Trying to use IF statement with calculation?

[tzframpton]

I was hoping to get this working but am coming up empty. And I'm wondering why in Revit a Conditional Statement cannot contain non-numeric parameter names? It seems if this were true my formula would work just fine.

 

Anyways, what I'm trying to do is have an if() condition for calculating the VA based on the number of poles on an electrical connector. The basic syntax is like this:

 

IF (, , )

 

When I type out this formula in Revit, it doesn't work. Which is weird because if I change the parameter name in the Condition to a numeric value, it doesn't break and it calculates. But the formulas in the two results statements do have non-numeric parameter names. Here's the parameters followed by the formula:

 

Parameters:

• Number of Poles
  
• Voltage
  
• FLA
  

Conditional Statement:

if(Number of Poles = 3, (Voltage * FLA * 1.73) / 3, (Voltage * FLA))

 

I'm hoping someone can shine some light on this. I know it's in the MEP forum but I think this isn't "MEP Specific". I'm wanting to expand this formula into a conditional statement for further efficiency and accuracy in our mechanical family standards.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Lee Roy]

I tried and my problem was with the "FLA" parameter. I'm guessing your parameter is "Electrical->Current". I wasn't finding any field that would allow Power*Current; Wattage should've worked, but it's not.

 

I keep getting "Inconsistent Units".

[tzframpton]

You are correct, I have the FLA parameter set as Discipline > Current so the units read as Amperes. This way the formula calculates correctly for the VA.

 

So I found a workaround, but with a small sacrifice. If I change the hard coded Electrical "Number of Poles" Parameter to a Common > Integer Parameter, the formula works just fine. The only caveat, is that now I can't associate the Number of Poles on the Connector Element with the parameter, since it can only associates with the hard coded Electrical Parameter. But I can live with that, since the formula is more important and once an equipment is set at single or three phase, then that's it from here on out.

[Lee Roy]

So what type parameter is the formula in?

 

I had:

Number of Poles : Common->Integer

Voltage : Electrical->Power

FLA : Electrical->Current

 

But I couldn't find a parameter type that would accept the formula.

[tzframpton]

Here's the Family for reference: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4989089/Trane%20Chiller%20CTV-1.rfa

 

Refer to each Electrical - Loads Parameters to dissect the method that my co-worker and I figured out. Let me know if this helps clarify.