Announcements
Welcome to the Revit Ideas Board! Before posting, please read the helpful tips here. Thank you for your Ideas!
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Existing electrical load in panel schedules

Existing electrical load in panel schedules

There is no easy way to add an existing electrical load to a panel schedule when working on a small renovation project in a building with existing panels.

 

It would make life so much easier if there was a command similar to the 'SPARE' breaker command that would allow you to insert existing load into a panel without creating "fake" objects. The 'EXISTING LOAD' command can be similar to the 'SPARE' breaker command except it would need to have the ability to choose the load classification, change the wire size, and choose the number of breaker poles.

 

Currently, when our firm gets a small a renovation project in REVIT, we will export it to CAD, since we know it takes so much to time to create panel schedules with existing loads.

16 Comments
gseilerA6YML
Enthusiast

Seconded.  Actually I've requested this as well.  Panel schedules need a lot of work in Revit. 

 

PLEASE ADD THE ABILITY TO APPLY DEMAND FACTORS TO SPARES!  Thinking about it, why not just let users create and edit circuits right from the panel schedule (without needing any devices added yet)...

gseilerA6YML
Enthusiast

 

One more note: Spares in distribution panels should include frames.  It should not be dashed out "-".

ssgueglia
Contributor

This was a hot topic a few weeks back in our office. When one of the firm's partners (electrical discipline) overheard this conversation, all I could see was steam coming from his ears.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I think it's important that Electrical Revit users keep communicating this to Revit.  Electrical folks drop out of revit and use autocad / static text panel schedules ALL THE TIME because of how often simple tasks are difficult or impossible.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I think it would be a good idea for spares and spaces to act just like a regular circuit in revit.  That is when you create a spare or space, a real revit circuit is created and you can either put in a block load (or estimated future load) or connect real electrical equipment or fixtures to it.  

 

Everyone knows this workaround in revit:  place a junction box with a load and power it then hide it.  Lots of folks do this and it's a terrible slow kludgy workaround for doing exactly what we want.  

 

We should be able to do a lot of work from the panel schedules without going to the floor plans!

N.Spriegel
Explorer

Agreed. At this point I am forced to use junction boxes with loads and create filters to hide them (like glen)!

JusticeHarris
Explorer

I agree completely!

 

Currently, using Revit panel schedules for renovation jobs is difficult, unless you want to take the time to add a great deal of existing devices, fixtures, equipment, or junction boxes for "dummy loads" which takes extra and unnecessary time that most people do not have.

 

You can add spares to a panel schedule and even give them a name and volt-ampere total, but those loads do not total in other panels that they are fed from. You can also not give a spare load, a load classification, so it may total in the overall panel total but it does not populate in the different categories so if a demand factor is more or less than 1.00, your existing load will not total properly. (See attached Panel 'A' which feeds Panel 'B'). I have also attached a forum from autodesk where someone else mentioned loads from other panels to not load into the panels that feed them.

 

There should be an easy way, that does not require adding junction boxes for "dummy loads" or something similar, to show existing loads under the associated load classification, in a panel schedule and have each panel schedule total correctly on their own and when fed from or feeding other panels.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Two features would help with this:

Manually enter a load and a name to a circuit in a panel (if nothing in the model is connected to it).

Assign a project phase to a circuit, and a phase filter to panel schedule calculations and views.

BDezayas
Participant

YES! This small item is a huge pain.  This is critical for renovation work which is usually 75% of my work. We also need the option to be able to type wire sizes into the panel at spares without it erasing after re-opening the project. It is a huge issue having these existing loads show up as "spare" on the demand factors at the bottom of the panel schedule and our only two options are to create fake jb's (very time consuming), or use opaque text over the word "spare" with "Existing Load" or something similar at the demand factors in the panel schedule.  This is sloppy, so I end up doing it the long and time consuming way.

gseilerA6YML
Enthusiast
BDezayas, you can implement wire sizes as a shared parameter added to electrical circuits. You can get them to show on the panel schedule line by adding it to the p/s template. But you have to use real revit circuits by powering a hidden jbox, for instance. Also be aware that revits wire sizing is not usable because it’s tied to VD and wire length. You can’t manually set it, so you’ll have to make your own parameter for it.

While I mention that, I dont like to implement my own fixes in revit because it should be fixed in the mainline.
BDezayas
Participant
Thank you for the response gseilerA6YML. Yes. I can wire sizes showing for new panels and circuits that are linked. But that isn't the point of this thread. This thread is asking for a way to get a command similar to the "Spare" that we can then assign a load classification. To add to that, I think that if we can get that command and also be able to indicate "Existing" for the wire sizing on that circuit this would save a lot of time. This would avoid having to create 38 junction boxes and linking them to a panel when we are only adding two circuits to an existing panel.



Thank you.


lpadillaD8WEQ
Explorer

Under electrical settings, then panel schedules the ability to have an Existing Label.  This will give us the ability to manually input existing loads in panel schedules with a click of a button.  Just like we do for Spare and Space.  Some project are existing and it's a waste of type to draw and input info on devices so it will appear on panel schedules.

r.robert.bell
Advocate

It's not quite as easy as that, of course. We will also need to deal with metered loads and, where existing loads are well-known, actual load classifications. But I do agree that we need a way to populate existing loads without modeling/circuiting hundreds or thousands of existing elements.
Oh, and a way to show panel schedules across multiple phases.

lpadillaD8WEQ
Explorer

Under electrical settings, the ability to have an Existing Label is needed.  This will give us the ability to manually input existing loads in panel schedules with a click of a button.  Just like we do for Spare and Space.  Some project are existing and it's a waste of type to draw and input info on devices so it will appear on panel schedules.

dtiemeyer
Advisor

Perhaps several years too late, but I agree with most of what everyone has said, and am summarizing here:

 

  • Easy way to enter existing loads without having to model it in 3d
  • Existing loads need to have ability to select load classification
  • Easy way to have Phase aware panel schedules
  • Easy way to link electrical loads across RVT files
  • Ability to remove 'Spare' from load classification 'aggregations' such as in a Distribution panel that shows all the load classifications of connected subpanels/xfmrs

 

 

jasontobolski
Explorer

I've been using spares for existing load for a while, with a note in my schedule that identifies that classification as existing load. So far, there hasn't been any kick back. But, it would really make a huge difference if we could change that naming of the classification - or have a tool to add existing load without a physical model element. I have maybe 5 or 6 projects currently in design phase and 4 of them are major renovations to state owned facilities. Adding this feature would bring closure to the Revit circuiting and panel schedule functionality, allowing me to focus on other things . . . like how to get power to  all this equipment, haha.

 

Cheers

Can't find what you're looking for? Ask the community or share your knowledge.

Submit Idea  

Autodesk Design & Make Report