connecting to the boilers.
Please notice there are three tees above boilers became bigger, because the pipes beneath
them have enlarged (from 80 mm to 100mm).
Insert Circulator Pumps

3 Click Manage tab, select Snaps, in Snaps dialog box, check the Snap Off box, then press
OK to turn off all snap modes.
Create New Pump Type

When inserting pumps, the diameter of pump connectors should match the size of the pipe.
Before modify the diameter of pump connectors, we create a new type so we can keep the
original one.
4 Click Systems tab, then select Mechanical Equipment.
5 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Inline Pump - Circulator family 4.6 LPS - 2.9
Meter Head type pump.
6 Click Edit Type, in Type Properties dialog box, press Duplicate… button to duplicate a 4.6
LPS - 2.9 Meter Head 80.0 mm Diameter type.
7 In Type Properties dialog box, change Suction Nominal Diameter and Discharge Nominal
Diameter from 40.0 mm to 80.0 mm, press OK.
8 Place the first pump on the supply pipe at the location shown on the left figure. (Right
figure shows the actual location of the pump)
9 Continue to place the second pump on the supply pipe at the location shown on the left
figure. (Right figure shows the actual location of the pump)
10 When done, click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.

11 Select Mechanical Equipment on Systems
ribbon again.
12 On Properties palette click Edit Type, in
Type Properties dialog box, press
Duplicate… button to duplicate a 4.6 LPS -
2.9 Meter Head 90.0 mm Diameter type.
13 In Type Properties dialog box, change
Suction Nominal Diameter and Discharge
Nominal Diameter from 80.0 mm to 90.0
mm, press OK.
14 Place the third pump on the supply pipe at the location shown on the left figure. (Right
figure shows the actual location of the pump)
15 Continue to place the fourth pump on the supply pipe at the location shown on the left
figure. (Right figure shows the actual location of the pump)
16 Select the first pump; press the up arrow key to nudge (push) it up a little bit to center it
to the pipe.
17 Same situations, nudge the other three pumps to the centers of the pipes.
Rotate Pumps
18 In Project Browser, double click the 3D Hydronic Piping view and zoom to the boilers
and pumps.
19 Select the first pump; click the rotation icon to turn it upright.
20 Same situations, upright the other three pumps.
21 Type ZA (Zoom All) to see the entire hydronic piping systems.

22 Type VG, click Revit Links tab, turn on c Office Building.rvt
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 18 Circulator Pumps Added for File name. Click the File
Now we have finished the hydronic piping systems of this office building. Readers can Open
the exercise file: \Mechanical\19 Hydronic Piping Finished.rvt to take a look of the final
modeling result. In Chapter 7 Interference Check we will make minor adjustments of two
hydronic pipes in this model.
The hydronic piping system used for boilers and radiators in this chapter can also be used
for many other mechanical systems such as chiller chill water and cooling tower condensate
water.
3 - 8 Organize Mechanical 3D Views

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\19 Hydronic Piping Finished.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click {3D} under 3D Views to open the default 3D View.
In this view we can see both mechanical air systems and hydronic piping of our model.
Nevertheless the hydronic piping are only single lined and have no color.
2 Use VG to add Hydronic Supply and Hydronic Return two filters and set their colors as
same as the colors shown on floor plans.
3 - 8 Organize Mechanical 3D Views 305
3 On View Control Bar set Detail Level to Fine to display double lined piping.
4 In Project Browser, duplicate this {3D} view to a 3D Mech Air Systems view.
5 Type VG, click Filters tab, then click Edit/New … button. In Filters dialog, select Hydronic
filter, in Categories list, besides those already checked pipe categories add Mechanical
Equipment one more category, press OK.
6 (back to Visibility/Graphic Overrides Filters dialog) Click Add button to add Hydronic to
the Filter list and turn it off.
Now the 3D Mech Air Systems view only displays the Mech Air System components.
Note: Although we leave the Hydronic Supply and Hydronic Return those two filters on, but
the Hydronic filter contains more categories, not only the piping but also the
equipment, thus we turned off the entire Hydronic Piping Systems in this view.
3 - 8 Organize Mechanical 3D Views 307
7 Type WT and Type ZA.
Now we have three 3D views for the Mechanical Systems: 3D Mech Air Systems view, 3D
Hydronic Piping view and default {3D} view that shows both systems.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 19 Mechanical 3D Views Finished for File name. Click the
Up to here we have finished the entire Mechanical Systems of this office building. Readers
can Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\20 Mechanical System Finished.rvt to take a look
of the final drawing with three different 3D views.
308
309
Chapter 4 Electrical Systems

In this chapter we will create Electrical Systems for a two story office building, including the
layouts of lighting fixtures and switches in each space, layouts of receptacles, installations
of electrical panels and transformers in Elec/Mech rooms, creations of power and lighting
circuitry, as well as switch systems. We will also create many schedules such as: required
lighting levels, lighting analysis, lighting fixtures and electrical usage reports. Besides, we
will have Revit create power and lighting panel schedules for us according to the circuits
that we created in the model. Finally, we will practice how to draw electrical conduits.
310 Chapter 4 Electrical Systems
4 - 1 Prepare Electrical System Modeling

1 Start Revit 2019. In its Starting Screen
click New… under Projects.
2 In New Project dialog box, press
Browse… button on the right.
3 In Choose Template dialog box, find and open C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019

\Templates\Us Metric\Electrical-Default_Metric.rte file.
4 In New Project dialog box, press OK.
Examine the Preset Views of Electrical template

5 In Project Browser, take a look of all the views that the template file has.
4 - 1 Prepare Electrical System Modeling 311
The default views in Electrical template were categorized to two sub-disciplines: Lighting
and Power.
 The floor plans under Lighting sub-discipline, we use them to place light switches
and create lighting circuits. We will add two more floor plans for defining required
lighting levels for each floor.
 The ceiling plans under Lighting sub-discipline, we use them to place lighting
fixtures.
 The floor plans under Power sub-discipline, we use them to place electrical
equipment, receptacles, and create power circuits.
Note: The view name starting with “1 -“ and “2 -“ means “first floor” and “second floor”.
Set Project Units

For consistency, we set the length units format same as the format in architectural project.
of Project Units.

Building.rvt
Open.
5 In Halftone / Underlay dialog box change Brightness from 50% to 70%, press OK.
6 Select the imported architectural background model, on Modify panel, click to pin
the model so it won’t be moved accidentally.
Modify and Add New Levels

1 In Project Browser, double click South - Elec under Elevations to open Elevation: South -
Elec view.
2 Select and drag the host’s level symbols to the right of link model’s level symbols.
3 Change host Level 2’s height from 400 cm to 370 cm.

4 Use the Level tool on Architecture ribbon to add Roof, Ceiling 1, Ceiling 2 three levels,
and create a Roof - Power floor plan.
For more detailed steps of adding new level and floor plan, please refer to the steps in
Chapter 2 section 1.
Electrical Settings
1 Click Manage tab, then click MEP Settings to expand its drop down list, select Electrical
Settings.
2 In Electrical Settings dialog box, under Wiring select Wiring Types to take a look of the
wire types that we have. (Here we can add more wire types as desired)
3 Select Voltage Definitions to examine the voltage settings.
4 Select Distribution Systems to examine the systems we have.

5 Select Load Calculation, check (turn on) Run calculations for loads in spaces, click OK to
finish the Electrical Settings.
Important! We have to turn on this setting in order to examine the electrical loads in a
space (see section 4-7) and display the actual receptacle and lighting loads in
the Electrical Usage Reports that we create in section 4-8.
Create Spaces
1 In Project Browser, move cursor to 1 - Lighting view under Floor Plans and under
Lighting sub-discipline, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Duplicate View
-> Duplicate.
2 Move cursor to newly created 1 - Lighting Copy 1 view, right click mouse button, on
Context Menu select Rename… to rename it to 1 - Lighting Level.
3 Use VG to turn off Elevations (in Annotation Categories).

Turn on Room Bounding Parameter

5 Select the linked architectural background model.
6 On Properties palette, click Edit Type. In Type Properties dialog box, put a check mark on
Room Bounding parameter, press OK.
Important! We have to turn on the Room Bounding of linked architectural model in order to
use its room enclosures to create spaces.
We can use the same method as we did in previous mechanical systems to create spaces for
electrical systems, or, use the following method to copy identical spaces from mechanical
project into electrical project to speed up the process.
Copy Spaces from Mechanical Project

8 Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\03 Create Zones.rvt
9 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Space under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 1 - Space
view.
10 Carefully window select all spaces and their tags, then hold Shift key, select three
restroom shafts and their tags to exclude them.
11 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Copy to Clipboard.
12 On Quick Toolbar click Switch to Windows button, on drop down list select Project1.rvt -
Floor Plan 1 - Lighting Level to return to that view.
13 Click the Modify tab, then click the down arrow under Paste to drop down the list, select
Aligned to Selected Views.
14 In Select Views dialog box, select Floor Plan: 1 - Lighting Level, press OK.
Now we have copied all the spaces and their tags of mechanical 03 Create Zones.rvt
drawing first floor (except shaft spaces) to Project1 Floor Plan 1 - Lighting Level view.
15 Use the same method, duplicate a 2 - Lighting Level view from 2 - Lighting view, turn off
four elevation symbols, zoom models to fit drawing area, go to 2 - Space view of 03
Create Zones.rvt drawing, copy all spaces (except shaft space) and their tags to
clipboard, switch back to 2 - Lighting Level view, then paste them into it.
16 When finished, switch to any view of 03 Create Zones.rvt drawing, then close it.
Like Mechanical modeling, we turn off all 4 elevation symbols (South, East, North, West) on
all floor plan and ceiling plan views; this can reduce the zooming operations during the
editing.
17 Open 1 - Lighting, 2 - Lighting, 1 - Ceiling Elec, 2 - Ceiling Elec, 1 - Power, 2 - Power six
views respectively, use VG to turn off their Elevations, then type ZA to zoom models to
fit their drawing area.
Save your work
When all done, click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box,
create an Electrical Exercise folder at a convenient location on your hard drive, enter 01
Electrical Setup Finished for File name, then click Save. Click the File Tab again then select
Close.
4 - 2 Define Required Lighting Levels

When designing building lighting systems, first we need to define the Required Lighting
Levels for each space, then base on these requirements to layout the lighting fixtures.
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\02 Define Lighting Levels.rvt
Create a Required Lighting Level parameter

1 Click the Manage tab, then select Project Parameters.
4 - 2 Define Required Lighting Levels 323
2 In Project Parameters dialog box click Add… .
3 In Parameter Properties dialog box do the following settings:

Parameter Type: confirm Project Parameter radio button is turned on.
Parameter Data:
Name: enter Required Lighting Level
Discipline: Electrical
Type of Parameter: Illuminance
Group parameter under: Electrical - Lighting
confirm Instance radio button is turned on
confirm Value are aligned per group type radio button is turned on
Category: check Spaces
Press OK.
4 Press OK again to finish the creation of Required Lighting Level parameter.

Validate the new parameter

5 Select any space on the drawing.
On Properties palette, under Electrical - Lighting category, we can see the newly created
Required Lighting Level parameter.
We could use this new parameter to enter a Required Lighting Level value in Properties
palette for each space. However, there are many spaces in this project that have same
lighting requirement. It is more efficient to create a key schedule and use it to assign
Required Lighting Level based on space's lighting type.
Create a Lighting Type Key Schedule

1 Click the Analyze tab, select Schedule/Quantities.
2 In New Schedule dialog box do the following:

Category: select Spaces
Name: enter Space Lighting Requirements
click Schedule keys radio button
Key name: enter Lighting Type
press OK
3 In Schedule Properties dialog box, find Required Lighting Level in Available fields, click
Add parameter(s) button to add it to Schedule fields.
4 Click Formatting tab, change Key Name’s heading to Space Lighting Type.
5 Press OK to finish settings. Now we have a schedule with only two headings but has no
contents in it.
Enter Required Level (lx) for Different Lighting Types

6 On Modify Schedule/Quantities ribbon, select Insert Data Row.
Now there is an empty data row at the bottom of the schedule.
7 As shown on the left, in first data row enter 01 Private Office and 325 lx. Then continue
to insert new data rows, enter lighting types and required lighting levels to finish this
Space Lighting Requirements key schedule as shown on the right.
The purpose to put 01, 02, 03.… in front of lighting type names is for sorting.
Create Space Color Fills according to Required Lighting Levels

1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Lighting Level under Floor Plans to open that view.
2 Click the Analyze tab, select Color Fill Legend.
3 On Properties palette, click Edit Type button. In Type Properties dialog box, put a check
mark on Show Title parameter, press OK.
4 Place a color fill legend at the upper right of the drawing.
5 In Choose Space Type and Color Scheme dialog box, select Spaces and Scheme 1, press
OK.
Edit Scheme.
7 In Edit Color Scheme dialog box, select Scheme 1 on the left, then click the Duplicate
button below.
8 In New Color Scheme dialog box, enter Required Lighting for Name, press OK.
9 In Edit Color Scheme dialog box, for Scheme Definition, enter Required Lighting Levels
for Title, on Color drop down list, find and select Required Lighting Level parameter.
10 When Revit displays Color Not Preserved message, press OK.
Now we see the Color Fill Legend at upper right has only Title but no legends. This is
because we haven't assigned required lighting levels for any space; therefore this Color Fill
Legend is empty. Next, we will base on the Space Lighting Type to set required lighting
levels for each space. The good thing about defining a Color Fill Legend first is that when we
assign required lighting levels for a space we can see that space is filled with color, thus we
can tell which space has assigned and which space hasn't, so there won't be any missing.
Assign Required Lighting Levels by Space Lighting Types

1 Select the 101 Office space at the lower left, on Properties palette, find Lighting Type,
on the drop down list of its right, select 01 Private Office.
Now we can see 101 Office has filled with color, in the meantime the Color Fill Legend at
upper right displays the legend of 325 lx.
Notice! After we assigned the Lighting Type, if we

scroll up Properties palette, we can see
that Required Lighting Level displays 325 lx.
3 Select both Open Offices, on Properties palette, on the drop down list of Lighting Type,
select 02 Open Office.

