Lighting in Floor Base

[Grumple]

Ok...

Do you HAVE to add ceilings to everywhere you want to have a 'ceiling' light???

Is there no way of just adding lighing to the base of a floor (as would be done in any normal residential situation)???

It seems such a task to have to go round every room and 'fake' a layer of plaster on the floor base by adding a ceiling.

Thanks

[saeborne]

A light fixture may be hosted on many different types of objects. They do not all have to be ceilings. A common example would be a sconce fixture, which is hosted on a wall, not a ceiling.

As you create a new light fixture family component, simply start with the template titled "Lighting Fixture wall based.rft." That should get you started.

Cheers,

Bryan

[douggodfrey]

If you are trying to get a functional lighting fixture for rendering purposes than you will need a ceiling for a ceiling hosted fixture. If you are only trying to do a lighting plan like ACAD, create drafting view groups. It goes against the grain of what Revit tries to be but i just went through that and it saved a lot of time.

[Grumple]

I was just hoping there was someway of editing the lighting component ot the floor component to be able to place a light in the base of a floor... as in real life : |

Seems awkward to keep having to use a totally independent ceiling object...

[cporter.207875]

Possibly the easiest solution: Create an unhosted light fixture so that it can be placed anywhere. This does not work very well for recessed fixtures.

More difficult, but I find this one the most productive: In your house model have your floor be comprised of floor finish, substrate, and structure. Create ceilings to be only the substrate and finish. In section join geometry of floor and ceiling, and now you have a model that is modeled fairly accurately and logically. Then you can use the ceiling mounted fixtures without trouble.

[aaronrumple]

Seems awkward to keep having to use a totally independent ceiling object...

As noted - make all your base fixtures unhosted. Then they can be placed anywhere. Should you want to use it as a hosted fixture later - you can nest it in another famliy as a hosted object. There you can create opening and voids in the host. working this way give you the most flexibility out of your objects as they can eventually be hosted in any surface. going from unhosted to hosted is simple. Going from hosted to unhosted is hard.

[twiceroadsfool]

Aaron (the other aaron) is spot on. We build all of our fixtures that way. First a loose family, THEN a hosted. Then if we need it sans ceiling, we already have it.

It also makes constraining hosted elements WAY easier, when you can align and lock the entire nested family...

[Grumple]

Should you want to use it as a hosted fixture later - you can nest it in another famliy as a hosted object. There you can create opening and voids in the host.

Okie dokie... Starting to feel stupid...

So... I create a light fixture as a free floating 'generic object'? Then host that object in an existing light fixture? Then void out the exisitng light fixture? : |

Would that not still limit me to hosting in ceilings? : |

How do you create something that hosts in any surface? : |

Confused... My bad : |

[Scott Womack]

You create the light fixture not hosted, period. Then you can nest that fixture once created in a ceiling hosted empty Light fixture family, or in an empty face-based light fixture family, as needed.

[cporter.207875]

jayc,

The point here with the many posts is that you can create an unhosted fixture to solve your current problem: placing a light at the base of a "floor." In the future, if you need that unhosted fixture to be hosted (as opposed to free floating), you can then nest it within a "hosted fixture family."

Hosted light fixture families can only host to ceilings and walls, as far as i know. Therefore, your current situation calls for an unhosted fixture.

Downside: if you intend to recess the fixture in the base of the floor, you will have to cut a void out of the respective floor prior to placing the light fixture, since the floor will not recognize the unhosted fixture.

Make sense?

[aaronrumple]

Hosted light fixture families can only host to ceilings and walls, as far as i know. Therefore, your current situation calls for an unhosted fixture.

Downside: if you intend to recess the fixture in the base of the floor, you will have to cut a void out of the respective floor prior to placing the light fixture, since the floor will not recognize the unhosted fixture.

Make sense?

Once you have a non-hosted fixture - it can indeed be hosted inbto a floor. Just start a generic floor hosted family. Cut your viods as needed. Switch the family to a light family. (Settings > Family Category and Parameters) Then load and nest the non-hosted family.

So yes - a light can be hosted to other items than just a ceiling or wall. It in fact can be hosted to any plane using the correct template.

[cporter.207875]

Thx Aaron, that's good to know.

[twiceroadsfool]

Speaking of Aarons (other aarons) post on changing the family catagory: Everyone should just be aware of the one caveat of this method:

Decide how your Light schedule will work, ahead of time. If youre NON hosted fixture gets loaded in to the hosted LIGHT fixture, then youll probably want your HOSTED fixture to be the one that schedules. (Non hosted = unshared).

If you nest it in the generic floor WITHOUT changing the cat, it needs to be shared. But if you change it as aaron said, it doesnt.

Im just reiterating, have that planned out ahead of time... or you may end up with the shared loose family in the hosted family, and have both in the schedules...

[Grumple]

Hosted light fixture families can only host to ceilings and walls, as far as i know. Therefore, your current situation calls for an unhosted fixture.

Downside: if you intend to recess the fixture in the base of the floor, you will have to cut a void out of the respective floor prior to placing the light fixture, since the floor will not recognize the unhosted fixture.

Make sense?

Ok that makes sense... Cheers!

But I still think this is a pain in the @*!... I'm sure it wouldn't take a Revit programmer too much time to simply change floors to a family that can host lights : |

Oh well... Thanks for all input : )

[Grumple]

So yes - a light can be hosted to other items than just a ceiling or wall. It in fact can be hosted to any plane using the correct template.

Ooo... I'll get looking into that! : )

[patricks]

Ok that makes sense... Cheers!

But I still think this is a pain in the @*!... I'm sure it wouldn't take a Revit programmer too much time to simply change floors to a family that can host lights : |

Oh well... Thanks for all input : )

Yes, I'm pretty sure that would be a HUGE change to Revit's programming, as families are made with specific templates to host to specific objects.

I would just create the light fixture using the un-hosted light fixture template, and then nest that into a generic face-based template so the light can be hosted to anything - even a stair tread or riser if you wanted to :p

Just make sure to either change the generic template's category to light fixture, or share the light fixture family when nesting it into the face-based template.

[Grumple]

Thanks Patricks!