Gain an understanding of how to analyze the energy consumption of a building using Revit. This detailed guide presents a step-by-step process, from dividing the building into areas based on consumption patterns to setting specific load types for each area such as classrooms, corridors, and kitchens.
Key Insights
- The process begins by dividing the building into different areas that each use energy differently. For example, a classroom might only use one watt per square foot, while a kitchen full of appliances might use 100 watts per square foot.
- Each area requires specific load types, which can be created within Revit. These load types take into account power density, voltage, and the number of power phases needed for each area. For instance, a general classroom may have a load type set to 1 watt per square foot, with a voltage of 120 and one phase of power.
- Once every area within the building has an assigned load type, the next step is to create a distribution system. This involves bringing power into the building and distributing it to the various areas based on their individual needs and energy consumption patterns.
Now that we have our analytical boundaries drawn in, Revit can help us understand how much energy this building might use. We divided this building into several areas because each section will consume power differently. For example, this classroom area will have lights and power outlets and may only use one watt per square foot.
Over here, in contrast, we have a kitchen area and it might be full of power-hungry appliances like a big freezer, ovens, ranges, and those appliances might mean the power density for this area is actually 100 watts per square foot. Big difference! That's 100 times the power usage of the classroom. So all these areas combined will give us the total power consumption for the building.
Now to jump into this, let's give ourselves some more screen real estate. I'm going to close the system browser if it's open and I'm going to open up a handout to help us understand the power densities for each of these areas. I'll jump over to our PDF handouts section found in our Downloads folder, BIM 323 File Downloads, PDF Handouts, and then I'm looking for Analytical Areas.
I'll open this up and this information you might ask, where does this come from? It might come from our electrical engineer or we might need to research this ourselves to determine how much power is consumed by each area. And every building would be quite different. Imagine a data center or an industrial building would consume much more power per square foot.
But this is a good idea of power consumption for our classroom building. So let's split screen. I'm going to just drag Revit's window across so we can see our little handout at the same time.
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Excellent. So on the left, I have Revit opened up with the Electrical Analysis Level 1 floor plan open. On the right, I've got the handout with the Analytical Areas.
Now I can start to create these areas. Let's jump into the Analyze tab and then Electric we have Area-Based Load. I will click that button and I will start by selecting this first classroom area.
I'll click one time. It might be tempting to keep clicking but unfortunately all that will do will add the areas together and we don't want that. We want to keep them separate so I'll click on Finish Editing.
Now that I have this area, I hover over the blue plus and click one time. That opens up the Properties window for that area. Here in Properties, I want to set the voltage.
So I look over across and I see that I have General Classroom 1 watt per square foot. How do I know this area is General Classroom? If I go down to page 2, every area is labeled. So General Classroom.
General Classroom 1 watt per square foot. So I will jump in and where it asks me to set the area-based load type, it currently says None. I'll click the dot dot and this brings up all the different load type settings.
I will create a new one just for our project and I'll call it General Classroom. I'll click OK and I will set the power density to 1 watt per square foot. It's currently set to Load Classification of Appliance but most of this load will be coming from Lighting.
So let's change that to Lighting and click OK. The other settings are just fine. Power Factor of 1, Lagging Power State, and Apparent Power Density will be calculated from the two above values.
We'll say OK and we now have that 1 watt per square foot and the voltage here is 480. Well, we notice from our sheet that it says 120. That's a more realistic voltage for the classroom and the outlets.
120 volts. Now to get 120, we don't need three phases of power. We just need one.
We'll change our number of phases to 1 and let's just scroll down and make sure we have everything else here. Identity Data Name is Area-Based Load. We can call this something more specific.
We can call it L1 for Level 1 and then Classroom and it's Area 1. So I'll put 1 and that's it. It's asking for where is the getting its power from and for now leaving it set to None is A-OK. We're just getting the area defined and then we'll come back and distribute the power later.
So that is one. I will go through and create an example one of each and then you can create some of these on your own to finish out Level 1 and Level 2. So let's see here. The next different area we have is called General Corridor.
So I'll go back to Analyze and Electric Area-Based Load. I'll hover over this corridor right there. If you find the little X, it helps click there.
There is the corridor. Finish editing. Now I've got another area.
I'll click that little plus and up at the top I've got Area-Based Load Type dot dot. I will create a new one again. So I will create a new Area-Based Load.
In my handout I will find the General Corridor and so that's the name General Corridor and click OK. The power density is half a watt per square foot and I will click OK. Now that's set.
I need to set the voltage to 120, number of phases to 1, and I can give this a better name. I can call it L1 Corridor. OK, now we've got this corridor.
Let's take a look at our handout. We have a General Restroom right here. So let's create another area.
Analyze, Electric Area-Based Load. I will hover over the restroom, place the area, and click Finish Editing. I'll hover the blue plus, click, and now I can make edits to this one.
Area-Based Load Type dot dot. You get the pattern now. We'll create a new load type and this will be General Restroom.
