Truthfully, there is no ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ way to model lighting in Revit®, but it is wise to consider which method will best serve your design or workflow. Why choose one light fixture type over another? As they have the same parameters, both can coexist within a schedule and report the same data. For rendering purposes, MEP and architectural lighting are interchangeable. This means that both will calculate actual light level values in a space. Additionally, both fixture types contain photometric data and a lighting source. Both types of lighting can be connected to a power source and switching. Where it matters most, MEP and architectural lighting are very similar within Revit®. Similarities between MEP and Architectural Lighting

This is important to bear in mind if the design is going to change significantly in the future. Thus, architectural lighting cannot be swapped for MEP lighting (or vice versa) as they reference different hosts. For example, sconces host to the walls only whereas floor lamps host only to the floors. While typical faces include ceilings, walls, or floors, it is possible to host MEP lighting to the face of another component.Ĭonversely, lighting fixture components loaded in through the Architectural folder are hosted to either the floor, wall, or ceiling, as appropriate to the fixture. Lighting fixture components loaded in through the MEP folder in the Imperial Library will be work plane based or face based families, meaning that they must host to a plane or element face. In Revit®, there is one major difference between Architectural and MEP lighting component families: the way they are placed. You may be wondering if there is any advantage to using one component or placement method over another or if there is even a difference between Architectural and MEP lighting within Revit®.ĭifferences between MEP and Architectural Lighting The other way is to use the Lighting Fixture button on the Systems tab. One way is to use the Component button on the Architecture tab, navigate to the lighting component desired, and place it in the model. Then, when it comes to placing lighting in the model, there are two ways to access your components. First, in the Imperial Library, lighting is divided into MEP and Architectural subfolders. If you have ever explored within Revit®, you may have noticed that there are two seemingly different paths to inserting lighting components into a model.

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