Conceptual duct and pipe layouts

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At the early stages of an mep project to create a

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detailed mechanical layout can be time

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consuming costly and most likely unnecessary

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with duct and pipe sizes, fittings and detailed coordination.

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Something to be considered at a later stage.

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Single line, indicative mechanical layouts are more usual at this stage.

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Moving to detailed design as the project progresses

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in red,

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this is taken care of by using duct and pipe placeholders,

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duct and pipe placeholders carry the same intelligence as regular duct and pipe

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but are represented by a single line and do not consider details such as fittings,

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duct and pipe placeholders are found on the

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rack panel and the plumbing and piping panel of the systems tab

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ensure the current view is set to H VAC floor plans one mec.

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In this view, the equipment has been placed only as a guide.

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Let's start by creating a duct placeholder,

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select duck placeholder from the ribbon.

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And a review of the type selector shows that even though this is a placeholder,

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the duck type can still be selected

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and from the options bar, the size can be set,

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giving you the option to make an early choice if required

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changing the system type to supply air,

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leave all other options as they are and draw

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a duct run along the center of the corridor

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at a nominal height of 9 ft.

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Then at the riser,

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change the elevation to zero and select apply from the options bar,

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set the elevation back to 9 ft and draw branches to each of the phone

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call units.

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At the last two fan call units, draw a duct placeholder that crosses the main run

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from the plumbing and piping panel. Select pipe placeholder

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and changing the system type to chilled water flow.

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Draw a run along the corridor below the supply duct run

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again at a height of 9 ft.

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Then at the riser change the elevation to zero

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and select apply

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follow the same procedure to create a pipe placeholder for chilled water return,

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changing the elevation to zero at the riser.

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Finally create branch pipes from the main run for chilled water flow and

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for chilled water to return to each of the fan core unit positions

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at a height of 9 ft.

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Quick,

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conceptual mechanical layouts can be created without the

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need to consider final pipe and duct sizes

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associated fittings, final elevations or detailed coordination.

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Although it isn't necessary to set and change elevations while

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creating an early stage layout using duct and pipe placeholders.

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A view of this 3D model can indicate the intentions more clearly.