On a CAD drawing, a sprinkler layout is a layer of circles scattered over the ceiling plan and a few polylines running between them. Counting heads means counting by hand. Drop the ceiling a little and nobody knows which pipe now runs into a beam.
This article shows how to model sprinklers in Revit so that none of that happens: a head is an object with a connector, the pipe that reaches it joins a named system, and a schedule recounts every time the model changes. Fifteen steps on Revit 2027, each one saying what to click and what appears. To learn plumbing, HVAC and fire protection on one sample building, see the Institute's Revit MEP course.
What Revit models and what it does not calculate
Revit builds geometry and keeps data; it does not do the hydraulic calculation for a fire protection system. The Autodesk Place Sprinklers page says it plainly: "Revit does not automatically calculate parameters to determine the size and type of sprinklers for your systems".
| Task | Revit 2027 |
|---|---|
| Place heads hosted on a ceiling, keeping their elevation when the ceiling moves | yes |
| Draw pipe with elbows, tees and couplings generated from the pipe type | yes |
| Group heads and pipe into a named system that can be counted | yes |
| Clash the fire main against beams and ductwork | yes |
| Calculate flow and pressure loss for the system | no |
| Pick pipe sizes or head sizes from the area covered | no |
The model only records a layout that has already been designed. Spacing, pipe sizes, flow and pressure belong to the designer, under the codes in force and the approved submission.
The file to follow along with
This article uses the exercise file described in Revit MEP sample files: a copy of the Institute's fire protection template linked to the Snowdon Towers model shipped in the Samples folder of Revit 2027. The work happens on level L3, a typical apartment floor with ceilings in the rooms and in the corridor.
The template already carries what the article needs. The hosted head family M_Sprinkler - Pendent - Hosted, plus dry and upright variants. The pipe type Steel Pipe(Tee). A system type named SPRINKLER whose abbreviation is FF. Valves including FP-Accessory-ButterflyValve, Check_Valve-Metraflex-Foot_Valve and FF-Equipment-HoseValve. With another template, swap in equivalent families or load more from Insert › Load Autodesk Family.
Placing a revit sprinkler on the ceiling
A pendent head sits on a ceiling, so open a ceiling plan rather than a floor plan.
Step 1. In the Project Browser, open Ceiling Plans › L3. The reflected ceiling plan shows the ceiling grid of the linked architectural model, which is how you see where a ceiling exists.
Step 2. Click Systems › Plumbing & Piping › Sprinkler, or type the shortcut SK. If no head family is loaded, Revit offers to load one there and then.
Step 3. Open the Type Selector at the top of the Properties palette, type 15 mm Pendent in the search box and pick M_Sprinkler - Pendent - Hosted : 15 mm Pendent.
Step 4. On the Modify | Place Sprinkler tab, in the Placement panel, click Place on Face. This is where people get stuck: leave it on Place on Vertical Face and Revit looks for a vertical surface, so clicking in the middle of a room does nothing.
Step 5. Move the cursor into the room. Revit previews the head and writes the elevation it will take in Elevation from Level — 2400 in this apartment, the ceiling face. Click to place, then carry on following the layout on the drawing.
Where there is no ceiling Revit finds no face to host on: Elevation from Level jumps to an odd number and the preview disappears. Use an upright head there, or Place on Work Plane and set the elevation yourself.
Creating the fire protection wet system and choosing a pipe type
With the heads placed, System Type in Properties still reads Undefined: they belong to no system. There are two ways in.
Step 6. Select the heads, then click Modify | Sprinklers › Create Systems › Piping. The Create Piping System dialog opens: choose a System type (Fire Protection Wet by default; the Institute template adds one named SPRINKLER), edit System name if you wish, click OK.
The second way is quicker: skip this step and simply pipe up to the heads. As soon as a pipe reaches a connector, Revit files the head into the system of that pipe, using the pipe's System Type.
Step 7. Start Systems › Plumbing & Piping › Pipe (shortcut PI). Choose the pipe type in the Type Selector, then set three things in Properties: System Type, Middle Elevation (centreline height above the level) and Diameter. The 2027 release removed the Options Bar, so these controls live in Properties and on the ribbon.
Running mains, branches and drops
Step 8. Draw the main along the corridor: click the start point, click the end point, press Esc twice.
Step 9. Draw the branch: start the Pipe command again, lower the Diameter, and click the first point on the main itself. Revit inserts a tee where you clicked. Click the end point inside the room and press Esc.
Step 10. Connect each head with a short run: click the start point on the branch, then click the centre of the head. Revit drops a vertical piece down to the head elevation and plugs it into the connector.
