Creating an electrical plan step by step

An electrical plan consists of several parts that build on each other: floor plan, circuits, distribution board, take-off and documentation. This guide walks you through the Avenler workflow, from setting up the project and the first floor to the printed plan, and shows where to find each step in detail.

Create an electrical plan Already have an account? Sign in

What does an electrical plan include?

An electrical plan is not a single drawing: the floor plan shows where the devices are and where the cables run, the board diagram shows what protects the circuits, and the take-off tells you how much material is needed. In Avenler these are created in one project and build on each other: if you change the floor plan, the take-off and the schedules are recalculated from the saved drawing.

Creating an electrical plan step by step

1. Project and floor. In a new project you enter the name, the client and the address, then add a floor (name, floor level, ceiling height). From the ceiling height the program also calculates the vertical cable sections.
2. Floor plan. Draw walls, doors and windows, and rooms, or load an existing architectural plan as an underlay. In detail: electrical floor plan maker.
3. Devices and cable routes. Place switches, socket-outlets, luminaires and other symbols (electrical drawing symbols) and draw the cable routes. After you give two end points, the program plans the route.
4. Circuits. Each circuit has a designation, protection and a cable; you assign devices and cable routes to them, and the colouring shows what has been left without a circuit.
5. Distribution board. In the board designer you lay out the enclosure (distribution board designer); the program checks it and calculates the single-line diagram.
6. Checks. The Checks panel collects the warnings of the drawing rules, the board rules and the take-off into one list, and clicking a finding jumps to the element.
7. Take-off. An itemised material list from the saved drawing: electrical bill of quantities.
8. Quotation. An electrical installation quotation is produced from the take-off.
9. Printing and handover. The drawings can be printed with a title block in a drawing set or saved as PDF, and the project can be shared: electrical installation plan maker.

The order is not mandatory, but the take-off and the schedules are always calculated from the saved drawing, so save first. You do not have to fill everything in up front: if something is missing (for example a catalogue item), the program warns you, and the warning takes you to where it needs fixing.

What to watch out for

Sizing, checks and minimum counts per room are indicative and reflect common practice: they do not replace the professional responsibility of the electrical designer or verification against the standards in force. The program is made for building electrical installation plans: you cannot draw arbitrary circuit schematics in it.

Create an electrical plan