Light Switch Systems

[bsammis]

Revit's light switch systems are next to useless for accurately modeling modern lighting control schemes.  

We need to be able to:  

 - Connect multiple switches to a single switch system

 - Create lighting control panels (there are workarounds for this, but they're not ideal)

   * In a similar vein, many larger spaces have single devices that control multiple lighting zones - the panel functionality would probably be adaptable for 

     this use.

 - Account for receptacle control required by energy codes

Ideally the switch system would recognize the type of switch(es) that are part of the system (eg. occupancy, photocell, etc) to enable smart scheduling of switch systems and describe the sequence of operations of the system.

[karim_w]

Kindly Add these notes.

1- For multiple gangs switch, numbers of switch IDs should equal the number of gangs, and be able to select the Id in the group of lighting fixtures connected to it

2- Enable connecting one system to more than one switch, with the same switch ID for the case of multi entrance (deviator or 2 way switches)

[NateBrush]

Switches could work much like the existing electrical distribution system. Lights should be able to connect to multiple controls connectors (switches and occupancy sensors, for example.) Then those switching devices could connect to a room controller and the room controller could connect to the lighting control panel. It would end up looking similar to an electrical distribution system.

The number of levels in the hierarchy could make it difficult to program, but it would sure be nice to pass control information from switch devices up the control device chain and create a control schedule. It could be as simple as switch devices connect up to a room controller and then users could create a schedule of room controllers.

It would be nice to even connect lights to two switch systems just so we can tag multiple switch IDs.

[trentf4]

Would also be good to have proper emergency & security control for lighting fixtures as well. A lot of my work contains fixtures that are non-maintained and don't require a switch or run on security circuits to a panel. Lighting has come a long way in the last 5 years and Revit needs to keep up to date.

[Rockit_for_Revit]

2 way and 3 way switches are essential

[crapai]

As a non-electrical person I was asking questions about how we should handle switches when our company starts circuiting everything very soon. I was let down by how useless this system sounds. I would want this improved so I can give our engineers and drafters tools they can actually use. I think we are going to stay away from the built in switch functionality for now.

[adaversa]

@sasha.crotty @Martin__Schmid Can this get some love? This idea is the most complete of those I found still open from 2016. 3-way switches are like basic basic basic electrical design. The rest would be great to have but I imagine much more involved to implement.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-ideas/light-switch-id/idi-p/8177193

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-ideas/3-way-switch-circuits/idi-p/6557877

[jonathan_larson]

Lighting control has changed a lot since Revit was first created, but it seems Revit has not kept pace. Surprised it's 2022 and we can't even do 3-way switches out-of-the-box, much less more complex switching systems like daylight zones. If Autodesk could at least remove the limit of one switch per system, that would go a long way to making switch systems more usable.