Now we can see both Open Offices have filled with different color and the Color Fill
Legend at upper right displays the legend of 485 lx.
5 Select both Conference rooms as shown, on Properties palette, on the drop down list of
Lighting Type, select 03 Conference.
Now both Conference rooms have filled with another color and the Color Fill Legend at
upper right displays the legend of 375 lx.
Use the same method, refer to the figure below, finish assigning lighting level for the
remaining spaces of first floor.
Note: Some Lighting Types have the same Illuminance such as Private Office and Restroom
all have 325 lx, thus the Color Fill Legend displays only one swatch for them, also
those types of spaces filled with the same color. Besides, Guest Room is specified as
Private Office lighting type.
Assign Required Lighting Levels to 2nd floor spaces

1 In Project Browser, double click 2 - Lighting Level under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 2
- Lighting Level view.
2 Click Analyze tab, select Color Fill Legend, place the Color Fill Legend at the upper right
of second floor plan.
3 In Choose Space Type and Color Scheme

dialog box, choose Spaces for Space Type
choose Required Lighting for Color
Scheme, press OK.
Like first floor, according to the space’s lighting type, refer to the figure below, finish
assigning lighting level (lx) for the spaces of second floor. Note: assign Janitor’s lighting type
to Private Office.
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder you created in previous section, enter 02 Defining
Lighting Level Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
4 - 3 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule 335
4 - 3 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule

In this section we will create a Space Lighting Analysis schedule to test the lighting fixtures
we place in spaces in next section and to see if they satisfy the required lighting levels.
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\03 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule.rvt
1 Click the Analyze tab, select Schedule/Quantities. In New Schedule dialog box, select
Spaces for Category, enter Space Lighting Analysis for Name, press OK.
2 In Schedule Properties dialog box, find and add Name, Number, Required Lighting Level
and Average Estimated Illumination to Schedule fields, move Number field to the top,
then press Add calculated parameter button.
Notice! The Required Lighting Level in Available fields was the new parameter we added to
project in previous section, it wasn’t in Electrical template file.
3 In Calculated Value dialog box, enter Lighting Delta for Name, verify Formula radio
button is on, select Electrical for Discipline, select Illuminance for Type, in Formula field
enter “Average Estimated Illumination - Required Lighting Level”, press OK.
Note: When creating formula we can press the □

… button to open the Fields list to select the
E A
fields instead of typing it.
4 Click Sorting/Grouping tab, set Sort by Number, verify that Itemize every instance check
box at bottom left is checked.
5 Click Formatting tab, select Lighting Delta field on the left, then press Conditional
Format… button on the right.
4 - 3 Create Space Lighting Analysis Schedule 337
6 In Conditional Formatting dialog box, set Test to Not Between, Value -54 lx and 54 lx, set
Background Color to red.
7 Press OK twice to finish the settings and create a Space Lighting Analysis schedule.
In this schedule we can see that all the values for Average Estimated Illumination are 0 lx
and the Lighting Delta are all negative with red background. This is because we haven’t
placed any lighting fixture in these spaces; therefore no illumination has been calculated.
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 03 Space Lighting Analysis Schedule Finished for File name.
4 - 4 Add Lighting Fixtures

In this section we will place lighting fixtures in spaces and use Space Lighting Analysis
schedule created in previous section to test and see if they satisfy the required lighting
levels.
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\04 Add Lighting Fixtures.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Elec under Ceiling Plans to open Ceiling Plan:
1 - Ceiling Elec view.
2 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Ceiling Elec view and Space Lighting Analysis schedule
side by side.
4 On Properties palette, click View Range’s Edit… button to set view range as follow:

4 - 4 Add Lighting Fixtures 339
Because the original view range settings will let us accidentally see the floor mount
receptacles of second floor open offices and conference rooms.
5 Click Systems tab, select Lighting Fixture.
6 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to

find and select M_Plain Recessed Lighting
Fixture family 600x1200 - 277 type fixture.
7 On Modify | Place Fixture ribbon, select Place on Face.
8 Place the first lighting fixture on the ceiling grid of 101 Office as shown. Click the
Now in the schedule we see that the Average Estimated Illumination of 101 Office is 183 lx,
the Lighting Delta is -142 lx.
9 Again, place the second lighting fixture on the ceiling grid of 101 Office.
Now in the schedule we can see that the Average Estimated Illumination of 101 Office
became 366 lx, the Lighting Delta changed to 41 lx, and the red background disappeared,
which means the lighting level of this space has satisfied our design requirement.
Readers can try to add one more lighting fixture in this space, then the Average Estimated
Illumination would become 549 lx, Lighting Delta would be 224 lx, and the red background
would appear again, since when we place three lighting fixtures in this space, its Lighting
Delta would exceed our acceptable range which is from -54 lx to 54 lx, too bright.
10 Select Lighting Fixture on Systems ribbon again. In Family/Type Selector, click the down
arrow to find and select M_Plain Recessed Lighting Fixture family 600x600 - 277 type
fixture.
11 On Modify | Place Fixture ribbon select Place on Face, place four 600x600 lighting
fixtures on the ceiling grid of 102 Office.
When placing each lighting fixture, please notice the variations of Average Estimated
Illumination in right schedule.
After finish placing, we can see that the Average Estimated Illumination of 102 Office
became 324 lx, the Lighting Delta changed to -1 lx, and the red background disappeared too,
which means the lighting level of this space has also satisfied our design requirement.
Please use the methods above and refer to the orange reference lines shown below to
finish placing all 60cm x 120cm and 60cm x 60cm M_Plain Recessed Lighting Fixtures on 1 -
Ceiling Elec ceiling plan. When placing those 60cm x 120cm fixtures that need to rotate 90
degree, press space bar to rotate them first. We can also use Copy tool to copy these
fixtures.
Since Elec/Mech room will run many pipes and conduits at higher levels it does not have
hung ceiling, thus we install pendant lights in it.
Load Additional Lighting Fixture Family

12 Click Insert tab, select Load Family.
13 Navigate to C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Lighting

\MEP\Internal folder to find and load the following families:
M_Pendant Light - Linear - 1 Lamp.rfa
M_Pendant Light - Linear - 2 Lamp.rfa
14 After loading, click Systems tab, select Lighting Fixture on Systems ribbon, in
Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Pendant Light - Linear - 1 Lamp family 1200mm
- 277V type fixture.
15 On Modify | Place Fixture ribbon select Place on Face.

16 Place the 1 lamp pendant light in 118 Elec/Mech Room as shown.
17 Select Lighting Fixture on Systems ribbon again. In Family/Type Selector, find and select
M_Pendant Light - Linear - 2 Lamp family 1200mm - 277V type fixture.
18 On Modify | Place Fixture ribbon select Place on Face.

19 Place the 2 lamp pendant light in 118 Elec/Mech Room as shown.
The reason we put two different lights in this room is that the calculated lighting level is
much closer to the required lighting level.
20 Besides, place a 2 lamp pendant light in the stairwell next to Elec/Mech room as shown.
Note: All lighting fixtures in this project are 277 volts.

Use the same methods, open 2 - Ceiling Elec view, according to the drawing below, finish
placing all lighting fixtures on second floor.
After placing all the lighting fixtures, in Space Lighting Analysis schedule we found there are
a few spaces do not meet our requirements (either under or exceed). Two corridor spaces
at first and second floor restroom entrances exceeded their requirements. Although we
could remove the 60cm x 60cm fixtures in the middle of those corridors to satisfy the
requirements, but author felt it’s all right to let them brighter at restroom entrances. The
troubles are the lighting calculations for those stairwells. In next section, we will do some
adjustments of those stairwell spaces in order to meet our lighting requirements.
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 04 Lighting Fixtures Finished for File name. Click the File
4 - 5 Adjust Stairwell Spaces

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\05 Adjust Stairwell Spaces.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Elec under Ceiling Plans to open that view.
2 Draw a section line crossing the south stairwell as shown.

4 - 5 Adjust Stairwell Spaces 347
4 Use VG to turn on Spaces Interior and Reference, turn off Levels in Annotation Categories.
5 On Properties palette, set Sub-Discipline to Lighting, uncheck Crop Region Visible.

6 As shown on the left figure, select second floor 223 Stairwell space, pick the control
point at its bottom, drag it down to the location as shown on the right figure.
7 Close the warning message.
8 Select 223 Stairwell space again, on Properties palette, set Base Offset to -370 cm.
Thus we expanded second floor stairwell

space and use its lighting fixtures to light
up the first floor stairwell space.
4 - 5 Adjust Stairwell Spaces 349
9 Select first floor 121 Stairwell space, on Properties palette, set its Lighting Type to
(none).
10 In Project Browser, double click Space Lighting Analysis under Schedules/Quantities to

open that schedule.
Now in schedule, 121 Stairwell space does not have Required Lighting Level, there is no
lighting fixture in it, therefore its Average Estimated Illumination is 0 lx, then there is no so
called Lighting Delta. On the other hand, we can see the Average Estimated Illumination for
223 Stairwell decreased (because its fixtures cover more space), but still satisfied our
lighting requirement.
In schedule the lighting level of north 122 Stairwell is still not enough. However we can
improve its lighting level by increasing its surface reflectances.
Change Space Surface’s Reflectance

1 On Properties palette, click the Edit... button next to Fields.
2 In Schedule Properties dialog box, find and add Ceiling Reflectance, Floor Reflectance
and Wall Reflectance from Available fields to Schedule fields.
3 Press OK to update the schedule.

Now we see the schedule expands 3 more fields on its right.
4 - 6 Add Switches 351
4 Select the Wall Reflectance of 122 Stairwell space; change it from preset 50% to 75%.
Now we can see the Average Estimated Illumination of 122 Stairwell increased (became
brighter), which satisfied our lighting requirement.
So we have learned that the surface reflectance of a space affect its lighting level. Which
means the higher the surface reflectance is the brighter the space is. Space having higher
surface reflectance can use fewer or lower wattage lighting fixtures to reach the required
lighting level, that can save energy and money.
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 05 Stairwell Spaces Adjusted for File name. Click the File
4 - 6 Add Switches
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\06 Add Switches.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Lighting under Floor Plans of Lighting sub-discipline
to open that view.
2 Use VG to turn off Sections in Annotation Categories.
Since Revit’s electrical systems differ with its mechanical systems that have some default
system colors, therefore we set our own colors for electrical equipment or devices such as:
panelboards, light switches, circuit wires, etc.
3 Type VG, click Filters tab, then press Edit/New... button.
4 In Filters dialog box, press the New button at lower left to create a Light Switch filter, for
Categories select Lighting Devices, for Filter Rules set Family Name equals M_Lighting
Switches.
5 Press OK back to Visibility/Graphic Overrides Filters dialog, press Add button to add
Light Switch to filter list.
6 Click the Projection/Surface Lines Override… button of Light Switch, in Line Graphics
dialog box, set Color to Blue, press OK.
Note: The VG filter overrides such as color, style, need to be done on each view that uses
them, but the filter’s name and rules are only set once.
Single Pole Light Switch

8 Click Systems tab, click the down arrow under Device to drop down the list, then select
Lighting.
9 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Lighting Switches family Single Pole type,
then place this switch on the wall close to the door of 101 Office. Click the leftmost
Please notice the Properties palette, switch’s Elevation is 120 cm and Switch ID is blank.
10 Click the Device icon on Systems ribbon. (now it displays the light switch picture)
11 Place a single pole switch in 102 Office and 103 Guest Room as shown.
12 On View Control Bar, change scale from 1 : 100 to 1 : 200.
Now all switch symbols become twice big, meanwhile the line weight of lighting fixtures
increased.
Three-Way Light Switch

13 Click the Device icon on Systems ribbon again.
14 In Family/Type Selector, select M_Lighting Switches family Three Way type, then place
two three-way switches on the right wall of the left Open Office.
15 Continue to place two three-way switches on the left wall of the right Open Office, also
place a three-way switch on the wall of each stairwell.
16 According to the next figure, place the necessary single pole switches for the remaining
rooms and corridors.
Attention! On floor plan views, when Detail Level is set to Coarse or Medium, switches and
receptacles are presented by symbols, they will enlarge or shrink by view scales.
When Detail Level is set to Fine, they are actual objects with sizes.
Same situation, open Floor Plan: 2 - Lighting view, according to the next figure, place the
correct switches for second floor. (make sure to do the VG settings before placing)
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 06 Switches Finished for File name. Click
4 - 7 Place Receptacles
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\07 Place Receptacles.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Power under Floor Plans of Power sub-discipline to
open that view.
4 - 7 Place Receptacles 357
In Power floor plan views we can see those lighting fixtures and switches that we placed in
previous sections.
2 Use VG to turn off Lighting Devices and Lighting Fixtures, also turn off Sections.
Now the lighting fixtures and switches are gone.
Notice! Switches belong to Lighting Devices category.
3 On Properties palette, click View Range’s Edit… button to set view range as follow:
Because the original View Top setting will let us accidentally see the floor mount
receptacles of second floor open offices and conference rooms.
Place Wall-Mount Receptacles

4 Click Systems tab, click the down arrow under Device to drop down the list, then select
Electrical Fixture.
5 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Duplex Receptacle family Standard type,
then place this receptacle on the north wall of 101 Office. Click the leftmost Modify
button on ribbon.
Please notice the Properties palette, receptacle’s Elevation is 46 cm.

6 Select 101 Office space.
On Properties palette the Actual Receptacle Load shows 180.00 VA.

7 Click the Device icon on Systems ribbon. (now it displays the receptacle picture)
8 Place other three receptacles on the walls of 101 Office.
9 Select 101 Office space again.
Now on Properties palette the Actual Receptacle Load shows 720.00 VA (i.e. 180.00 VA x 4).
Therefore when placing receptacles we can inspect the changes of Actual Receptacle Load
by selecting the space.
10 As shown below, place the same receptacles on the walls in 102 Office and 103 Guest
Room.
Since all radiators are installed under windows, we can not put receptacle under window.
Now all receptacle symbols become twice big.

According to the next figure, place all standard receptacles on the walls for the remaining
rooms and corridors.
Place Floor-Mount Receptacles

12 Click the Device icon on Systems ribbon.
13 On Modify | Place Devices ribbon, select Place on Face.
14 As shown below, place floor mount receptacles on the floors in Open Offices and
Conference rooms.
Note: In office buildings, we might install some receptacles on ceiling to provide power for
overhead projector, wireless Router, and etc.
GFCI Receptacles
Since restrooms have water running, therefore we install GFCI (Ground Fault Current
Interrupter) receptacles.
15 Click the Device icon on Systems ribbon.
16 In Family/Type Selector, select M_Duplex Receptacle family GFCI type, then place four
GFCI receptacles on the walls inside the restrooms.
The Elevation of GFCI receptacle is 120 cm. In Chapter 6 we will install a fire cabinet on the
wall at restroom entrance with bottom (elevation) at 70 cm. Since the receptacle we placed
at restroom entrance is a regular duplex, its elevation is 46 cm, so it’s OK.
Same situation, open Floor Plan: 2 - Power view, according to the next figure, place all
corresponding receptacles for second floor. (make sure to do all the VG settings before
placing)
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 07 Receptacles Finished for File name. Click
4 - 8 Create Electrical Usage Reports

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\08 Create Electrical Usage Reports.rvt
Spaces for Category, enter Electrical Usage Reports for Name, press OK.
2 In Schedule Properties dialog box, find and add Name, Number, Area, Actual Receptacle
Load, Actual Power Load per area, Actual Lighting - Dwelling Unit Load, Actual Lighting
Load per area to Schedule fields, move Number field to the top.
4 - 8 Create Electrical Usage Reports 365
3 Click Sorting/Grouping tab, set sort by Number, verify that Itemize every instance check
box at bottom left is checked.
Now we created a space power and lighting usage report schedule.
Notice! First floor south stairwell does not have any receptacle and lighting fixture;
therefore there are no receptacle and lighting loads for it. On second floor, both
stairwells don’t have receptacle; therefore there is no receptacle load for them.
Note: If necessary, on Properties palette we can click the Edit… button next to Formatting
to modify schedule field formatting, for examples, change the field formats of Actual
Receptacle Load and Actual Lighting - Dwelling Unit Load from VA to W (Watts).
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 08 Electrical Usage Report Finished for File name. Click the
4 - 9 Add Electrical Equipment 367
4 - 9 Add Electrical Equipment

In this section we place distribution panels and transformers in first and second floor
Elec/Mech rooms and create the Logical Connections between them.
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\09 Add Electrical Equipment.rvt

open that view.
2 On View Control Bar, change scale from 1 : 200 back to 1 : 100.
3 Use VG to set Line color of Electrical Equipment to magenta.
Load Additional Panel Families

4 Click Insert tab, select Load Family.
5 Navigate to C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Electrical\MEP
\Electric Power\Distribution folder to find and load the following families:
M_Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 208V MLO - Surface.rfa
M_Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 480V MCB - Surface.rfa
Main Distribution Panel (MDP)
6 Click the Systems tab, select Electrical Equipment on Systems ribbon.
7 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 480V
MCB - Surface family 250 A type panel.
8 On Properties palette, set Elevation to 180 cm, scroll down the palette, enter MDP for
Panel Name.
Please note its Distribution System is 480/277 Wye.

