How do I create 2- and 3-pole loads?

[Salchipapa]

Hello,

I'm a complete Revit newbie and I'm trying to get my bearings.  I think I've figured out how to create lighting circuits, panel schedules, etc., but I'm doing all of this with single-pole loads.  I want to add a 2-pole or 3-pole load to my project (say, a clothes dryer) just to keep experimenting, but I cannot figure it out.  I thought there would have been a family of sorts with 208V single-phase specialty receptacles or something, but it doesn't look like this is the case.

I'd appreciate any help.  Thanks.

p.s.  I'm running Revit 2013

[CoreyDaun]

Electrical Circuits are defined by the properties of the Electrical Connector within a Family (see image below). If you open or create a Family with an Electrical Connector, you can define the Poles, Voltage, etc. Under that connector's Properties. Then, when an Electrical Circuit is created in a Revit Project, it's electrical data will be defined by these values.

Additionally, if you desire to have more flexibility with the values, you can create Parameters which will allow you to have different electrical Data for different Types or Instances of this Family. The properties of the Electrical Connector can then be linked to these Parameter values. Parameters are easy to create - click on the little gray box beside a parameter under Properties. In this dialog, you can simple click "Add Parameter..." to create a new Parameter of the correct Type. Alternatively, you can go to Family Types (button of the left side of the Ribbon with four blue squares) and add new Parameters and Types.

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[Salchipapa]

Thanks! That seems to have done the trick.  I guess I'm still confused about how families work, though (and probably will remain confused for a while ), but are the changes I make local or universal/permanent?  For example, to make my two-pole circuits I edited the Quadruplex Receptacle family and added a new Type (named it 208V 1P just to make it obvious).  Is this change local to the project I'm working on, or will every project from now on have a goofy quad receptacle called 208V 1P?  This is a personal project so I'm not too worried, but once we start drawing actual plans on Revit at a company level, I'm concerned that there will be too many hands in the cookie jar and too many people altering files permanently, possibly on accident.

Thanks once again.

[CoreyDaun · Accepted solution]

Just that Project. If you load a Family into a Project, it retains it's own definition of that Family, and does not directly reference the source. If you open a Family for editing from within a Project, it creates a separate file in which to open the Family - one which has no actual association with the Project. When you're done editing that Family, you can load it back into that Project to redefine it. Once this is done, you don't even have to save that Family unless you want to keep it somewhere for future use in other Projects.