what is the difference between RAC lighting fixture and MEP lighting fixtures

[Anonymous]

I see lighting family exists in two folders: architectural and MEP. Both of the two folders has electrical information of lightign fixture.

Which one should I used ? Thanks, 

[constantin.stroescu · Accepted solution]

there is no essential difference...

The entitIes from architecture menu is thinked to be used by architects and it is in a simplified form ( without calculation support ) the MEP entity is thinked to be used by electrical-mecanical engineers and it is more developed on this specific functions.

Lighting Fixtures are entities that are controled both by architect and mechanical engineers, that"s why they appears in both menus.

The same case with the structural entities that are used both by architects and structural engineers ...they appear in both menus.

It is a posibility to deactivate the MEP menu and in this case you still have the option in architecture menu

[constantin.stroescu]

from Application Menu (big R) > Optons >User Interface>Configure Tools and Analyses > you can select what menus you want: for architect, structural engineer or mechanical engineer....This is in case of Revit 2013 and Revit 2014, where all the specialities are together....

[Anonymous]

Thank boht of your help.

[Alfredo_Medina]

There is an important difference: the host. Lighting fixtures in the Architectural folder are ceiling based, and those in the MEP folder are face based. That alone, creates some other differences. This is a comparison that I made some time ago for a post in another forum:

[constantin.stroescu]

for  Alfredo,

I took a look on your comparison table between Architectural and MEP.

Being an architect , I do not work in MEP and I do not know much about it, but from my experience in using Architectural Build>Component > Place a Component > Lighting Fixture (loaded from various sources or even some made by myself) , my feeling is that you were a little bit unfair in this comparison.

You made a comparison between ceiling-based light fixture wich is only one of the types of light fixtures and a face based type that is obviously more flexible.....You forgot to mention in your table the other two types (that use family template: Lighting Fixture and Lighting Fixture Wall Based) ...these two types answer  to your  no 8 row point (can be placed on walls, floors, roofs)...

Insertion mode, by my observations depends mainly by the family template used by people that made the Lighting fixtures..

Constantin

[Alfredo_Medina]

Yes, the comparison is only between the ceiling-based lighting fixtures (from Arch. library) and face-based lighting fixtures (MEP library). It is not about lighting fixtures in general from Arch vs. MEP because the other types, flor based, wall based, etc, don't have these differences.

[constantin.stroescu]

OK , then...from this point of view  you are right!

thanks!

Constantin