9 Verify that Tag on Placement is turned on Modify | Place Equipment ribbon and Leader
is turned off on Option Bar.
10 Place the panel on the right wall of Elec/Mech room as shown.

11 After placing, select the tag of the panel, drag it to the left so that it won’t block the panel.
Transformer (T1)
12 Select Electrical Equipment on Systems
ribbon.
13 In Family/Type Selector, find and select
M_Dry Type Transformer - 480-208Y120 -
NEMA Type 2 family 45 kVA type
transformer.
14 On Properties palette, scroll it down,
enter T1 for Panel Name.
Please note its Distribution System is
480/277 Wye.
15 Press space bar three times to let the dragging point is on its right side, then place this
transformer on the wall of Elec/Mech room as shown.
16 After placing, select the tag of the transformer; drag it to the left so that it won’t block
the transformer.
Lighting and Appliance Panel (P1)

17 Select Electrical Equipment on
Systems ribbon.
18 In Family/Type Selector, find and
select M_Lighting and Appliance
Panelboard - 208V MLO - Surface
family 100 A type panel.
19 On Properties palette, scroll it
down, enter P1 for Panel Name.
Please note its Distribution System
is 120/208 Wye.
20 Place the panel on the wall of Elec/Mech room as shown.

21 After placing, select the tag of the panel; drag it to the left so that it won’t block the
panel.
open that view.
24 Use VG to set Line color of Electrical Equipment to magenta.
25 Like first floor Elec/Mech room, place two panels and one transformer on the right wall
of second floor Elec/Mech room. Their family names, types and panel names are:
M_Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 480V MCB - Surface : 250 A, H2 (set Elevation to
180 cm)
M_Dry Type Transformer - 480-208Y120 - NEMA Type 2 : 45 kVA, T2
M_Lighting and Appliance Panelboard - 208V MLO - Surface : 100 A, P2
Note: H2 is a Higher Voltage Distribution

Panel.
Create Logical Connections between equipment

2 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Power under Floor Plans to open that view.
3 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Power and 2 - Power views side by side.
T1 and MDP
4 Select T1 transformer.
5 On Modify | Electrical Equipment ribbon, select Power.
6 On Modify | Electrical Circuit ribbon, select Select Panel.
7 Select the MDP panel above T1.
8 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon to complete their connection.

P1 and T1
10 On Properties palette, set its Secondary Distribution System to 120/208 Wye.
11 Select P1 panel.
13 On Modify | Electrical Circuit ribbon, select Select Panel. Select the T1 transformer
above.

H2 and MDP
15 Select H2 panel in 2 - Power view.
17 On Modify | Electrical Circuit ribbon, select Select Panel. Select the MDP panel in 1 -
Power view.
T2 and H2
19 Select T2 transformer in 2 - Power view.
21 On Modify | Electrical Circuit ribbon, select Select Panel. Select the H2 panel above.

P2 and T2
24 On Properties palette, set its Secondary Distribution System to 120/208 Wye.
25 Select P2 panel.
27 When Revit displays this warning message, close it.
28 On Modify | Electrical Circuit ribbon, select Select Panel. Select the T2 transformer
above.

When all finished, we can move mouse cursor on top of any panel or transformer, press Tab
key a few times to examine the logic connections of these equipment.
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 09 Electrical Equipment Finished for File name. Click the File
4 - 10 Create Power Circuitry

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\10 Create Power Circuitry.rvt
1 Use VG to turn off Spaces, then set Wires line color to orange.
Explain: Turn of Spaces is to facilitate the coming selections of multiple receptacles.
2 Hold Ctrl key, select four receptacles in 101 Office.

4 - 10 Create Power Circuitry 377
3 On Modify | Electrical Fixtures ribbon, select Power.
4 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, select Select Panel.
5 Select the P1 panel in Elec/Mech room on north side of the building.

6 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, select Arc Wire.
8 Zoom in the bottom left of the building. Hold Ctrl key, select six receptacles in 102 Office.
9 On Modify | Electrical Fixtures ribbon, select Power.

10 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, drop down Panel’s list, select P1.
Notice! Revit remembers the panel in previous circuit creation and automatically assigns it
to the current creation, so if we don’t use a different panel we can skip this step.

Edit Circuit
13 Select a receptacle in 101 Office.
14 Click the Electrical Circuits tab on the right of Modify | Electrical Fixtures tab.
15 On Electrical Circuits ribbon, select Edit Circuit.

16 On Edit Circuit ribbon, verify that Add to Circuit is turned on.
17 Select the receptacle outside 102 Office.
18 Click Finish Editing Circuit.
19 Move the cursor on top of the receptacle we just picked, press Tab key to display the
dashed wires as shown, then press down the mouse button.
20 Click the little Arc Wire icon on the figure to create wires for that receptacle.
21 Delete the original homerun of the circuit of 101 Office.
Adjust Circuit Arc Wires

22 Select the arc wire of the circuit as shown.
23 Click and hold the little circle next to the arc, drag it to the upper left to expand that arc.
24 Select the homerun wire of the circuit as shown.
25 Click and hold the little circle in the middle, drag it to the lower left.
26 Click and hold the control point of the homerun arrow, drag it to the lower left to
shorten the homerun line.
27 When satisfied, click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.

We can use the above methods to adjust any circuit arc wire and homerun to the way we
like.
Increase panel’s breaker number

28 Select P1 panel, on Properties palette, increase its Max #1 Pole Breakers from 12 to 42.
Note: If we don’t increase the breaker number, we won’t have enough breakers for all
circuits on first floor.
Refer to the drawing below and the P1 panel schedule in Section 4-13; finish all receptacle
circuits on first floor.
Same situation, use the methods above, refer to the drawing below and the P2 panel
schedule in Section 4-13, complete all receptacle circuits for second floor. Before creating
circuits, use VG to turn off Spaces and set Wires line color to orange.
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 10 Power Circuitry Finished for File name.
4 - 11 Create Lighting Circuitry

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\11 Create Lighting Circuitry.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Lighting under Floor Plans of Lighting sub-discipline
to open that view.
2 On View Control Bar, set scale to 1 : 100.

3 Use VG to set Line color of Electrical Equipment to magenta, turn off Electrical Fixtures,
set Wires line color to green.
4 - 11 Create Lighting Circuitry 387
4 Select the MDP, T1, and P1 equipment in Elec/Mech room.
5 Click Annotate tab, select Tag all.
6 In Tag All Not Tagged dialog box, select Electrical Equipment Tags, press OK.
7 Drag all three tags to the left so they don’t block the equipment.
8 Select MDP panel, on Properties palette, increase its Max #1 Pole Breakers from 12 to
42.
9 Hold Ctrl key, select two lighting fixtures and one switch on the wall of 101 Office.
10 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Power.
12 Select the MDP panel in Elec/Mech room on the north side of the building.
13 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, select Arc Wire. Then click the leftmost Modify
button on ribbon.
For some reasons Revit creates a very long homerun all the way to the MDP panel in
Elec/Mech room.
14 Select the long homerun line, click and hold the little circle in the middle, drag it to the
place as shown.
15 Click and hold the control point of the homerun arrow, drag it to the place as shown to
shorten this homerun line.
If the homerun line generated by Revit is too long we could use the above method, use
mouse to drag its control points to shorten it, or, use the following method, after Revit
generated the long home run, delete it and redraw a shorter one (see steps 20-23).
16 Select four lighting fixtures and one switch on the wall of 102 Office.
17 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Power.

18 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, drop down Panel’s list, select MDP.
Notice! Revit remembers the panel in previous circuit creation and automatically assigns it
to the current creation, so if we don’t use a different panel we can skip this step.
19 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, select Arc Wire. Then click the leftmost Modify
button on ribbon.
20 Delete the long homerun line that is all the way to the MDP panel.
21 Click Manage tab, select Snaps. In Snaps dialog box, turn off all snaps except Angular
dimension snap increments and Nearest, press OK.
22 Click Systems tab, then click Wire.
23 Follow the next four figures, draw a shorter arc homerun from the upper right lighting
fixture of 102 Office toward the Elec/Mech room.
24 Select 20 lighting fixtures and two three-way switches on the right wall of the left Open
Office.
25 Use either the method of 101 Office (shorten the homerun line) or the method of 102
Office (delete the longer homerun line then draw a shorter one) to create a large
lighting circuit.
Adjust the number of conductors between two 3-way switches

26 Select the lower three-way switch (1).
27 Hover the mouse cursor on top of the upper three-way switch (2).
28 Press Tab key, when seeing that Revit use the best path to string up the 2 three-way
switches, press down mouse button.
30 In Filter dialog box, uncheck Lighting Devices and Lighting Fixtures, press OK.
31 On Properties palette, change the number of Hot Conductors from 1 to 2, press Apply at
the bottom of the palette.
Now the number of tick mark (conductor) on the arc wires between the two three-way
switches changed from 3 to 4.
As the following examples, we can first pick an arc wire, then click the + or – nearby to
increase or decrease the number of tick mark.
Refer to the drawing below and the MDP panel schedule in Section 4-13 finish all lighting
circuits of first floor.
Same situation, use the methods above, refer to the drawing below and the H2 panel
schedule in Section 4-13, complete all lighting circuits for second floor. Before creating the
circuits, don’t forget to do the necessary VG settings.
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 11 Lighting Circuitry Finished for File name.
4 - 12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment 399
4 - 12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\12 Circuit Mechanical Equipment.rvt
1 In Project Browser, move cursor to 1 - Power view, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu select Duplicate View -> Duplicate with Detailing.
2 Rename the duplicated view to 1 - Mech Equipment.

3 Select any a wire in drawing, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Select All
Instances -> Visible in View.
4 Click the button (or press Del key) to delete all the wires in the drawing.
5 Use VG to turn off Electrical Fixtures and HVAC Zones, turn on Mechanical Equipment.
7 In Import/Link RVT dialog box, find and open the exercise file: \Mechanical\20
Mechanical System Finished.rvt
Now we have linked the mechanical drawing into the electrical drawing.
8 Click Collaborate tab, click the down arrow next to Copy/Monitor to drop down the list,
then select Select Link.
9 Click any a VAV box in drawing to select the link.

10 On Copy/Monitor ribbon, click Copy, then check (turn on) Multiple on Option Bar.
11 Select all the VAV boxes and the four hydronic pumps in Elec/Mech room.
12 Press Finish button on Option Bar.
13 Click Copy/Monitor tab .
14 (Revit backs to Copy/Monitor ribbon), click Finish.
Now we have copied (with monitoring) all first floor VAV boxes and pumps from the linked
mechanical drawing that need electrical power.
15 Use the same method, import \Plumbing\11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt link file and
copy/monitor the water heater in Elec/Mech room.
16 After copy/monitor all the necessary mechanical equipment, use VG to turn off 11
Plumbing System Finished.rvt and 20 Mechanical System Finished.rvt Revit Links.
Now the radiators and boilers are gone, we only see the VAV boxes, pumps and water
heater that use electrical power.
17 Select the three VAV boxes that serve Office 101, 102 and Guest Room 103.
18 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Power.

20 Select the P1 panel in Elec/Mech room.
Now we have circuited these three VAV boxes to P1 panel.

22 Use the same method to circuit the other 7 groups of VAV boxes to P1 panel.
23 Zoom in the Elec/Mech room.

24 Circuit the four pumps to the 480V
MDP panel separately.
25 Circuit the water heater to 208V P1

panel.
26 Use the same method, duplicate a 2 - Mech Equipment view from 2 - Power view with
“Detailing”, delete all the wires, use VG to turn off Electrical Fixtures and HVAC Zones,
turn on Mechanical Equipment, then copy/monitor all the VAV boxes on second floor,
make 8 groups of them to circuit them to the P2 panel in ELEC/MECH room.
27 In Project Browser, duplicate a Roof - Mech Equipment view from Roof - Power view.
28 On Properties palette, scroll down to View Template, click Electrical Plan button.
30 Use VG to turn on Mechanical Equipment, set Wires color to orange, turn off Elevations
and Sections in Annotation Categories.
Now we can see two AC units and two exhaust fans on roof.
31 Use the previous method copy/monitor these four mechanical equipment.

32 After Copy/Monitor, use VG to turn off 11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt and 20
Mechanical System Finished.rvt Revit Links.
33 Select the left rooftop AC unit.
34 On Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Power
35 In Specify Circuit Information dialog box, set 3 Poles and 480 V.
36 On Modify | Electrical Circuits ribbon, drop down the Panel list and select H2 Panel.
37 Click Arc Wire on ribbon.
Now this AC unit is circuited to the 480V H2 panel located on second floor Elec/Mech room.
38 Use the same method to circuit the other rooftop AC unit and exhaust fans to the 480V
H2 panel on second floor.
4 - 13 Create Panel Schedules 409
Since in 1 - Power and 2 – Power views we will see the HVAC Zones outlines from the linked
mechanical model, therefore we turn both mechanical and plumbing model off just in case
of seeing something that we don’t want.
39 Open 1 - Power view, use VG to turn off 11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt and 20
40 Open 2 - Power view, use VG to turn off 11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt and 20
Save your work
When all done, click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box,
navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 12 Mechanical Circuitry Finished for File name.
4 - 13 Create Panel Schedules

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\13 Create Panel Schedules.rvt
1 Click Manage tab, then click Panel Schedule Templates to drop down the list, select
Manage Templates.
2 In Manage Panel Schedule Templates dialog box, click Duplicate button.

3 Press OK to duplicate a Branch Panel1 template.
4 In Manage Panel Schedule Templates dialog box, select the duplicated Branch Panel1
template, then click Edit button.
5 Select any a load box in schedule as shown.
6 On Modify Panel | Schedule Templates ribbon, select Format Unit.

7 In Format dialog box, set Unit symbol to None, press OK.
8 On Modify Panel | Schedule Templates ribbon, click Finish Template.
10 Select P1 panel in first floor Elec/Mech room.
11 On Modify | Electrical Equipment ribbon, drop down the Create Panel Schedules list,
select Choose a Template.
12 In Change Template dialog box, select Branch Panel1 that we just created, press OK.
Revit generated the P1 panel schedule for us.
Correct Circuit Descriptions

When creating circuit systems, if a circuit only covers the receptacles of one space (or
room), for example CKT #2, its Circuit Description tells us exactly the name of that space
which is Office 102. But if a circuit covers the receptacles of more than one space, for
example CKT #3, its Circuit Description only tells us the room numbers but no names which
are Room 103 and 120. Additionally, after a circuit is done, if we modify (add or remove) its
receptacles, for example CKT #1, we have added a receptacle in Open Office into this circuit
which was just serving Office 101, but its Circuit Description did not change (update).
Therefore if a circuit’s serving space(s) has/have changed, we need to manually correct its
Circuit Description to avoid the mistake.
13 As the schedule shown below, correct those circuit descriptions that need to be
corrected.
Adjust Circuit’s Number

14 Select CKT 1.
15 On Modify Panel Schedule ribbon, select Move Down.

16 On Modify Panel Schedule ribbon, select Move Across.
Thus we can use Move Up, Move Down, Move Across and Move To to adjust circuit’s
number.
17 Select MDP panel in first floor Elec/Mech room.
select Choose a Template and choose Branch Panel1 template.
19 After Revit generated the schedule, refer to the schedule below; correct the circuit
descriptions of the schedule.
21 Select P2 panel in second floor Elec/Mech room.
24 Select H2 panel in second floor Elec/Mech room.

Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 12 Panel Schedules Finished for File name.
4 - 14 Define Circuit Loads

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\14 Define Circuit Loads.rvt
Balance Circuit Loads

When balancing circuit loads, we start with the panels farthest from the power source, then
keep on balancing the panels supply them.
4 - 14 Define Circuit Loads 417
1 In Project Browser, double click P2 under Panel Schedules to open that schedule.
Watch the Total Load VA values of A, B, C three phases.

2 On Modify | Panel Schedule ribbon, select Rebalance Loads.
Now Revit re-arrange the location of some circuits to let the Total Loads of A, B, C three
phases are much equal.
3 Same for H2, P1, MDP panel schedules, open them sequentially, select Rebalance Loads
on Modify | Panel Schedule ribbon to rebalance their loads.
Correct Circuit Breaker (Trip) Sizes

4 (after all panel loads are rebalanced) In MDP panel schedule, we change its Mains Rating
from 100 A to 150 A.
5 The total load of T1 Transformer is: 10264 + 10266 + 10543 = 31073 VA, we change its
breaker from 20 A to 50 A.
6 The total load of H2 panel is: 24834 + 24770 + 24616 = 74220 VA, we change its breaker
from 20 A to 125 A.

4 - 14 Define Circuit Loads 419
7 Open H2 panel schedule.

8 The total load of T2 Transformer is: 9277 + 9277 + 9463 = 28017 VA, a 30 kVA
transformer would be enough (see step 11 to change it), we also change its breaker
from 20 A to 50 A.
9 The load for two Rooftop AC units is: 6667 x 3 = 20001 VA, we change their breakers
from 20 A to 40 A.

10 Open P1 panel schedule, the load for the Water Heater is: 2250 x 2 = 4500 VA; we
change its breaker from 20 A to 30 A.
Change Transformers
11 Open Floor Plan: 2 - Power view, zoom in the Elec/Mech room, select T2 transformer, in
Family/Type Selector, change its type from 45 kVA to 30 kVA.
Now we can see that 30 kVA transformer is smaller than 45 kVA transformer.
4 - 15 Draw Conduits 421
Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 14 Circuit Loads Defined for File name. Click the File Tab
4 - 15 Draw Conduits
In this section we will draw conduits to connect the panels and transformers in first and
second floor Elec/Mech rooms.
Open the exercise file: \Electrical\15 Draw Conduits.rvt
Since transformers need to dissipate heats, we move them a little away from the walls.
1 In second floor Elec/Mech rooms, move T2 transformer 15 cm left.
2 Open Floor Plan: 1 - Power view, in Elec/Mech rooms, also move T1 transformer 15 cm
left.
3 Use VG to turn on Sections in Annotation Categories.

4 Draw a section line crossing the Elec/Mech room as shown.
6 On Properties palette, set Sub-Discipline to Power, uncheck Crop Region Visible.

8 Use VG to turn off HVAC Zones in Model Categories and Levels in Annotation Categories.
9 On Quick Toolbar click the Thin Lines button.
10 Select all the panels and transformers.
11 Click Annotate tab, select Tag all.

12 In Tag All Not Tagged dialog box, select

Electrical Equipment Tags, press OK.
13 On View Control Bar, change view scale from 1 : 100 to 1 : 50.
14 Click Modify tab, use Align tool to line up the left edge of H2 panel on second floor with
the left edge of MDP panel on first floor.
15 Same method, use Align tool to line up T2 with T1 transformers; P2 with P1 panels.
16 Use VG to turn off Conduit Fittings Center line and Conduit Center line.
17 Select the bottom connector of MDP panel, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
select Draw Conduit from face.
18 When Revit displays the Surface Connection ribbon and adjustment screen, here we
don't do any change; just click Finish Connection on ribbon to accept the default
location of connection.
Note: The light blue rectangle shown is the bottom face of MDP panel, it let us adjust the
location of conduit connection on that face.
19 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 63 mm, then draw a conduit 110 cm down, then 180
cm left to the outside of the building.
20 Select the top connector of MDP panel, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
21 When Revit displays the Surface Connection ribbon and adjustment screen, just click
Finish Connection on ribbon to accept the default location of connection.
22 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 53 mm, then draw a conduit up to the bottom of H2
panel on second floor.
23 When Revit displays the Surface Connection ribbon and adjustment screen, just click
Finish Connection on ribbon to accept the default location of connection.
24 Select MDP panel, move it to the left (approximate 30 cm), so there has more room
between it and the T1 transformer.
25 Select the right connector of MDP panel, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
select Draw Conduit from face, click Finish Connection on ribbon, on Options Bar, set
Diameter to 35 mm, draw an L shape conduit as shown on the left figure below.
26 Select the bottom connector of P1 panel, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
select Draw Conduit from face, click Finish Connection on ribbon, draw a 35 mm
vertical conduit as shown on the right figure below.
27 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Power under Floor Plans to open that view. Zoom in
the Elec/Mech room.
28 On Quick Toolbar, click the Thin Lines button.

30 Select the right connector of T1 transformer, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
31 In Surface Connection screen, set the distance between connector and transformer left
edge to 15 cm.
32 Click Finish Connection on ribbon.

33 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 35 mm, then draw a short horizontal conduit as shown.
34 Select the right connector of T1 transformer again, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu select Draw Conduit from face.
35 In Surface Connection screen, first drag the dimension control point from the left edge
to the right edge.
36 Then set the distance between connector and transformer right edge to 15 cm.
37 Click Finish Connection on ribbon.

38 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 35 mm, then draw a short horizontal conduit as shown.
39 Click Systems tab, click Conduit Fitting icon.
40 On Modify | Place Conduit Fitting ribbon select Load Family.
41 In Load Family dialog box, find and open C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries

\Us Metric\Conduit\Fittings\RNC\M_Conduit Body - Type L - PVC.rfa family.
42 Press Space bar twice to let the dragging point on the shorter end of the L fitting, then
attach it to the lower conduit coming out from the transformer.
43 Continue to attach the L fitting to the upper conduit coming out from the transformer.
When done click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
44 Select the upper L fitting, click the rotation icon twice to rotate it up.
45 On Systems ribbon, select Conduit.
46 From the top of upper L fitting, draw a short 35 mm conduit up.

47 From the bottom of lower L fitting, draw a short 35 mm conduit down.
Attention! When drawing conduits, make sure to set the correct diameters on Options Bar.
48 Click Modify tab, use Align tool to line up the drawn conduits with the upper conduit
coming out from MDP panel.
49 On View Control Bar, set Detail Level back to Medium.
50 In Project Browser, double click Section - 2 to re-open the section view of Elec/Mech
room.
51 On Modify ribbon, select Trim/Extend to Corner tool, first select the vertical conduit
dropping from MDP panel, then select the horizontal conduit coming out from
transformer to connect them together.
52 Continue to select the vertical conduit dropping from P1 panel, then select the
horizontal conduit coming out from transformer to connect them together.
Attention! For some reasons, we must select the vertical conduit first, then select the
horizontal conduit, otherwise we will receive error message from Revit.
53 Use the same methods; finish the conduit connections between H2 panel, T2
transformer and P2 panel on second floor.
55 Use VG to turn off Electrical Fixtures, Lighting Devices, Lighting Fixtures and Levels.
Attention! Switches belong to Lighting Devices category; receptacles belong to Electrical

Fixtures category.
56 Zoom in to display the panels and transformers of both floors.

58 Set Visual Style to Shaded.
Now we see the conduit connections of equipment much realistically.

Save your work

Electrical Exercise folder, enter 15 Panel Connected for File name. Click the File Tab again
then select Close.
4 - 16 Create Switch Systems

Open the exercise file: \Electrical\16 Create Switch Systems.rvt
When Revit creates lighting switch systems,

unlike power and lighting circuits, it won’t
generate wires on drawings. Only when we
move cursor to a switch, press Tab key a few
times to display the dashed lines connecting to
the fixtures it controls. When cursor leaves
that switch, dashed lines disappear. So when
we create switch systems, it is not easy to tell
which system is created which system is not.
Therefore we first create a lighting fixture
schedule, use this schedule to verify the
creations of switch systems, so there won’t be
any switch system missing.
Lighting Fixture Schedule

Lighting Fixtures for Category, enter Lighting Fixture Schedule for Name, press OK.
2 In Schedule Properties dialog box, first, select Space from Select available fields from:
drop down list, then find and add Space: Name and Space: Number to the Schedule
fields.
3 Next, select Lighting Fixtures from Select available fields from: drop down list, then find
and add Family and Type, Panel, Circuit Number, Switch ID to the Schedule fields.
Arrange the field order as shown.
4 - 16 Create Switch Systems 443
4 Click Sorting/Grouping tab, set Sort by Space: Number, check the Blank Line; verify that
Itemize every instance check box at bottom left is checked.
5 Click Formatting tab, select Space: Number field on the left, change its Heading to
Number, select Space: Name field on the left, change its Heading to Name.
6 Select Switch ID on the left, press Conditional Format… button on the right.
7 In Conditional Formatting dialog box, set Test to Not Equal To, leave Value box blank, set
Background Color to yellow.
8 Press OK twice to finish the settings and generate the schedule.
The schedule populates all the lighting fixtures in each space with their panel name, circuit
number and switch ID.
At this moment all Switch IDs are blank. When we create switch systems in the coming
steps they will fill in with values and be the evidences of the creation.
10 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Lighting under Floor Plans to open that view.
11 Use VG to turn off Wires and 19 Mechanical Systems Finished.rvt and 11 Plumbing
System Finished.rvt Revit Links.
12 On View Control Bar, set scale to 1 : 200.

13 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Lighting view and Lighting Fixtures Schedule side by
side.
15 Select the switch in 101 Office, on Properties palette enter: 101 for Switch ID.
16 Select the two lighting fixtures in 101 Office.

Notice that on Properties palette the Switch ID of these two lights is blank, there is no
switch assigned to them yet.
17 On Modify | Lighting Fixtures ribbon, select Switch.
18 On Modify | Switch System ribbon, select Select Switch.
19 Click the switch in 101 Office.
Now Revit displays two dashed lines connecting the wall switch to the lighting fixtures. On
the right hand side, in Lighting Fixture Schedule, we see two lighting fixtures of 101 Office
display their Switch ID of 101 with yellow background, means we created a switch system
for them.
20 Select the switch in 102 Office, on Properties palette enter: 102 for Switch ID.
21 Select the four lighting fixtures in 102 Office.

On Properties palette the Switch ID of these four lights is blank, there is no switch assigned
to them yet.

24 Click the switch in 102 Office.
Now Revit displays four dashed lines connecting the wall switch to the lighting fixtures. In
Lighting Fixture Schedule, we see four lighting fixtures of 102 Office display their Switch ID
of 102 with yellow background, means we created a switch system for them.
25 On right side, scroll down the schedule to display the lighting fixtures of 112 Open Office.
26 On left side, select the lower three-way switch (1) in 112 Open Office, on Properties
palette enter: 112-1 for Switch ID.
27 Select the upper three-way switch (2) in 112 Open Office, on Properties palette enter:
112-2 for Switch ID.
28 Select the 20 lighting fixtures in 112 Open Office.

31 Click the lower three-way switch in 112 Open Office.
Now in Lighting Fixture Schedule, we see 20 lighting fixtures of 112 Open Office display
their Switch ID of 112-1 with yellow background.
Note: For three-way switch system we only assign one switch to it.
Use the methods above, with Lighting Fixture Schedule on the right hand side for
verifications; finish all switch systems for first floor and second floor. Although 121 Stairwell
space has a three-way switch but does not have lighting fixture, therefore it doesn’t appear
in the schedule.
When finished, use VG to turn on green Wires, set scale back to 1 : 100.
If we want to examine the switch systems on floor plans, such as the Front Entrance shown
below, move mouse cursor on top of the switch, press Tab key a few times, then we can see
the dashed lines of that system.
Save your work

box, navigate to Electrical Exercise folder, enter 16 Switch System Finished for File name.
Now we have finished the electrical systems of this office building. Readers can open the
exercise file: \Electrical\17 Electrical System Finished.rvt to take a look of the final
modeling result.
453
Chapter 5 Plumbing Systems

In this chapter we will create Plumbing Systems for a two story office building, including the
layouts of toilet, urinal and lavatory plumbing fixtures in restrooms; creations of sanitary
drain lines for these fixtures; creations of flushing water piping as well as domestic cold
water and hot water systems. We will also copy one floor plumbing systems to another
floor and connect them together, add vent pipes to sanitary drain lines, and connect cold
and hot water piping to the water heater in Elec/Mech room.
454 Chapter 5 Plumbing Systems
5 - 1 Prepare Plumbing Modeling

1 Start Revit 2019. In its Starting Screen click New… under Projects.
2 In New Project dialog box, press Browser… button on the right.
3 In Choose Template dialog box, find and open C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019

\Templates\Us Metric\Plumbing-Default_Metric.rte file.
4 In New Project dialog box, press OK.

5 In Project Browser, take a look of all the views that the plumbing template file has.
5 - 1 Prepare Plumbing Modeling 455
Set Project Units

of Project Units.

Building.rvt
Open.

1 In Project Browser, double click South - Plumbing under Elevations to open Elevation:
South - Plumbing view.
Since we won’t put plumbing equipment on roof, therefore we don’t need to add roof level
and roof plan. Also, unlike mechanical and electrical systems, we don’t have any plumbing
fixture on grid ceilings; so we don’t need to add ceiling levels.
Save your work

Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box, create a
Plumbing Exercise folder at a convenient location on your hard drive, enter 01 Plumbing
Drawing Setup Finished for File name, then click Save. Click the File Tab again then select
Close.
5 - 2 Add Plumbing Fixtures

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\02 Add Plumbing Fixtures.rvt
Set Sanitary Drain Pipe View Range

1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plumbing under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 1 -
Plumbing view.
For first floor plumbing, in order to see the drain pipes under the slab and the floor drain
fixtures, we set view Bottom to -150 cm; on the other hand, in order not to see the second
floor drain pipes above, we set view Top at 250 cm.
5 In Project Browser, double click 2 - Plumbing under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan: 2 -
Plumbing view.
For second floor plumbing, in order to see the drain pipes under the slab and the floor drain
fixtures, we set view Bottom to -100 cm just above the first floor restroom hung ceiling; as
for view Top, we don’t worry about it for the time being.
5 - 2 Add Plumbing Fixtures 461
Examine the Plumbing Fixture Families in template file

9 In Project Browser expand Families, then expand Plumbing Fixtures.
We can see there already are some plumbing fixture families in template.
Load Additional Plumbing Fixture Families

11 In Load Family dialog box, find and open the flowing family files:
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Plumbing\MEP\Fixtures
\Lavatories\M_Lavatory - Oval.rfa
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Plumbing\MEP\Fixtures
\Water Closets\M_Water Closet - Flush Valve - Floor Mounted.rfa
Now in Project Browser, we can see the newly loaded plumbing fixture families.
Place Floor Mount Toilets

12 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plumbing under Floor Plans to open that view.
13 Click Systems tab, then select Plumbing Fixture.
14 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Water Closet - Flush
Valve - Floor Mounted family Public - 6.1 Lpf type toilet.
15 Press space bar to orientate the toilet, then place it in the handicapped stall of Ladies
Room as shown. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
Use dimension method to position toilet

16 Click the button on Quick Toolbar, dimension from the center of toilet to the face of
lower wall, dimension from the back of toilet to the face of right wall.
17 Set view scale to 1 : 50. (The size of dimension become half)
18 Select the toilet, change the dimension from its center to lower wall to 45.5 cm, change
the dimension from its back to right wall to 15 cm.
Now we position the toilet to the correct location.