Step 11. A head sitting directly under a pipe cannot be reached with a horizontal run, because both points coincide in plan. Select the head, click Modify | Sprinklers › Layout › Connect Into, the cursor gains a plus sign, then click the pipe.
Step 12. For a riser: start the Pipe command, click a point at the end of the main, change Middle Elevation to the level above or below, then click Create Riser in the Placement Tools panel. That button is new in the 2027 release.
Step 13. For a valve: click Systems › Plumbing & Piping › Pipe Accessory (shortcut PA), pick a type in the Type Selector and click on the pipe. The valve breaks the pipe and joins both ends. Match the valve size to the pipe, otherwise Revit has to add reducers.
Checking the system and building a sprinkler schedule
Step 14. Open the System Browser with F9. The Piping branch lists the new system and everything in it. Unassigned must read 0: anything left there is not connected to a system.
Systems, parent and child systems and where orphaned parts hide are covered in systems in Revit MEP.
Step 15. Build the count: View › Create › Schedules › Schedule/Quantities. In the New Schedule dialog, type Sprinkler into Category name search, pick Sprinklers and click OK.
Schedule Properties opens on the Fields tab. Type a field name into Parameter Name Search, select it and click the green arrow to move it into Scheduled fields (in order): Family and Type, System Name, Count. On the Sorting/Grouping tab clear Itemize every instance, tick Grand totals and click OK.
The schedule lives with the model: add or remove a head and the number changes. Exporting to Excel is covered in schedules in Revit.
From a fire protection cad library to Revit content
People coming from CAD look for a fire protection cad library or a set of head symbols to drop into the drawing. Revit has no blocks: each item on the old drawing maps to a kind of object that carries data.
| On the CAD drawing | In Revit 2027 |
|---|---|
| A circle block for the head | A family in the Sprinklers category, with a connector and a real elevation |
| Double-line polylines for pipe | Pipe of a pipe type, with size, elevation and a system |
| A valve block | A Pipe Accessory that breaks the pipe and joins both ends |
| A schedule typed by hand | A schedule that recounts whenever the model changes |
The old drawing is still useful: Insert › Link CAD brings it in as an underlay to place heads over. Building pipe types for steel, uPVC or PPR in metric sizes is covered in pipe types in Revit.
When it does not behave
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Clicking places no head at all | Placement is on Place on Vertical Face, or there is no ceiling there | Click Place on Face; with no ceiling use an upright head or Place on Work Plane |
| The head sits at the wrong height | The family is not face based | Edit Elevation from Level, or use a hosted family |
| "There was not enough room to place the required fittings" | Two connections too close together for a tee or elbow | Move the head, or connect further along the pipe |
| Connect Into runs a sloping piece of pipe | The projection lands near an open end, so Revit ties into that end | Extend the branch past the head and connect again |
| A head stays under Unassigned | The pipe only touches the head geometrically | Redraw to the centre of the head, or use Connect Into |
| Moving the link warns "The family is connected in a network and can no longer keep the connectivity" | Heads are hosted on the linked ceiling, so moving the link breaks them | Click Cancel to abandon the move; to move it for real, accept Disconnect and reconnect afterwards |
Three things people get wrong about revit sprinkler models
| What you hear | What the 2027 release does |
|---|---|
| Draw the pipe and Revit works out flow and sizes for the fire system | No. Autodesk states that it does not calculate head size or type; the system only holds what you enter |
| You must create the system before you may draw pipe | Not required. Piping into a head files it into the system of that pipe |
| Size and elevation are typed on the Options Bar | The Options Bar is gone in 2027; size, elevation and slope are in Properties and on the ribbon |
One more point that gets missed: colour and line weight belong to the system type, not to individual pipes. Edit Graphic Overrides in the Type Properties of the system type and every pipe follows, in every view — see colouring pipes by system.
That is how to model sprinklers in Revit for a typical floor. Valve sets and pumps are in the fire pump room in Revit; detectors, pull stations and alarm circuits are in fire alarm systems in Revit.
Frequently asked questions
Which category do sprinklers belong to?
Sprinklers, reached from Systems › Plumbing & Piping › Sprinkler, shortcut SK. With no family loaded, use Insert › Load Family or Load Autodesk Family.
Place the heads first or draw pipe first?
Heads first is easier: the pipe snaps onto their connectors. Pipe first works too, but you then need Connect Into.
How do I find heads that are not on a system?
Open the System Browser with F9 and look at Unassigned. Everything that belongs to no system is listed there.
Does Revit calculate flow and pressure for a fire protection wet system?
No. Those numbers come from a separate calculation, under the codes in force and the approved submission.
What is the quickest way to count heads?
A schedule of the Sprinklers category with Family and Type, System Name and Count, with Itemize every instance cleared and Grand totals ticked.