Reviewing MEP systems

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NARRATOR: Reviewing existing duct and piping systems

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in Revit.

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In this video, we're going to review a little bit about duct

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and piping systems and how you assign elements to systems.

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Then we're going to take a look at the existing duct and piping

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systems that come with Revit.

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Duct and piping systems are created in two different ways.

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First you run duct your pipe from an element with connectors

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and it automatically creates a system.

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Second you can assign elements to a system

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and later add the connectors.

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I've opened the Small Medical Center project in a 3D view,

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and I'm going to zoom in on the tankless hot water heater

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that I placed on the outside of the building.

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When I select the hot water heater,

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you can see that there are connectors that are assigned

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to different types of systems.

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I've also added pipes and ducts.

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They take on the correct system type and color.

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When I click on one of the pipes and look at properties,

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you can see that the system type is specified.

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And here's the duct.

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Another way of working is to select the fixtures

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and assign them to a system without having

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any connecting elements.

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So let's take a look at that in plan.

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In the O1 ground floor HVAC plan on the far right

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are for air terminals that do not yet have a system.

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They show up as black.

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I'm going to select them and create a duct system.

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So in the Modified air terminals tab I'm going to click Duct.

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And I'm going to accept the existing name and click OK.

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And then you can see that they show up as blue.

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The reason is that they are supply air terminals,

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and supply air systems have been assigned

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the blue color in their type properties by default.

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Now let's look at the default duct and piping systems

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that come with the mechanical template.

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That's all that's used in this project so far.

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In the project browser, I'm expanding the family's list.

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And you can see that along with various types of elements,

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including things like air terminals, duct fittings,

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and flex pipes, there are families for duct systems

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and for piping systems.

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So our duct systems include exhaust air, return air,

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and supply air.

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And the piping systems include domestic cold and hot water,

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a variety of fire protection systems,

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hydronic supply and return, one called other sanitary,

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and vent.

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Now let's take a look at what is set in a system type.

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I'm selecting the duct system exhaust air

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and right clicking on it and selecting type properties.

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And you can see here the type parameters.

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You have graphic overrides which you

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can select a pattern, color, and weight for the system.

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And you can see here that exhaust air

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systems are set to green.

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For the material, you can set the material for the system,

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but this is more frequently set by duct or pipe type,

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the actual physical elements.

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So in the system it's set by category as you can see here.

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In order to perform calculations,

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ducts and pipes need to be on an appropriate system,

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and you can set the type of calculation here.

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Our identity data includes tight parameters

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you can place in tags and schedules.

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One very helpful option is abbreviations.

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This can be included wasting a tag

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and is also useful when you add the system to a project.

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It's used in the beginning of the assigned name.

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Finally, it's important to also set up your rise drop symbol.

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And I would check with your beam standards

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to see what's needed for each system type.

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These families are hard coded system types

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that come with Revit.

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So any custom system type you create

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has to start by duplicating an existing system.

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A new system type can have any name,

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but its underlying system must be one of these standard types.