19 Delete the dimensions of the toilet.
Use Copy Multiple method to complete other toilets

20 Select the correctly located toilet, on Modify | Plumbing Fixtures ribbon, select Copy, on
Options Bar, turn on Multiple.
21 As the following six figures, pick the end point of the lower right corner; continue to pick
the end points of stall partitions above to copy the other four toilets.
Use the same method to complete the other two toilets in Men’s Room.
Attention! When placing plumbing fixtures be careful of using Mirror tool, because some
fixtures, such as lavatory, have cold and hot water connectors, when we mirror
them will flip their connectors. Also, some toilets have flushing water handle; if
we mirror them will flip their handles to the other side.
Place Wall Hung Urinals

22 Select Plumbing Fixture on Systems ribbon.
23 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Urinal - Wall Hung
family 25 mm Flush Valve type urinal.
24 On Properties palette, click Edit Type.

25 In Type Properties dialog box, change Cold Water Diameter from 20 mm to 25 mm

(Because this is a mistake), press OK.
26 On Properties palette, set Elevation to 50 cm.
27 Place this urinal in Men’s Room as shown. (Note: When placing, we need to move it to
touch the wall) Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
28 Click the button on Quick Toolbar, dimension from the lower partition to the center
of urinal then to the upper partition, after that, click the symbol, then Revit centers
the urinal to let it have EQ (equal) dimensions to both sides.
29 Delete the dimensions of urinal, when seeing the warning dialog, press OK.
30 Same situation, use Copy Multiple and end points of partitions to copy the other two
urinals above.
Place Lavatories
32 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Lavatory - Oval
family 635 mmx510 mm - Public type lavatory.
34 Place four lavatories in Ladies Room as shown. (Note: When placing, we need to move
them to touch the wall)
35 Click the button on Quick Toolbar; dimension the edges of lower and upper
lavatories to wall faces.
36 Select the lower and upper lavatories respectively; change their dimensions to 13 cm.
37 Click the button on Quick Toolbar, continuously dimension the centers of four
lavatories, click the symbol, then Revit adjusts the middle two lavatories to equally
distance all four lavatories.

Use the same methods to complete the lavatories in Men’s Room.
Note: We can also approximately place 4 lavatories in Men’s Room, then use Align tool to
align them to the lavatories in Ladies Room.
39 After finished, delete all dimensions of lavatories.
Place Floor Drains

41 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Floor Drain - Round
family 125 mm Strainer - 50 mm Drain type.
42 On Modify | Place Plumbing Fixture ribbon, select Place on Face.
43 Place a drain on the floor at the corner of partitions in Ladies and Men’s rooms as
shown. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
44 Window select all fixtures on second floor (20 total), on Modify panel, click to pin
them so they won’t be moved accidentally during piping.
46 Use VG to turn off Levels in Annotation Categories and turn off c Office Building.rvt in
Revit Links. Then zoom in the plumbing fixtures we have placed.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder you created in previous section, enter 02 Plumbing Fixtures
5 - 3 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\03 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines.rvt
Load Additional Pipe Fitting Families

1 In Project Browser expand Pipe Fittings families.
We can see there are already some pipe fitting families in the template.
2 Click Insert tab, then select Load Family. In Load Family dialog box, find the pipe fitting
library location at C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Pipe
\Fittings\PVC\Sch 40\Socket-Type\DWV\
5 - 3 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines 473
Then open (load) the following files:

M_Tee Reducing Double Sanitary - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV.rfa
M_Trap P - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV.rfa
Now in Project Browser, we can see the newly loaded pipe fitting.
Create Sanitary Pipe Type

3 In Project Browser, expand Pipes, then expand Pipe Types under it.
4 Select PVC - DWV type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Duplicate.
5 Select duplicated PVC - DWV 2 type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select
Rename… to rename it to PVC - DWV Sanitary.
6 Double click PVC - DWV Sanitary to open Type Properties dialog box, click the Edit…
button next to Routing Preferences.
7 In Routing Preferences dialog box, set Cross to M_Tee Reducing Double Sanitary - PVC -
Sch 40 - DWV: Standard, set its Min. Size to All.
8 Click OK twice to finish the setting.

Create Toilet and Floor Drain System

10 Hold Ctrl key; select 7 toilets and 2 floor drains (not including urinals).
11 On Modify | Plumbing Fixtures ribbon, select Piping.
12 When Revit displays Create Piping

System dialog box, press OK.
13 On Modify | Piping Systems ribbon select Generate Layout.

15 Pick the midpoint of the shaft wall as shown. (We use this point to place a drop to
collect sanitary sewage)
16 On Options Bar, set Offset to -110 cm, set Diameter to 100 mm, then click Solutions.
17 Set Slope Value to 1.0000%.

18 On Options Bar verify Solution Type is Network, then click Settings… button.
19 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: PVC - DWV Sanitary
for both Main and Branch, set Offset to -60 cm for both Main and Branch, then press OK.
20 Click the arrow button on Options Bar repeatedly, when Revit displays the layout
solution as same as the solution shown on the figure below, click Finish Layout.
21 Revit displays a warning message on the bottom right, means that the highlight orange
pipe (drop) has an open end at its bottom, just close it.
Now we see the single line piping drawing became double lined.
23 Select the bend fitting on top of sanitary drop, move it down 7 cm.
25 Again, on View Control Bar, set Detail Level to Fine.
Now we see that the sanitary pipes have thickness, and lavatories show their hot and cold
water faucets.
Add P Trap to Floor Drain

26 As shown below, delete the bend fitting of floor drain pipe.
27 Drag the open end of horizontal pipe horizontally to shorten it.
28 Click System tab, select Pipe Fitting.

29 In Family/Type Selector find and select M_Trap P - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV fitting family.
30 Insert this p trap at the bottom end of the vertical pipe.

31 Click the rotation icon to rotate it letting its open end toward the horizontal pipe.
32 Click Modify tab, select the Align tool, move mouse cursor to the left horizontal pipe,
press Tab key repeatedly, when Revit showing the center reference line of the pipe, click
it, then move mouse cursor to the open end of p trap, when Revit showing the center
reference square of the end, click it, thus Revit lowered the p trap down a little bit to
align its open end to the horizontal pipe.
33 Drag the open end of the horizontal pipe to the open end of the p trap to connect them
together.
34 Same situation, add a p trap to the floor drain on the other side.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 03 Toilet and Floor Drain Lines Finished for File name. Click
5 - 4 Connect Urinal Drain Lines

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\04 Connect Urinal Drain Lines.rvt
5 - 4 Connect Urinal Drain Lines 483
2 Hold Ctrl key; select 3 urinals in Men’s Room.
3 On Modify | Plumbing Fixtures ribbon,

select Piping.

7 Use mouse wheel to zoom in and pick the center of the sanitary drop that we created in
previous section.
Attention! Make sure to snaps to the center of the drop, then click the mouse button.
9 Verify that Slope Value is 1.0000%.

11 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: PVC - DWV Sanitary
for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 16 cm for both Main and Branch, then press OK.
solution as same as the solution shown on the left figure, click Finish Layout.
The urinal drain pipes are blocked by the urinals.

14 Click the blue mark on the corner of LEFT, BACK and TOP of 3D View Cube.
Now we are viewing model from LEFT, BACK and TOP angle that we can see the sanitary
piping from urinals clearly.
15 Select the 10 cm Bend on top of toilet sanitary drop, then click the + on top of it to
change it to Tee.
16 Select the 65 mm drop of urinals, drag its bottom point to the top of 100 mm Tee.
Now the urinal drop connects to the toilet

drop. Notice that Revit added a reducer
fitting on top of the Tee.
17 Move mouse cursor to the 100 mm drop, press Tab key a few times to examine the
connection of sanitary piping and fixtures.
Now the urinal Sanitary 2 system has merged into the toilet Sanitary 1 system.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 04 Urinal Drain Lines Finished for File name. Click the File
5 - 5 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\05 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines.rvt
Since we need to run the drain lines from the side lavatories to the center main drain via
first floor ceiling space, but we also need to put air diffusers and lighting fixtures in the
middle of first floor restrooms, thus we avoid to run piping directly across the restrooms.
2 Window select four lavatories in Ladies Room.

select Piping.
Notice! When we created sanitary piping system for urinals Revit displayed Sanitary 2 for
system name. Why here Revit displayed Sanitary 2 again? This is because when we
connected urinal drop to toilet drop, Sanitary 2 system has merged into Sanitary 1 system.
5 - 5 Connect Lavatory Drain Lines 489
Therefore the system name “Sanitary 2” has been released which is reused by Revit. We
don’t necessarily accept the system name that Revit provides, but for convenience, we just
take it.

7 Pick the point on wall center line as the arrow pointed.

11 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, for Main set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: PVC - DWV
Sanitary, set Offset to 20 cm. For Branch, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: PVC - DWV
Sanitary, set Offset to 48 cm, then press OK.
solution that all piping are running inside the wall as shown on the left figure, click
Finish Layout.
We collect the lavatory drains to the lower left corner of Ladies Room first.
Add P Traps to Lavatory Drain Lines

14 Click the blue mark on the corner of FRONT, LEFT and TOP of 3D View Cube.
15 Delete the highlighted piping.

16 Insert a p trap at the bottom end of the vertical pipe.

17 Click the rotation icon to rotate it letting its open end toward the other vertical pipe.
18 Select the p trap, on Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon select Connect Into, then select the
vertical pipe to connect them together.
19 Do the same things to the other three lavatory drain lines.

20 Convert the highlighted bends to tees. (These tees will allow us to add vertical vent
pipes in section 9)
Connect Main Line to Lavatory Drain Lines

21 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plumbing to return to Floor Plans view.
22 Click System tab, select Pipe Fitting, in Family/Type Selector find and select M_Tee
Reducing Double Sanitary - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV fitting, insert this cross in the middle of
the main drain segment as shown.
23 Click Systems tab, then select Pipe.
24 In Family/Type Selector, select Pipe Types PVC - DWV Sanitary. (or verify Pipe Types
PVC - DWV Sanitary is the current family and type)
25 On Properties palette, set System Type to Sanitary. (or verify System Type is Sanitary)
26 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, select Automatically Connect, Inherit Elevation, turn
Slope Off. On Options Bar, set Diameter to 50 mm.
Note: We don’t worry about the Offset value on Options Bar, because we are using Inherit
Elevation method to draw our pipes.
27 From the left connector of the cross, draw a 50 mm pipe left.
28 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, select Slope Up and set 4.0000% slope.
29 Then draw the pipe down aligning to the drop of lavatory that we just created.
30 Then draw a pipe left like the figure shown.
32 Click Modify tab, select Trim/Extend to Corner tool.
33 Select the horizontal pipe we just drew, then select the vertical drop of lavatories. Thus
we connected the lavatory drain to the main drain.
34 Click the extended horizontal pipe.
We can see that this looks like a horizontal pipe actually has ≈ 4.0000% slope.
Use the same methods and refer to the following two figures, complete the lavatory drain
lines in Men’s Room.
5 - 6 Create Flushing Water Piping 499
Save your work

box, navigate to Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 05 Lavatory Drain Lines Finished for File
5 - 6 Create Flushing Water Piping

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\06 Create Flushing Water Piping.rvt
Load Additional Pipe Fitting Families

1 Click Insert tab, then select Load Family. In Load Family dialog box, find the pipe fitting
library location at C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Pipe
\Fittings\Generic\
Then open (load) the flowing files:
M_Cap - Generic.rfa M_Tee - Generic.rfa
M_Cross - Generic.rfa M_Transition - Generic.rfa
M_Elbow - Generic.rfa
Note: When loading families, in same folder we can hold Ctrl key to pick multiple files to
load them at the same time.
Create Cold and Hot Water Pipe Types

2 In Project Browser, scroll down to Pipe Types.
3 Select Standard type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Duplicate.
4 Select duplicated Standard 2 type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select
Rename… to rename it to Domestic Cold Water.
5 Double click Domestic Cold Water to open Type Properties dialog box, click the Edit…
6 In Routing Preferences dialog box, set Domestic Cold Water routing preferences as
shown in the right figure.
7 Click OK to finish Domestic Cold Water routing preferences but NOT to end.
8 In Type Properties dialog box, click Duplicate… button.
9 Change Domestic Cold Water 2 to Domestic Hot Water.
10 Click OK twice to end the settings.

Thus we duplicated a Domestic Hot Water type that has the same Routing Preferences that
Domestic Cold Water has.
Toilet Cold Water Piping

12 Hold Ctrl key; select all 7 toilets.

select Piping.
Notice! Now in Create Piping System dialog box no longer has the choice for Sanitary
system, because all these toilets already have sanitary piping connected.

17 Pick the point in middle shaft as the arrow pointed.
19 Set Slope Value to 0.0000% (no slope).

21 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: Domestic Cold
Water for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 35.56 cm for both Main and Branch, then
press OK.
Note: 35.56 cm (14 in.) is the height of toilet cold water inlet.
Now we have finished the flushing cold water piping for toilets.
Urinal Cold Water Piping

23 Hold Ctrl key; select 3 urinals in Men’s Room.

select Piping.

28 Zoom in and pick the center of the flushing water riser that we created earlier for toilets.
30 Verify that Slope Value is 0.0000% (no slope).

Water for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 115 cm for both Main and Branch, then
press OK.
Now we have finished the urinal flushing cold water piping.
that viewing angle.
Please notice that the colors of toilets and urinals changed from green to black. This is
because now they have connected to both sanitary and cold water systems. When fixtures
or equipment connect to more than one system, their color can not follow any particular
system; therefore Revit displays them in black.
Connect Urinal and Toilet Cold Water Piping

36 Select the Tee on top of toilet cold water riser, then click the + on top of it to change it
to Cross.
37 Select the riser of urinal cold water, drag its bottom point to the top of Cross.
38 Move mouse cursor on top of any cold water pipe, press Tab key a few times to examine
the connection of cold water piping of urinals and toilets.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 06 Flushing Water Piping Finished for File name. Click the
5 - 7 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping 509
5 - 7 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping

In this section we will create cold water and hot water piping systems for lavatories.
Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\07 Create Lavatory Supply Water Piping.rvt
Lavatory Cold Water

2 Hold Ctrl key, select four lavatories in Ladies Room.

4 In Create Piping System dialog box, for System type select Domestic Cold Water, press
OK.

7 Pick the point on wall center line as the arrow pointed.

Water for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 60 cm for both Main and Branch, then
press OK.
Finish Layout.
Lavatory Hot Water

13 Hold Ctrl key, select four lavatories in Ladies Room again.

15 In Create Piping System dialog box, for System type select Domestic Hot Water, press OK.

18 Pick the point on wall center line a little above cold water base as the arrow pointed.
22 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: Domestic Hot Water
for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 70 cm for both Main and Branch, then press OK.
Finish Layout.

that viewing angle.
Use the same methods to complete the cold water and hot water piping for the lavatories
in Men’s Room.
5 - 8 Copy to and Connect Second Floor Plumbing Systems 515
Save your work

box, navigate to Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 07 Lavatory Supply Water Piping Finished
for File name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
5 - 8 Copy to and Connect Second Floor Plumbing

Systems
Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\08 Copy to and Connect Second Floor Plumbing Systems.rvt
Copy First Floor Piping to Second Floor

2 Window select all plumbing fixtures and piping of first floor (should be 315 objects).
3 On Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, select Copy to Clipboard.
4 Click the down arrow under Paste to drop down the list, select Aligned to Selected
Levels.
5 In Select Levels dialog box, select Level

2, press OK.
6 In Project Browser, double click 2 - Plumbing under Floor Plans to open that view. Click
the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
Now we have copied all the plumbing fixtures and piping of first floor to the same place on
second floor.
Since the Detail Level of second floor plan view is Medium, thus the piping is drawn by
single lines.
7 On View Control Bar, set Detail Level to Fine. Now we see the single line piping drawing
became double lined.

that viewing angle.
Connect First and Second Floor Drains

10 Delete the first floor 65 mm sanitary drop and the bend on its top and the reducer at its
bottom.
11 Select second floor 100 mm drop, drag its bottom point to the top of first floor 100 mm
Tee.
12 Click Modify tab, select Trim/Extend tool.
13 Select the 100 mm drop for extend boundary, then select the shorter 65 mm horizontal
drain pipe to extend it to the 100 mm drop.
Now we have connected the drain pipes of first floor and second floor.
Notice: In section 5-3, when we place the Base (drop) for sanitary piping, it is important to
place it as close to the north wall of the shaft as possible so that we can have
enough space to extend the urinal pipe and connect to it.
Connect First and Second Floor Toilet and Urinal Cold Water
14 Type VG, click Filters tab, then click the Add button.
15 In Add Filters dialog box select Sanitary, press OK.
16 Back to Filters dialog screen, uncheck the Visibility box of Sanitary, press OK.
Now all the green sanitary piping are gone.

