Avenler

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8. Checks

The program runs several kinds of checks to point out omissions in good time.

The Checks panel

In the floor plan editor, when nothing is selected, the Checks panel is shown on the right. It collects into a single list:

  • the findings of the drawing rules,
  • the findings of the distribution board rules,
  • the warnings of the take-off (e.g. missing price list item),
  • the warnings of the floor links.

Clicking a finding makes the canvas jump to the element; if it is on a hidden layer, the layer becomes visible again. If the drawing has unsaved changes, the panel indicates that it shows the saved state, and it can be recalculated with the Check again button. The check summary on the project page shows the findings for the whole project.

The Lighting rule (VILAGITAS_ALACSONY) warns when a room's calculated illuminance is below the target lux; the Lighting tab of Reports and the lighting sheet of the plan package show, per room, the target, the calculated lux and the required number of luminaires. Without luminous-flux data for the luminaire the room is not flagged.

In an NEC (US) project the Checks panel also runs the US rules (NEC_ codes: GFCI, AFCI, 20 A circuits, receptacle spacing, load center), some of them with a fix button. The NEC mode is beta, and the findings are an aid, not a permit decision; see the Designing to the NEC chapter.

Findings tied to an element also get a marker on the drawing: a small circle at the element (red for errors, orange for warnings, blue for info). Click a marker to open a bubble with the findings; if a fix is possible with one click, a fix button appears too, along with the Details button. A fix can be undone (Ctrl+Z). With unsaved changes the marker is faint (as of the last saved state). The Check markers layer can be switched in the Layers menu; markers do not appear in print or export.

Muting a finding

If a finding is acceptable in your situation (for example a deliberate solution), mute it with the Mute button and give a reason (3–500 characters); only people who can edit the project can do this. Muted findings stay visible in the Muted group of the Check panel with the reason and who muted them, and can be restored with Unmute; if the problem has since disappeared, the mute is marked Outdated. Mutes are kept in revision snapshots, and the Check register sheet of the plan package lists open errors and muted findings with reason, name and date. Muting is the designer's decision and responsibility.

Setting the drawing rules

On the Check rules page:

  • Fixed (physical) rules: device without a circuit, non-existent circuit, empty circuit, circuit without a distribution board, system mismatch.
  • Adjustable rules: cable route without a circuit, unconnected cable route, device outside a room, too many socket-outlets on one circuit (the limit is adjustable), unprotected socket-outlet in the bathroom, socket-outlet or switch in the zone of the bath and the shower tray (see Bathroom zones).
  • High-power load on a shared circuit: A high-power load (EV charger, cooker, hob, oven, water heater, air conditioner, heat pump, three-phase socket-outlet…, from 1000 W) shares a circuit with other devices; it should have a circuit of its own. (KOR_NAGY_FOGYASZTO)
  • Room minimums: the kind of room is given by its name, by keyword (e.g. “kitchen”); for the keyword, the minimum number of socket-outlets, luminaires and switches can be given. The table can be edited. The defaults know the words of all 44 interface languages (e.g. “konyha”, “Küche”, “kitchen”, “kuchnia”), independently of upper and lower case and accents; in your own rows you can also give keywords in several languages, separated by commas (at most 40 per row). The bathroom rule and the room template suggestion use the same words.
  • The Defaults button restores the original settings.

The minimum counts per room are practical recommendations, not requirements of a standard; the page says so as well. The check helps, but it does not replace the designer's responsibility.

Bathroom zones

Around the bath and the shower tray (see the Furnishings section in the Floor plan chapter), the check calculates zones:

  • Zone 0–1: above the area of the bath or the tray, up to the zone height (2250 mm from the floor by default). A socket-outlet or switch here gives an error (FURDO_ZONA_1).
  • Zone 2: the strip around the bath or the tray (600 mm by default). A socket-outlet here gives a warning (FURDO_ZONA_2); a switch here is not flagged.
  • Only equipment in the same room counts (the wall limits the zone). The program takes the mounting height into account: a socket-outlet or switch mounted higher than the zone height is not in the zone.
  • The zones are drawn on the canvas by the Bathroom zones layer (orange dashed outline and faint shading; only visible in the editor, not in printing or DXF).
  • The width of zone 2 and the height of the zones can be set on the Check rules page; the two rules can also be switched off, and their severity can be changed.

Important: the zone dimensions and what may be installed in the zones may depend on the edition of the standard (MSZ HD 60364-7-701). The program's default values (600 and 2250 mm) should be checked against the text of the standard; the rules are aids, not a declaration of conformity. The program does not know the SELV and shaver socket-outlet exceptions: in such cases, switch off the rule or move the equipment.

A typical check round

  1. Switch on the Color by circuit button: elements without a circuit stand out from the colored ones.
  2. Open the Checks panel and go through the findings (click = jump to the element).
  3. Fix them, save the drawing, and check again with the Check again button.
  4. In the distribution board designer, the distribution board's own check runs in the same way (see the Distribution boards, single-line diagram and sizing chapter).

Which country's standard the program refers to

The program refers to the standards of the country of the project's symbol set (you choose the symbol set in the project settings). Its calculation is based on the IEC 60364 family of standards; where a country has its own rule that the program does not follow, it says so next to the reference. The references are informative and not a declaration of conformity: the text of a standard must be obtained from its publisher, and the designer must check the design against the regulations in force. You can find the references for all countries on the Standards page.

"Standard changed" finding

If the status of a standard cited for the country of the project's symbol set changed within the last two years (it was superseded, withdrawn, or its successor takes effect soon), the Checks panel shows a project-level Info finding, Standard changed, with the successor's designation and the end of validity. The operator may also send a targeted notice to project owners and active editors. This is informational only: the program's calculation and checks do not switch to the new edition automatically, and verifying the edition in force is the designer's responsibility. If you do not want to see it, mute it with the Mute button (a reason is required), or switch the rule off or change its severity in the drawing rules.

Measurement record

On the project page, in the Measurement records group, the Open records button lets you prepare an inspection measurement record. New record pre-fills the rows from the design's circuits (protection, RCD, expected values); per row you can enter the visual check, insulation resistance, loop impedance, fault current and the measured RCD values, and in the header the instruments used and the details of the person measuring.

  • The Rating column compares the measured value with the program's indicative limit (insulation; loop impedance against the calculated maximum, without temperature correction). For RCD values and continuity the program only shows the expected value, without a verdict. In the NEC market the rating does not apply; measured values can still be recorded.
  • If the design has changed since the record was created, the sheet says so; the Refresh rows button brings the rows up to date. A circuit deleted from the design is marked "Removed".
  • The project owner and editors can edit; only the owner can close and reopen a record; viewers can only look at it. Printing is a separate sheet of the plan package; a record that is not closed gets a "DRAFT" watermark.
  • The name, qualification number and company of the person measuring are part of the project: they are deleted with the project and are included in the data export.

Important: the limits are indicative; the program does not know the conditions on site and does not replace the statutory inspection. The inspection finding and the signature belong to the authorised professional who carried out the measurement; the program's rating is not a declaration of conformity.