And what do we have for restroom? 0.65 watts per square foot. Six five. And we don't want Appliance.
We want to change that to Lighting and click OK. I think I forgot that part on Corridor. It still says Appliance, but no problem.
I can change it here and it will change it everywhere else. So let's do that right now while I'm thinking about it and click OK. Now I want to go back to Restroom.
All the settings are still good and click OK. Now we have the kitchen up on the top, our big power burner. So I'm going to go up to Analyze, Electric Area-Based Load, hover right here over the kitchen, click one time, Finish Editing.
I will click the kitchen, Area-Based Load Type dot dot, and I need to create a new one. Or I just duplicate it. That works as well.
If I duplicate, then I have to rename it General Kitchen. And it saves us the step of setting the classification. I just need to change the wattage.
And for General Kitchen, I'm at 100 watts per square foot. So I will click OK. Now I've got the kitchen.
Next, I want to set the cafeteria. So I will again go to Analyze, Electric Area-Based Load, hover over the cafeteria, click Finish. I will select that area by hovering the blue plus symbol, and now I will set the Area-Based Load Type dot dot.
I will duplicate again. I liked doing that. Let's do that again.
Duplicate. Rename. And we will call this Cafeteria.
And from our handout sheet, we see that General Cafeteria is 0.45 watts per square foot. Maybe we have some really efficient lighting in there, and it doesn't need a ton of power. We'll say OK.
All right. Got a couple other unique rooms here. We've got the gym and the office.
So let's do those next. Analyze tab, Electric Area-Based Load. I'll hover over the gym.
Click one time. Click Finish. Hover over that plus.
I'm going to have to hit TAB on my keyboard to select it. Area-Based Load Type dot dot. And we'll duplicate again.
And rename General Cafeteria. This one will be called Gymnasium. And the power density of the gymnasium, we are deciding that it will be 0.65. 0.65. Click OK.
And the voltage, 120. Number of phases, 1. And we'll give this a name. We'll call it Level 1 Gymnasium.
And apply. Now we'll go to one more. Electric, under Analyze, Area-Based Load.
And here we go. We will set, we'll click this library. And we're going to call this an office load.
So the load doesn't always have to match the room name, because we're picking this whole area. There is a library, storage room, some office type spaces, and a corridor. But it all has the power density.
And so we'll set that here. We'll duplicate again. And we'll rename this Office.
General Office is 0.5 watts per square feet. And we can say OK. We'll set the voltage again to 120.
And that comes again from our cheat sheet right here. And our phases to 1. And we'll give it a nice name, such as L1 for Level 1. And this, we know it's the library, so we can call it the library. And click Apply.
And finish editing. And we're all set. Those are the different types we have, really, in the whole building.
Everything else can be a classroom or an office. So what we can do now is, if I missed any steps, I can click back on these spaces. For example, the kitchen.
And I might have forgotten a couple of things. Like it still says 480 volt. I'll make it 120 with one phase.
Everything is parametric in Revit, so I can come back and update these at any time. We'll call this Level 1 Kitchen. And apply.
Grab this Cafeteria next. This is Level 1 Cafeteria. And let's jump up to our voltage, 120.
Number of phases, one phase. And let's double check the restroom here. Also needs to be 120 volt.
One phase. Name can be Level 1 Restroom. We're populating all this information here in Revit.
And our general corridor we already got as 120. What do we have left on Level 1? It's just more classrooms. Unfortunately, with these area-based loads, we cannot copy or mirror or even create similar.
We just have to create more. I'll let you create your own classrooms. I'll do one to share that it's a little bit easier this time, because once we set up those area-based load types, we can just reuse them.
So here's Classroom 2. And we'll finish editing first. Hover over it. Get to the properties.
Area-based load type. We don't have to create another one. We just can select the general classroom again, because we've already created it.
We're just using that same type again. We also have to set the voltage to 120, number of phases to 1, and give it a name that makes more sense. So Level 1, Classroom 2. We have Classroom Area 1, Classroom Area 2. Apply.
And so this could be Classroom Area 3, Classroom Area 4, and Classroom Area 5, all starting with Level 1. Let's jump down to Level 2 now. I should say up to Level 2. Open up that view. And Level 2 is recycling all of these types yet again.
So all I have to do is come back and set my area-based load. For example, we'll start with the restroom. Click right there.
Finish editing. We already have that type, because we used it on Level 1. I select it, and I just click the dot, dot, dot, and select the general restroom type we already created, and click OK. Set the voltage and the number of phases.
Give it a better name. Now that we're on Level 2, I'll say Level 2, Restroom. Apply.
So that'll be Level 2, Restroom. We've got Level 2, Corridor. We'll start over with the classroom.
So Level 2, Classroom 1. Level 2, Classroom 2. Level 2, Classroom 3. Level 2, Classroom 4. And we have Level 2, Office. And that will wrap it up. So I'll let you create those areas on your own.
And now that we have these areas created, our next step will be to create a distribution system to bring power into the building and distribute it to these various areas.