17 Delete the first floor vertical cold water pipe as shown.
18 After deleting, change the remaining Cross to Tee.
19 Select the 32 mm vertical pipe and the Tee above, on Options Bar change their Diameter
to 50 mm.
20 Change the upper Tee to Cross.
21 Select the vertical pipe of second floor above, drag its bottom point to the top of the
Cross below.
Connect First and Second Floor Lavatory Cold and Hot Water
22 Zoom to first floor Ladies Room lavatory region, window select the cold and hot water
pipes and two bend fittings as shown, press Del key to delete them.
Attention: In order to connect first floor and second floor cold and hot water piping without
interference, it is necessary to swap first floor (or second floor) cold and hot
water piping beforehand.
23 Select the horizontal cold water pipe as shown, on Properties palette, change its Offset
from 60 cm to 70 cm.
24 Select the horizontal hot water pipe as shown, on Properties palette, change its Offset
from 70 cm to 60 cm.
Now we have easily swapped the cold water and hot water piping.
25 Click Modify tab, select Trim/Extend to Corner tool.
26 Click the vertical cold water pipe of second floor, then click the horizontal cold water
pipe of first floor, Voila!
27 Continue to click the vertical hot water pipe of second floor, then click the horizontal
hot water pipe of first floor, Voila! (Isn’t that fun of Revit?)
Thus we have connected first floor Ladies Room cold and hot water pipes and second floor
Ladies Room cold and hot water pipes together.
Use the same methods to connect first floor Men’s Room cold and hot water pipes and
second floor Men’s Room cold and hot water pipes together.
5 - 9 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes 527
28 After finished, use VG to turn on the visibility of Sanitary filter.
Now we can see the green sanitary piping again.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 08 Second Floor Plumbing Copied and Connected for File
5 - 9 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes

Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\09 Add Sanitary Vent Pipes.rvt
Load Vent Pipe Fitting Families

2 In Load Family dialog box, find the pipe fitting library location at:
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\US Metric\Pipe\Fittings\PVC\Sch 40
\Socket-Type\DWV\
Then open (load) the following files:

M_Ell Vent - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV.rfa
M_Tee Reducing Double Vent - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV.rfa
M_Tee Vent - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV.rfa
Create Vent Pipe Type

3 In Project Browser, scroll down to Pipe Types to find and select PVC - DWV Sanitary,
right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Duplicate.
4 Select duplicated PVC - DWV Sanitary 2, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
select Rename… to rename it to PVC - DWV Vent.
5 Double click PVC - DWV Vent to open Type Properties dialog box, click the Edit… button
next to Routing Preferences.
6 In Routing Preferences dialog box, set Elbow to M_Ell Vent - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV:
Standard, set its Min. Size to All, set Junction to M_Tee Vent - PVC - Sch 40 - DWV:
Standard, set its Min. Size to All, set Cross to M_Tee Reducing Double Vent - PVC - Sch
40 - DWV: Standard, set its Min. Size to All.
7 Click OK twice to finish the setting for Vent pipe type.
Add Vent Pipes to Main Drains

9 Cross Men’s Room to draw a section line viewing left, drag the section far clipping
control arrow to the location shown.
10 On Properties palette, set Sub-Discipline to Plumbing.


13 Use VG to turn off Pipes Center Line.
14 Drag the Crop Region as shown on the left figure.

15 On Properties palette, uncheck Crop Region Visible.
Revit does not have particular color for Vent system, but we can use VG’s Filter to set the
line color of vent pipes. We also turn off cold water and hot water piping to facilitate us
drawing the vent pipes.
16 Type VG, click Filters tab, then click the

Add button.
17 In Add Filters dialog box select Domestic
Cold Water, Domestic Hot Water and
Vent, press OK.
18 Back to Filters dialog screen, turn off Domestic Cold Water and Domestic Hot Water,
select Vent, click the Override… button of Projection/Surface Lines, in Line Graphics
dialog box, set Color to RGB 255-128-000 (orange), press OK.

20 Click Systems tab, then select Pipe.
21 In Family/Type Selector, find and select Pipe Types family PVC - DWV Vent type pipe.
22 On Properties palette, verify that Reference Level is set to Level 1, set System Type to
Vent.
23 Pick the midpoint of the top of a first floor main drain segment as shown for vent pipe
starting point.
24 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, select Automatically Connect, select Slope Up, set Slope
Value to 1.0000%.
25 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 65 mm.
26 Draw 65 mm vent pipe up then left and up above the roof as shown.
Notice! Because we set 1.0000% slope up, thus when we draw pipe left it has an angle of
89.43°.
27 Select the vent pipe that passing through the roof, then click its top end offset value,
enter 760 so its top is exactly 20 cm above roof.
28 Select Pipe command on Systems ribbon again.

29 As shown on the left figure, pick the midpoint of the top of the main drain segment.
30 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 65 mm.
31 As shown on the right figure, draw a 65 mm vent pipe up connecting to the horizontal
vent pipe above.
Attention: We must pick the starting point first, then set pipe Diameter.
32 Draw another two 65 mm vertical

vent pipes up connecting to the
horizontal vent pipe as shown.
33 As shown on the left figure, from the top of first floor urinal drain segment, draw 50 mm
vent pipe up and left connecting to the vertical vent pipe as shown.
34 As shown on the right figure, from the top of first floor another urinal drain segment,
draw a 50 mm vent pipe up connecting to the horizontal vent pipe just drew.
35 Like first floor, draw second floor

main drain vent pipes as shown.
36 Change the Bend of second floor urinal drain to Tee as shown below.
37 From the top of Tee draw a 65 mm vertical vent pipe up above the roof aligning to the
top of the vertical vent pipe on the other side.
38 Select highlighted pipe segment and tee, on Options Bar change their diameters to 100
mm.
39 From the top of second floor urinal drain line, draw two 50 mm vent pipes connecting to
the right 65 mm vertical vent pipe.
Thus we have finished all the vent pipes for the drain lines in the middle shaft of the
restroom.
Add Vent Pipes to Lavatory Drains

41 Copy the first section line to its right and to its left as shown.
42 Select the third section line, click the Flip Section icon to let it viewing to the right.
43 Double click the second section symbol to open that section view.
44 From the top of second floor lavatory drain Tee, draw a 50 mm vertical vent pipe up
above roof.
45 Select the vent pipe just drew, set its top offset value to 760 cm.
46 From the top of second floor rightmost lavatory drain Tee, draw 32 mm vertical vent
pipe up and left connecting to the 50 mm vertical vent pipe just drew.
47 From the tops of other three lavatory drain Tees, draw three 32 mm vertical vent pipes
up connecting to the 32 mm horizontal vent pipe above.
48 From the top of first floor lavatory drain Tee, draw a 50 mm vertical vent pipe up and 20
cm left and up and right connecting to the second floor 50 mm vertical vent pipe.
49 Like second floor, from the tops of first floor lavatory drain Tees, draw 32 mm vent pipes
connecting to the left 50 mm vertical vent pipe.
Thus we have finished the vent pipes for the lavatories in Men’s Room.
50 In Project Browser, double click section 3 to open that section view.
51 Use the same methods to finish the vent pipes for the lavatories in Ladies’ Room.
In 3D view the color of vent pipes is black, we use VG to set their color to orange same as
the color shown in section view. We also use VG to turn off cold water and hot water piping
so we can examine the sanitary system much easier.
53 Type VG, click Filters tab, then click the Add button.
54 In Add Filters dialog box select Domestic Cold Water, Domestic Hot Water and Vent,
press OK.
55 Back to Filters dialog screen, turn off Domestic Cold Water and Domestic Hot Water,
select Vent, click the Override… button of Projection/Surface Lines, in Line Graphics
dialog box, set Color to RGB 255-128-000 (orange), press OK.
Now we see the vent pipes become orange color, in the mean time the cold water and hot
water lines are gone.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 09 Vent Pipes Finished for File name. Click the File Tab
5 - 10 Add Water Heater

In this section we will add a water heater in first floor Elec/Mech room and connect it to the
cold water and hot water piping in restrooms.
Open the exercise file: \Plumbing\10 Add Water Heater.rvt
5 - 10 Add Water Heater 545
Load Water Heater Family

2 Use VG to turn off Section symbols and lines.
3 Click Systems tab, select Mechanical Equipment.
4 On Modify | Place Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Load Family.
5 In Load Family dialog box, find and open C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries

\Us Metric\Plumbing\MEP\Equipment\Water Heaters\M_Water Heater.rfa file.
6 In Family/Type Selector, select 285 L type water heater, then click Edit Type.
7 In Type Properties dialog, click Duplicate… button to duplicate this type to a 285L 220V
type and change its Voltage from 240V to 220V.
8 Place this 220V water heater at the lower left corner of Elec/Mech room. (when placing,
press Space bar to orientate the heater first)
Modify First Floor View Range

Since we will run the connecting piping at a higher level, therefore we modify the view top
from 250 cm set previously to 350 cm.
9 On Properties palette, click View Range's Edit… button to change the view Top Offset:
Draw Cold Water Pipe

10 On Systems ribbon select Pipe.
11 In Family/Type Selector, find and select Pipe Types family Domestic Cold Water type pipe.
12 On Properties palette, set System Type to Domestic Cold Water.
13 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, select Slope Off.
14 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 50 mm, set Offset to -80 cm.
15 From Elec/Mech room draw a cold water pipe segments as shown, but not finish.
16 On Options Bar, change Offset to 335 cm, continue to draw pipes to Men’s Room.
Draw Hot Water Pipe

17 On Systems ribbon select Pipe.
18 In Family/Type Selector, find and select Pipe Types family Domestic Hot Water type pipe.
19 On Properties palette, set System Type to Domestic Hot Water.
20 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, verify that Slope is Off.
21 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 25 mm, set Offset to 345 cm.
22 From Elec/Mech room draw 3 hot water pipe segments to Men’s Room.

24 Type VG, click Filters tab, turn on Domestic Cold Water and Domestic Hot Water.
that viewing angle.
26 Type VG, turn off Plumbing Fixtures, click Filters tab, turn off Sanitary and Vent.
Now we only see the cold and hot water piping and water heater.
27 Delete the last two segments of cold water and hot water pipes we just drew. (leave
two turning bends)
28 Select the bend of cold water, on Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon select Connect Into, then
select the vertical cold water pipe on the left to connect the horizontal cold water piping
to it.
29 Same situation, select the bend of hot water, on Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon select
Connect Into, then select the vertical hot water pipe on the left to connect the
horizontal hot water piping to it.
30 Convert the cold water bend to tee.

31 Use Connect Into method to connect the tee to the vertical cold water pipe as shown.
32 Again, convert the new cold water bend to tee.

33 Use Connect Into method to connect the tee to the vertical cold water pipe on the right.
34 Convert the hot water bend to tee.

35 Use Connect Into method to connect the hot water tee to the vertical hot water pipe on
the right.
Thus we have completed the horizontal and vertical cold and hot water piping connections
in restrooms.
36 Select the water heater, on Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Connect Into.
37 In Select Connector dialog box, select Connector 1 : Domestic Cold Water : Round : 25
mm : In : Row direction In, press OK.
38 Select the vertical cold water pipe next to the heater, Voila!
Now Revit connected water heater from its cold water connector to the cold water pipe on
its right. Meanwhile, the color of water heater changed from black to blue, which means
now this heater belongs to cold water system.
39 Select the water heater again, on Modify | Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select
Connect Into.
40 In Select Connector dialog box, select Connector 2 : Domestic Hot Water : Round : 25
mm : Out : Row direction Out, press OK.
41 Select the hot water pipe above the heater, Voila!
Now Revit connected water heater from its hot water connector to the hot water pipe
above. Meanwhile, the color of water heater changed back to black.
Why the color of water heater changed back to black? This is because now this heater has
connected to two systems. If we connect water heater to hot water pipe first, it would
become red color first, then connect it to cold water pipe, it would change back to black.
Readers can experiment this sequence yourself.
42 Type VG, turn on Plumbing Fixtures, click Filters tab, turn on Sanitary and Vent, press OK.
Now we can see the plumbing fixtures, green sanitary piping and orange vent pipes again.
Extend Main Drain Line

43 Click the bottom point of the sanitary drop, right click mouse button, on Context Menu
select Draw Pipe.
44 On Modify | Place Pipe ribbon, click Slope Down, verify that Slope Value is 1.0000%.
45 From the bottom of the sanitary drop draw a 180 cm 90 degree segment as shown.
This outgoing sanitary pipe and the incoming cold water pipe below the water heater just
present the IN and OUT of the entire plumbing systems.
46 Move mouse cursor to highlight any a pipe, press Tab key a few times to examine the
connections of the whole plumbing systems.
47 Use VG to turn on c Office Building.rvt
Use System Browser to Examine the Plumbing Systems

48 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Plumbing under Floor Plans to view the connections
of cold water and hot water piping in restrooms.
49 Press F9 function key to open System Browser. At its top, set View to Systems and Piping
discipline, click + to expand the systems and elements as desired.
Save your work

Plumbing Exercise folder, enter 10 Water Heater Connected for File name. Click the File Tab
Now we have finished the restroom plumbing systems of this office building. Readers can
open the exercise file: \Plumbing\11 Plumbing System Finished.rvt to take a look of the
final modeling result.
When modeling plumbing systems, we need to pay attention to a lot of information such as:
pipe type, system type, pipe size, pipe slope, elevation or offset, etc. Besides, we should
create relevant section views to draw and edit pipes. When there are more systems
tangling together, we can use VG‘s Filter to turn off some unrelated piping, so we can easily
see and edit the system that we want.
Beside restroom, there are other plumbing systems for buildings such as kitchen, bathroom,
storm water drain, and the fire protection systems which will be covered in next chapter.
561
Chapter 6 Fire Protection Systems

In this chapter we will create Fire Protection Systems for a two story office building. Starting
from creating a fire sprinkler design schedule, we will layout the sprinkler heads, create
sprinkler piping, modify pipe diameters, tag pipe diameters, and add a fire cabinet. Finally,
we will connect the fire risers of first and second floors to merge the two fire protection
systems into one.
562 Chapter 6 Fire Protection Systems
6 - 1 Prepare Fire Protection System Modeling

1 Start Revit 2019. In starting screen, under the Project Section, select “Mechanical
Template”.

”Mechanical Template”, or your Mechanical
template file is not Metric, select “New…” under
Projects. In New Project dialog, press Browse…
button to find and open
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Templates
\US Metric\Mechanical-Default_Metric.rte
mechanical template file. Then press OK.
Modify preset Views of Mechanical template

2 In the Project Browser, take a look of all the views that the template file has.
3 Hold Ctrl key, select all 7 views under Plumbing sub-discipline, then press Del key to
delete them.
Now in Project Browser, the Plumbing sub-discipline and the Plumbing discipline are gone.
6 - 1 Prepare Fire Protection System Modeling 563
4 Hold Ctrl key; select all 9 views under HVAC sub-discipline.

