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Lighting Calculations

Lighting Calculations

Lighting Calculations

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Lighting Lighting Calculations

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The Lighting Calculations command will calculate the total wattage of all fixtures connected to each transformer on the design. The calculations will also determine the highest voltage drop, the lowest voltage drop and the voltage variance in each lighting system. In addition, the command will size the wire or cable from each transformer to the lighting fixtures based on the Maximum Allowable Voltage Drop.

To automatically size the lighting wire or cable:

  1. Click on the Size Wire to Recommended Gauge checkbox until a checkmark appears in the box. If the box is not checked, the software will not size the wire or cable.

  2. Enable the Color Code Wire by Zone check box by clicking on the selection with the left mouse button until a checkmark appears in the box to color code each zone of wire based on the settings in the Options dialog box on the Lighting tab. If this feature is disabled, the wire will be colored based on the settings for each wire size in the Lighting Wire/Cable Placement command.

  3. When automatically sizing accent lighting wire or cable, it is necessary to know the maximum acceptable voltage drop within a circuit. In the Maximum Allowable Voltage Drop text box, type in the acceptable value.

  4. When sizing wire automatically, a label is placed on the design screen to indicate the size of the wire.  To label every piece of wire on the design, set the Wire Label Locations to All Wire.  To label only the transitions from size of wire to another, select Size Transitions from the drop down menu.

  5. Select each wire size to use during the sizing process in the Wire Selection box. Click on each wire size selection with the left mouse button until a checkmark appears in the box. A wire size that has not been selected will not be used during the wire sizing process.

  6. Click on the Calculate button to automatically size the wire or cable and open the Voltage Drop Calculations dialog box.

  7. Click on the Close button to exit the command without sizing the wire or cable.

Viewing and inserting voltage information:

  1. Once calculated, the voltage information will appear in the Lighting Calculations dialog box.

  2. Click on the Select button to the right of a Transformer description or Zone Number to select the equipment on the design screen.

  3. Click on any lighting component associated with the system to view specific information on the equipment.  


    Voltage data on a selected lighting fixture

    Symbol Legend for Voltage Drop Calculations

    Fixture disconnected from lighting circuit

    Wiring disconnected from the lighting circuit

  4. Click on the Insert Calculation Data button to place the voltage information on the design screen.  Adjust any of the font settings as necessary and click on the Place Text Table button.  Set one point on the design screen for the top left corner of the table.

  5. Click on the X in the top right corner of the dialog box to close the box.

Note:

  • Select a single piece of equipment on the design to view information.

 

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