Electrical Drawing

By Syed Mohammed Faiz

Learning Outcomes
After completing this module you will be able to:

Recognize the importance of interpreting electrical drawings accurately

List the plans and drawings that are included in electrical drawings

Describe the various terms associated with electrical drawings

Learning Outcomes

discuss the drawing layout, the common drafting lines, and the
electrical symbols used in the trade
Explain what is meant by scale drawings , power plans, lighting floor
plans, electrical details and diagrams

Electrical Drawings
Construction projects require working drawings and
specifications created by an architect.

Electrical Drawings
Electricians follow the drawings and specifications before conduits
are installed , wires are pulled or equipment is mounted
Electrical drawings are customer requirements, and provide
specific instruction.
Although styles vary, standard symbols are used in the industry to
represent types of material, raceways, conduits, equipment and
circuit connections.
Therefore , it is the electricians job to interpret the drawings
accurately

Electrical Drawings
Electrical drawings include the following plans and drawings:
A site plan indicating the location of the building on the property
Floor plans showing the walls and partitions for each floor or level
Elevations of all exterior faces of the building
Several vertical cross sections to indicate clearly the various floor levels
and details of the footings, foundations, wall floors, ceilings, and roof
construction.
Large-scale detail drawings showing such construction details may be
required

Terms Associated With Electrical Drawings

Architectural drawings: working drawings consisting of plans, elevations,
details, and other information necessary for the construction of a building
Block diagram: a single-line diagram used to show electrical equipment
and related connections
Blueprint: an exact copy or reproduction of an original drawing
Detail drawing: an enlarged, detailed view taken from an area of a
drawing and shown in a separate view

Terms Associated With Electrical Drawings

Dimensions: sizes or measurements printed on a drawing
Electrical drawing: a means of conveying a large amount of exact ,
detailed information in an abbreviated language. Consists of lines,
symbols, and notations to accurately convey an engineers design
to electrician who install the electrical system on a job

Terms Associated With Electrical Drawings

Elevation drawing: an architectural drawing showing height, but not
depth, usually the front, rear, and sides of a building or object.
Floor plan: a drawing of building as if a horizontal cut were made
through a building at about window level, and the top portion
removed. The floor plan is what would appear if the remaining
structure were viewed from above
One-line diagram: a drawing that shows by means of lines and
symbols the path of an electrical circuit or system of circuit along with
the various components. It is also called a single-line diagram

Terms Associated With Electrical Drawings

Power Riser diagram: a single-line block diagram used to indicate
the electric service conductors and feeders, and subpanels
Scale: on a drawing, the size relationship between an objects
actual size and the size it is drawn. Scale also refers to the
measuring tools used to determine this relationship
Schedule: a schematic drawing method of presenting equipment
lists on a drawing in tabular form.

Terms associated with Electrical Drawings

Sectional view: a cutaway drawing that shows the inside of an
object or building
Shop drawing: a drawing that is developed by manufacturers,
fabricators, or contractors to show specific dimensions and other
pertinent information concerning a particular piece of equipment
and its installations methods.

Terms associated with Electrical Drawings

Site plan: a drawing showing the location of a building or buildings on
the building site. Such drawings frequently show graphical lines,
electrical and communication lines, water and sewer lines, sidewalks,
driveways, and similar information
Written specifications: a written description of what is required by the
owner architect and engineer in the way of materials and
workmanship. Together with working drawings, the specifications form
the basis of the contract requirements for construction

Drawing Layout
The drawings or blueprints used for building construction projects are
drawn on sheets in various sizes

The drawing sheet has borderlines framing the overall drawing and
one or more title blocks. The types and sizes of title blocks vary
Besides the title block these drawing sheets will also contain the
following blocks:
Revision block
Approval block

Drafting Lines
There are many types of drafting lines. Varying the width of the lines or breaking
the lines in some similar way gives a distinct and specific meaning to each type of
line, thereby contrasting it with other types of lines

Drafting Lines

Electrical Lines

Electrical Symbols
Electricians must be able to correctly read and understand electrical
working drawing which include symbols and how they are used
An electrical symbol is a figure or mark that stands for a component
used in the electrical systems. In some cases the symbols are a
combination of abbreviations and pictographs

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Scale drawings:
Electrical drawing components are so large that it would be impossible to draw them
actual size. For this reason drawings are made to some reduced scale i.e. all the
distances are drawn smaller than the actual dimensions of the object itself, with all
dimension being reduced in the same proportion

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Power plans
The electrical power plan shows the complete floor plan of the building with all
interior partitions drawn to scale. Sometimes, the physical locations of all the
wiring and outlets --- outlets for lighting, power, signal and communications,
special electrical systems and related equipment are shown on the same plan
A power plan includes the following:
key plan
symbol list

floor plan
branch circuit layout for power

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Lighting floor plans
A lighting floor plan shows the outlet symbols found on the drawing for the
building, representing both incandescent and fluorescent types
A circle on most electrical drawings represents an incandescent fixture and a
rectangle represents a fluorescent one

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Electrical details and diagrams
Electrical diagrams are drawings that
are intended to show electrical
components and their related
connections
They show the electrical association of
the different components but are
rarely drawn to scale

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Written specification for a building or project are the written
descriptions of work and duties required of the owner, the
architect, and the consulting engineer
Along with the working drawings these specifications form the basis
of the contract requirements for the construction of the building

Electrical Drawings And Plans

Architectural drawings
working drawings consists of plans , elevations, details, and other information
necessary for the construction of a building
An architectural drawing usually includes
a site plan indicating the location of the building on the property
floor plans showing the walls and partitions for each floor or level

Elevations of all the exterior faces of the building

Several vertical cross sections indicating clearly the various floor levels and details
of the footings, foundations, walls, floors, ceiling, and roof construction
Large-scale detail drawings showing such construction details as may be required

Summary
Electrical drawings are prepared by architects and engineers. These drawings
provide specific instructions to electricians working on a particular job
It is important that an electrician interprets the drawings accurately before
commencing work i.e. before installing conduits, pulling wire or mounting
electrical equipment

 Electrical drawings include a site plan , floor plans, details drawings,

schedules.

detailed information consisting of lines , symbols, and notations is used

to convey an engineers design to electricians
A one-line diagram shows the path of an electrical circuit or system of
circuit along with the various components

 Many types of drafting lines are used to convey specific

meaning such as circuits and their related components

 Electrical symbols-- a combination of abbreviations and pictographs

are used to represent a component used in electrical systems
Electrical drawings are drawn to scale due to the large size of the
components. These drawings are called scale drawings