5 On Properties palette, enter Fire Protection for Sub-Discipline.
Now in Project Browser, we can see all selected views changed to Fire Protection sub-
discipline.
6 Next, rename those 9 views to the names as follow:
Set Project Units

We also increase the area units rounding from 0 decimal places to 1 decimal places.
4 Click OK to complete the settings of Length format, but not yet to finish the whole
settings.
5 Click the example button of Area format.
6 In Format dialog box, change Rounding from 0 decimal places to 1 decimal place.
7 Click OK to complete the settings of Area format, click OK again to finish the settings of
Project Units.

Building.rvt
Open.

1 In Project Browser, double click South - Fire Protection under Elevations to open
Elevation: South - Fire Protection view.
Since all the fire protection systems are under the roof, so we don’t need to add roof level
and roof plan.
Save your work

Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box, create a Fire
Protection Exercise folder at a convenient location on your hard drive, enter 01 Fire
Protection Drawing Setup Finished for File name, then click Save. Click the File Tab again
then select Close.
6 - 2 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule 569
6 - 2 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule

Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\02 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule.rvt
1 Click the Analyze tab, select Schedule/Quantities.
2 In New Schedule dialog box, select Rooms for Category, enter Sprinkler Design Schedule
for Name, press OK.
3 In Schedule Properties dialog box, find and add Area, Level, Name and Number
parameters to Schedule fields, arrange their order as shown on the right figure, at lower
left, turn on Include elements in links, then press Add calculated parameter button.
Note: We must turn on "Select Include elements in links" in order to get the information
from linked architectural background drawing.
4 In Calculated Value dialog box, enter Area per

Sprinkler for Name, verify Formula radio
button is on, select Common for Discipline,
select Area for Type, in Formula field enter
12.1, press OK.
5 Press Add calculated parameter button again.

In Calculated Value dialog box, enter Required
select Number for Type, in Formula field enter
“Area / Area per Sprinkler”, press OK.
6 Press Add calculated parameter button again.

In Calculated Value dialog box, enter Min.
select Integer for Type, in Formula field enter
“Required Sprinkler”, press OK.
7 Click Sorting/Grouping tab, set Sort by Level, turn on Blank line, set Then by Number,
verify that Itemize every instance check box at bottom left is checked.
6 - 2 Create Sprinkler Design Schedule 571
8 Press Ok to finish the settings.
Now we have created a room sprinkler design schedule, in next section we will use this
schedule to place sprinkler(s) in each room.
Save your work

Click the File Tab, select Save As, then select Project, in Save As dialog box, navigate to Fire
Protection Exercise folder you created in previous section, enter 02 Sprinkler Design
Schedule Finished for File name. Click the File Tab again then select Close.
6 - 3 Place Sprinklers
Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\03 Place Sprinklers.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Fire Protection under Ceiling Plans to open
Ceiling Plan: 1 - Ceiling Fire Protection view.
2 Use VG to turn off Elevations in Annotation Categories.
3 Type WT (Window Tile) to tile 1 - Ceiling Fire Protection view and Sprinkler Design
Schedule side by side.
5 Click Systems tab, select Sprinkler.
6 In Family/Type Selector, click the down arrow to find and select M_Sprinkler - Pendent -
Hosted family 20 mm Pendent type sprinkler.
6 - 3 Place Sprinklers 573
7 On Modify | Place Sprinkler ribbon, select Place on Face.
8 Place the first sprinkler at the ceiling grid intersection of 101 Office as shown below.
Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
9 Select the sprinkler just placed, move it 30 cm right and 30 cm up so it is right at the
center of the 60 x 60 ceiling grid.
10 Select the sprinkler we just moved.

11 On Modify | Sprinklers ribbon, select Copy, copy it from the intersection of its lower left
to the intersection three grids down and three grids right so the new sprinkler is at the
center of the grid too.
Now we have finished placing 2 sprinklers on the grid ceiling in 101 Office.
12 Select the sprinkler we just copied.

13 On Modify | Sprinklers ribbon, select Copy again.
14 On Options Bar, turn on Multiple.
15 Use the intersection snap mode to copy three sprinklers to the centers of 102 Office
ceiling grids.
Now we have finished placing 3 sprinklers on the grid ceiling in 102 Office.
Please refer to the drawing below, use Copy Multiple and intersection snap mode to finish
all the sprinklers on grid ceiling, and also verify the Min. Sprinkler numbers in sprinkler
design schedule for each room.
6 - 3 Place Sprinklers 575
Since author has already provided the reference locations of lighting fixtures and diffusers,
therefore these sprinklers won’t bump into them.
Elec/Mech Room Upright (non-hosted) Sprinkler

16 Select Sprinkler on Systems ribbon.
17 On Modify | Place Sprinkler ribbon select Load Family.
18 In Load Family dialog box, find and open (load) C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019
\Libraries\Us Metric\Fire Protection\Sprinklers\M_Sprinkler - Upright.rfa.
19 In Family/Type Selector, select 20 mm Upright type sprinkler.
20 On Properties palette, set Offset to 300 cm.
21 Place an upright sprinkler in the center of Elec/Mech room. Click the leftmost Modify
button on ribbon.
First Floor Stairwell Sidewall Sprinkler

22 Select Sprinkler on Systems ribbon.
23 In Family/Type Selector, find and select M_Sprinkler - Horizontal Sidewall - Hosted
family 20 mm Horizontal Sidewall type sprinkler.
25 Place a horizontal sidewall sprinkler on the wall of each stairwell as shown.
After finishing all the sprinklers, it’s better to pin them to avoid them being moved
accidentally.
Save your work

Protection Exercise folder, enter 03 Sprinkler Layout Finished for File name. Click the File
6 - 4 Connect Sprinklers 577
6 - 4 Connect Sprinklers
Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\04 Connect Sprinklers.rvt
Create Fire Protection Pipe Type

1 In Project Browser, expand Families, then expand Pipes, then expand Pipe Types.
2 Select Standard type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Duplicate.
3 Select duplicated Standard 2 type, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select
Rename… to rename it to Fire Protection Wet.
4 Double click Fire Protection Wet to open Type Properties dialog box, click the Edit…
5 In Routing Preferences dialog box, set Pipe Segment to the settings shown in the right
figure.
6 Click OK twice to finish the settings.

Layout Sprinkler Piping

7 Use VG to turn off Ceilings.
8 Select the red color sprinklers as shown.
9 On Modify | Sprinklers ribbon, select Piping.

13 Pick the endpoint of the lower right corner of the north stairwell.

17 In Pipe Conversion Settings dialog box, set Pipe Type to Pipe Types: Fire Protection Wet
for both Main and Branch, set Offset to 280 cm for both Main and Branch.
solution as same as the solution shown below, click Edit Layout on the leftmost of the
ribbon. (DO NOT click Finish Layout)
19 Select the horizontal main pipe as shown.

20 Drag it up to the place as shown below. (The whole horizontal pipes move with it)
21 Continue to drag the horizontal main pipe up to the place as shown below.
Note! We have to drag them twice to get to the place shown below.
22 Select the vertical pipe as shown on the left figure, drag it right to the place as shown on
the right figure.
23 Select the vertical pipe as shown on the left figure, drag it left to the place as shown on
the right figure.
24 Click Finish Layout.

26 Type ZZ (Zoom in Region), zoom in the rectangle region shown above.

27 Click the + under the Tee, change it to Cross.
28 Click the bottom point of the Cross, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select
Draw Pipe, draw 150 mm main pipe down then left as shown.
29 Same situation on the right side of building, change the Tee to Cross, then from the
bottom of Cross draw 150 mm main pipe down then right as shown.
30 Use the same method, on the upper left of building, change the Tee to Cross, then from
the top of Cross draw a 150 mm main pipe up as shown.
31 Delete the main pipe passing the corridor as shown.

32 As shown on the next three figures, change the horizontal Tee (┴) to Elbow (└), then
change the Elbow to vertical Tee (├).
33 From the bottom point of the Tee, use Drop Pipe method, draw 150 mm main pipe
down then left connecting to the left main pipe. (thus to avoid the lights and diffusers in
corridor)
34 Select the 150 mm fire riser at the lower right corner of the stairwell, move it left 15 cm,
then move it up 15 cm.
Notice! When we move the riser, the pipe connected to it also moves with it.
35 Click Systems tab, select Pipe, from the left side main pipe draw another main pipe to
Front Entrance.
Thus we have finished all the main pipes for those sprinklers that haven’t connected yet.
36 Select the upper left sprinkler in 101 Office.
37 On Modify | Sprinklers ribbon, select Connect Into.
38 Then select the main pipe outside the office to connect them together.
39 Same situation, select the lower right sprinkler in 101 Office, use Connect Into method
to connect it to the same main pipe.
40 According to the red highlights, use Connect Into method to connect sprinklers to the
main pipes nearby.
41 Use Connect Into method to connect sprinklers in 103 Guest Room and 104 Office to the
branches in their neighbor offices.
43 Use VG to turn off Levels and c Office Building.rvt Revit Link.

45 Use VG to set Sprinklers color to red.
46 Type ZZ (Zoom in Region) to zoom in the rectangle region as shown.
47 Select the sprinkler at the bottom of the figure; use Connect Into method to connect it
to the main pipe upper right.
48 Select the sprinkler on the right; use Connect Into method to connect it upward to the
branch we just created.
49 Use the same methods, connect the left sprinkler into the main pipe, then connect the
fourth sprinkler upward to the branch above.
50 Type ZZ (Zoom in Region) to zoom in the rectangle region shown below.

51 Convert the Elbow to Tee as shown.
52 Click the right end of the Tee, use Draw Pipe method to draw a 90° pipe as shown.
53 Select the upright sprinkler above, use Connect Into method to connect it to the pipe
just drew.
Check Pipe Connectivity

55 Move mouse cursor to highlight any a pipe, press Tab key a few times to examine the
connections of the whole sprinkler piping systems.
56 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Ceiling Fire Protection under Ceiling Plans to return
to that view and take a look of the piping we did in 3D view (the red highlights).
Now we can see none of the sprinkler pipes bumps into lighting fixtures or diffusers.
In Elec/Mech room, the bottom of 1 lamp pendant light is 290 cm which is very close to the
height of sprinkler piping (280 cm). Therefore we went around that pendant light. But later
author found that we could alter the dropping distance of that pendant light, change it from
60 cm to 90 cm to make its bottom 260 cm, then we could run pipe directly through that
pendant light and connect to the sprinkler in the center, instead of running around it.
Readers can find the Connect Into tool of Revit is very useful.
Save your work

Protection Exercise folder, enter 04 Sprinkler Connected for File name. Click the File Tab
6 - 5 Modify Pipe Diameters

Since Revit hasn’t had the capability to size fire protection piping, we have to adjust their
sizes manually. The chart below shows the branch pipe diameter and the number of
sprinklers it can serve. Base on this chart we modify our pipe diameters, starting from the
end runs, use 25 mm pipe to serve 1-2 sprinklers, use 32 mm pipe to serve 3 sprinklers, use
40 mm pipe to serve 4-5 sprinklers…. .
Sprinklers Served Pipe Diameter

1, 2 25 mm
3 32 mm
4, 5 40 mm
6-10 50 mm
Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\05 Modify Pipe Diameters.rvt
6 - 5 Modify Pipe Diameters 597
1 Use VG to turn off c Office Building.rvt Revit Link.
2 Click the File Tab, select Options at bottom right.

3 In Options dialog box, click Graphics on the left, then set Selection color to Red, press
OK.
4 Window select all sprinklers and pipes, hold Shift key, window select the rectangle
region to exclude the pipes and fittings inside that region.
6 In Filter dialog box, uncheck Sprinklers, press OK.
7 On Options Bar, set Diameter to 25 mm for the pipes and fittings that we filtered.
Now all the pipes and fittings except those we held Shift key excluded are 25 mm in
diameter.
The reason we set the diameter of these pipes and fittings to 25 mm is because a large
portion of them are 25 mm, especially for those pendent sprinklers all have a short 25 mm
drop, thus save us a lot of time in resizing them (see the following steps).
8 Select the pipes and fittings highlighted in red.
9 On Options Bar under Modify | Multi-Select ribbon, set Diameter to 100 mm.
10 Zoom in the lower left; select the red pipe and the tee at its left, on Options Bar set their
Diameter to 32 mm.
11 Select the red pipe and the tee at its left, on Options Bar set their Diameter to 40 mm.
12 Select the red pipes with tees and elbow, on Options Bar set their Diameter to 50 mm.
13 Select the red pipe and the tee at its right, on Options Bar set their Diameter to 40 mm.
14 Select the red pipe and the tee at its right, on Options Bar set their Diameter to 32 mm.
Since on plan view, some downward tee fittings are blocked by sprinklers that are difficult
to pick, so we switch to 3D view to overcome these kinds of situations.

16 Select the red pipe and window select the tee at its left, on Options Bar set their
Diameter to 32 mm.
17 Select three red pipes, two tees and one elbow, on Options Bar set their Diameter to 40
mm.
18 Select the red pipe and window select the cross at its left, on Options Bar set their
Diameter to 50 mm.
Use the methods above; follow the Sprinklers/Pipe diameter chart, either on floor plan or in
3D view, finish modifying the diameters of those pipes that need to be modified.
The modifications of sprinkler piping are tedious; also, it is difficult to distinguish their sizes
on drawing. But when all finished, in next section, we will use Tag tools to tag and verify the
sizes of these sprinkler pipes.
Save your work

box, navigate to Fire Protection Exercise folder, enter 05 Pipe Diameters Modified for File
6 - 6 Tag Pipe Diameters

Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\06 Tag Pipe Diameters.rvt
1 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Fire Protection under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan:
1 - Fire Protection view.
6 - 6 Tag Pipe Diameters 605
2 Use VG to turn off Elevations and c Office Building.rvt Revit Link.
5 Click the Thin Lines button on Quick Toolbar.
6 Click the File Tab, select Options at bottom right. In Options dialog box, click Graphics on
the left, set Selection color back to blue, press OK.
Modify Tag Rotation and Text Color

7 In Project Browser, under Families section expand Annotation Symbols, find and select
M_Pipe Size Tag family, right click mouse button, on Context Menu select Edit to open
the Family Editor.
8 On Properties palette, uncheck Rotate

with component.
9 Select the label text, then click Edit Type on Properties palette.
10 In Type Properties dialog box, change Color to Red, press OK.
11 On ribbon, click Load into Project and Close.
12 When Revit asks if you want to save changes to M_Pipe Size Tag.rfa? Press No.
Now we switch back to project editing screen.

14 Click the Annotate tab, select Tag by Category.
15 On the Options Bar under Modify | Tag ribbon, select Horizontal, uncheck Leader.
16 As shown below, click the midpoint of a vertical pipe to tag its diameter.
17 On the Options Bar, select Vertical.
18 As shown below, continue to click the midpoints of horizontal pipes to tag their
diameters.
19 As shown below, cross select 11 vertical sprinkler pipes.

20 Then click the Annotate tab, select Tag All.
21 In Tag All Not Tagged dialog box, verify that Only selected objects in current view radio
button is on, find Pipe Tags category, verify M_Pipe Size Tag is the loaded tag, verify Tag
Orientation is Horizontal, press OK.
Now we see the selected vertical pipes all tagged with horizontal diameters.
22 As shown below, cross select 4 horizontal sprinkler pipes.
23 Then click the Annotate tab, select Tag All again.

24 In Tag All Not Tagged dialog box, verify that Only selected objects in current view radio
button is on, find Pipe Tags category, verify M_Pipe Size Tag is the loaded tag, set Tag
Orientation to Vertical, press OK.
Now we see the selected horizontal pipes all tagged with vertical diameters.
25 Use the methods above, refer to the figure below, try to use the most efficient way to
finish tagging all the horizontal and vertical pipes.
We can see some pipe tags are too close causing overlapping, and some pipes are too short
to be blocked by their tags.
Now all pipe tags (include the sprinkler heads) shrunk to half sizes, that reduce the
overlapping and blocking issues a bit.
27 Use VG to turn on c Office Building.rvt Revit Link that was turned off earlier.
6 - 7 Add Fire Cabinet 613
Save your work

Protection Exercise folder, enter 06 Pipe Diameter Tagged for File name. Click the File Tab
6 - 7 Add Fire Cabinet

Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\07 Add Fire Cabinet.rvt
1 Use VG to turn off Pipe Tags in Annotation Categories.
Load Fire Cabinet Family

2 Click Systems tab, then select Mechanical Equipment.
3 On Modify | Place Mechanical Equipment ribbon, select Load Family.
4 Load C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\Us Metric\Fire Protection
\Cabinets\M_Hose Rack Cabinet - Surface Mounted.rfa family.
5 In Family/Type Selector, select 65 mm type fire cabinet.

6 Place this cabinet on the wall of restroom entrance.
Connect Fire Cabinet to Piping System

7 From right to left draw a section line (viewing down) on the corridor outside the
restrooms.
8 On Properties palette, set Sub-Discipline to Fire Protection.

10 Drag the Crop Region down to expand the view.
11 On Properties palette, turn off Crop Region Visible.

13 Use VG to turn off Pipes Center Line.
14 Click the Measure button on Quick Toolbar, measure the distance from floor to the
bottom of the fire cabinet.
15 Select the fire cabinet, on Properties palette, change its Elevation from 120 cm to 70 cm
(lower it down 50 cm).
16 Select the upper left connector of the cabinet, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu select Draw Pipe, in Family/Type Selector, select Pipe Types family Fire Protection
Wet type pipe, draw 65 mm pipe left then up as shown.

that viewing angle.
19 Zoom in the fire cabinet.

20 Delete the vertical pipe just drew.
21 Select the elbow left on the horizontal pipe.
22 On Modify | Pipe Fittings ribbon, select Connect Into, then select the highlighted pipe.
Now Revit generated a Z direction and a Y direction 3D pipe runs for us.
Insert Fire Cabinet Control Valve

23 Click Systems tab, select Pipe Accessory.
24 When Revit displays "No Pipe Accessories family

is loaded in the project. Would you like to load
one now?", press Yes.
25 Load C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2019\Libraries\Us Metric\Pipe\Valves

\Gate Valves\M_Gate Valve - 50-300 mm.rfa family.
26 In Family/Type Selector, select 65 mm type gate valve.
27 Place this valve on the vertical pipe shown. Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.
28 Select the gate valve just placed, click the rotate icon nearby to turn its wheel to the
front.
29 In Project Browser, double click 1 - Fire Protection under Floor Plans to return to plan
view and take a look of the pipe connection of fire cabinet.
30 In Project Browser, double click Section 1 under Sections to switch to that view.
31 Dimension the distance from floor to gate valve.
32 Select the gate valve; change the dimension to 180 cm.
Now we have finished the Fire Protection Systems for the first floor.
Save your work

Protection Exercise folder, enter 07 Fire Cabinet Added for File name. Click the File Tab
Basically the modeling of second floor fire protection systems is same as the first floor.
Please refer to the first drawing of next section and follow the steps we have gone through
on first floor to finish the second floor fire protection systems.
6 - 8 Connect First and Second Floor Fire Protection Systems 621
6 - 8 Connect First and Second Floor Fire Protection

Systems
Open the exercise file: \Fire Protection\08 Connect Fire Risers.rvt (Note: this file already
completed the second floor Fire Protection Systems)

Now the fire protection systems of first floor and second floor are stacked up, it’s hard to
distinguish them.
2 Select a pipe of second floor as the arrow pointed, press Tab key a few times can
highlight the entire fire protection systems of second floor.
3 Type ZZ (Zoom in Region) to zoom in the rectangle region as shown.

4 Convert the Elbow on top of first floor fire riser to Tee.

5 Drag the bottom point of second floor fire riser to the top of the Tee we just converted.
6 Select the first floor fire riser, change its bottom offset to -90 cm.
7 Select the bottom point of first floor fire riser, right click mouse button, on Context
Menu select Draw Pipe, draw a 200 cm 90 degree segment as shown.
Thus we have finished the connection of first and second floor fire protection systems.
8 On View Control Bar, set Visual Style to Shaded to take a look of shaded model.
9 Set the Visual Style back to Hidden Line.

11 Select any a pipe of the model, press Tab key a few times, we can see that the first floor
and second floor fire protection systems were merged into just one system.
12 Use VG to turn on c Office Building.rvt Revit Link.
Save your work

Protection Exercise folder, enter 08 Fire Risers Connected for File name. Click the File Tab
Now we have finished the fire protection systems of this office building. Readers can open
the exercise file: \Fire Protection\09 Fire Protection System Finished.rvt to take a look of
the final modeling result.
Up to here, we have also finished the entire MEP modeling of this book.
628
629
Chapter 7 Interference Check

After finished all the MEP modeling of this two story office building, we can see that there
are so many ductwork and piping running up and down, left and right, very complicated, it
is very likely that some of them might bump into each other. Thus in this chapter we will
use Revit Interference Check tool to examine to see if there are some clashes among them.
630 Chapter 7 Interference Check
7 - 1 Interference Check within Project

Open the exercise file: \Mechanical\20 Mechanical System Finished.rvt
1 Click the Collaborate tab, then click Interference Check, on drop down list select Run
Interference Check.
2 In Interference Check dialog box, verify that “Categories from” for both sides are:
Current Project, select all items (Air Terminals, Duct Fittings, Ducts, …) on both side,
then press OK.
7 - 2 Interference Check between Projects 631
Revit displays “No Interference detected!” message box, means within the project all
elements in these categories don’t have any interference with each other, press Close.
7 - 2 Interference Check between Projects

1 Click the Insert tab, select the Link Revit.
2 In Import/Link RVT dialog box, find and select the exercise file: \Fire Protection\09 Fire
Protection System Finished.rvt, then press Open.
3 When Revit displays the following message, press Close.
Now we have loaded the Fire Protection Systems into the drawing.
4 Click the Collaborate tab again, click Interference Check, on drop down list select Run
Interference Check.
5 In Interference Check dialog box, on left side, set Current Project for Categories from,
select all items (Air Terminals, Duct Fittings, Ducts, …), on right side, set 09 Fire
Protection System Finished.rvt for Categories from, select all items (Mechanical
Equipment, Pipe Accessories, Pipe Fittings, Pipes, Sprinklers), then press OK.
A moment later Revit displays an Interference Report dialog box at upper left corner of the
screen.
6 In Interference Report dialog box, select Pipes : Pipe Types : Standard : id 954851 first,
then press Show button at lower left.
Now we can see a highlighted hydronic pipe.
7 In Interference Report dialog box, select 09 Fire Protection Finished.rvt : Pipes : Pipe
Types : Fire Protection Wet : id 928793, but DO NOT press the Show button.
Now we can see a highlighted fire riser, means that it has interfered with the previous
highlighted hydronic pipe.
8 Press Close button to close the report.

9 In Project Browser, double click 2 - Hydronic Piping under Floor Plans to open Floor Plan:
2 - Hydronic Piping view.
10 Click the Collaborate tab again, click Interference Check, on drop list select Show Last
Report.
11 In Interference Report dialog box, select Pipes : Pipe Types : Standard : id 954851 again,
press Show button.
Now on floor plan view we see a hydronic return pipe ran into the fire riser in north
stairwell.
12 Press Close button to close the report.

Adjust Piping to Avoid Interference

13 Select the hydronic supply pipe above the interfered hydronic return pipe; press the Up
key on keyboard to push it close to the orange lighting fixture reference line.
14 Select the interfered hydronic return pipe; press the Up key to push it close to the
hydronic supply pipe so that it no longer interference with the fire riser.
15 Click the Collaborate tab, click Interference Check, on drop down list select Run
Interference Check again.
16 In Interference Check dialog box, like Step 5, on left side, set Current Project for
Categories from, select all items (Air Terminals, Duct Fittings, Ducts, …), on right side, set
09 Fire Protection System Finished.rvt for Categories from, select all items (Mechanical
Equipment, Pipe Accessories, Pipe Fittings, Pipes, Sprinklers), then press OK.
Revit displays “No Interference detected!” message box, means after we adjusted the
hydronic pipes, the interference with fire riser has solved, press Close.
Unload Linked Drawing

17 Click Manage tab, select Manage Links.
18 In Manage Links dialog box, select 09 Fire Protection System Finished.rvt, press Unload
button.
19 When Revit displays the following message, press OK.
20 Press OK to close Manage Links dialog box.
Save your work

Mechanical Exercise folder, enter 20 Pipe Interference Solved for File name. Click the File
In this section we only exercised the interference check of Mechanical and Fire Protection
systems. With the same idea and methods, reader can cross link all different MEP systems
to do 1 on 1 interference check.
Note: Although a Revit project can link (bring in) multiple projects, but when doing
interference check, Revit only compare the current model and one linked model.
Therefore we can not do interference check between the linked models.
Since author spent a lot of time in adjusting the piping and ductwork of the models used in
this book, readers probably won't find other interferences. But in real modeling situations,
we should always have Revit check the interferences of our models.
640
641
Appendix
Offset/Elevation Chart
The chart below tabulates the offsets or elevations of first floor equipment, fixtures, devices,
horizontal ducts and pipes.
370 cm (2nd floor)

350 cm (bottom of 2nd floor slab)
345 cm Domestic Hot Water
335 cm Domestic Cold Water, 2nd floor Hydronic Return
322.5 cm Top of Primary Main Ducts at corridor
320 cm 2nd floor Hydronic Supply
310 cm VAV Boxes, Secondary and Primary Ducts
305 cm 1st floor Hydronic Return in Elec/Mech room
297.5 cm Bottom of Primary Main Ducts at corridor
290 cm 1st floor Hydronic Supply in Elec/Mech room,
Bottom of Pendant Lights
288.25 cm Bottom of VAV Boxes
280 cm Fire Protection Piping
265.2 cm (top of interior walls)
260 cm (grid ceiling) Lighting Fixtures, Diffusers, Sprinklers
120 cm GFCI Receptacles, Light Switches
115 cm Urinal Cold Water
70 cm Lavatory Cold Water, Bottom of fire cabinet
60 cm Lavatory Hot Water
46 cm Standard Receptacles
35.56 cm Toilet Cold Water
20 cm Lavatory Drain Lines
16 cm Urinal Drain Lines
0 cm (1st floor)
-20 cm (bottom of 1st floor slab)
-35 cm Perimeter Hydronic Return
-50 cm Perimeter Hydronic Supply
-60 cm Toilet Drain Lines
642 Appendix
About the Author

Education
Bachelor of Architecture, Tunghai University, Taiwan, 1978
Master of Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, USA, 1981
Master of Computer Science, New York Institute of Technology, USA, 1989
Experience
The Alan Lapidus Groups, NYC, CAD Drafter (1986-1987)
Syska & Hennessy Engineers, NYC, CAD Technician (1987-1988)
The Corrigan LoVerde Group, NYC, CAD Consultant (1988-1989)
Feng Chia University, Taiwan, Lecturer (1989-2001)
Stafford Associate Architects, Sacramento, CA, AutoCAD 3D Designer (2002)
Intel Corporation, Folsom, CA, Facilities CAD Engineer (2004-2013, 2016-2017)
Books
Exercise File Hyperlink 643
Certifications
AutoCAD 2012 Certified Professional
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Certificate of Achievement
Exercise File Hyperlink

Click the following link or copy paste the following web address to your browser to
download the Exercise Files of this book:
Revit MEP Step by Step 2019 Metric.zip
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NE6HwshNh3O6BqUzT9_7lvP5xx8tQcrC/view?usp=sharing

Revit MEP Step by Step 2019 Metric Edition - Lu-Yen Chang

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Foreword iii

2 - 10 Add AC Unit and Exhaust Fans ................................................... 213

5-3 Create Toilet and Floor Drain Lines............................................. 472

You can Follow US

There are 2 types of view-specific elements:

Instance parameters can be examined and set on Properties palette.

Revit Working Environment

Project Editing Screen

File Name - View Name

View Control Bar

Dimension Snaps and Object Snaps

Rearrange Properties Palette and Project Browser

1 Drag Properties palette right to the drawing area.

2 Then drag Properties palette back to the right of Project Browser.

\Architectural Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling

\Mechanical Chapter 2 Mechanical Air Systems

04 Zone Color Fill Legend.rvt 2-4 Zone Color Fill Legend

\Mechanical Chapter 3 Hydronic Piping Systems

\Electrical Chapter 4 Electrical Systems

\Plumbing Chapter 5 Plumbing Systems

\Fire Protection Chapter 6 Fire Protection Systems

Chapter 1 Architectural Modeling

1 - 1 Start a new Architectural Project

Use Predefined Template to create a project

Note: If the Starting Screen does not display

Examine the Preset Views of Architectural template

Set Project Units

Display Project Base Point

1 - 2 Create First Floor Slab

Measure Distance between Elevation Marks

Draw a 20 cm thick Slab

5 In Family/Type Selector, verify that family is Floor, type is Generic 150mm.

8 In Type Properties dialog box click Edit… button next to Structure.

10 Click OK again to finish the creation of new 20 cm slab.

12 Click the bottom horizontal dimension; change its value to 3868.

Align Slab Center to Project Base Point

18 In Type Properties dialog box click Duplicate… button.

21 In Color dialog box, select Red swatch, press OK.

Save your work

Change the Preset Height of Level 2

2 Use mouse wheel to zoon out model a little bit.

5 Click the 400 cm, the level’s elevation.

6 Enter 370 to change Level 2’s height to 370 cm.

Now the line and symbol of Level 2 moved down 30 cm.

Add New Levels

10 In Plan View Types dialog box, ONLY

11 In Offset: box, enter 370.

14 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.

Thus we create a Level 3 level line with an elevation of 740 cm.

17 On Draw panel, click (Pick Lines) button.

Thus we create a Level 4 level line with an elevation of 260 cm.

Thus we create a Level 5 level line with an elevation of 630 cm.

20 On Options Bar, set Offset to 100 cm.

Thus we create a Level 6 level line with an elevation of 840 cm.

22 Click the leftmost Modify button on ribbon.

24 Double click Level 3, the level’s name, rename

Save your work

Draw Exterior Walls

3 Click the Architecture tab, select Wall.

8 Click the button on Quick Toolbar to open the default 3D view.

Draw Interior Walls

3 In Family/Type Selector, click the down

4 On Properties palette, click Edit Type, in