How to tag mechanical equipment in Revit: AHUs, fans, pumps, and equipment marks

An equipment tag answers one question. Which unit is this? Get it wrong, and the reader looks in the schedule for the wrong row. Revit places the tag, and the tag family and the unit's marks decide what it says.

This guide covers the job in order. You load a tag, give every unit a mark, place the tags, and deal with the plant room. RayCAD tags MEPF drawings inside Revit, and under each step you'll see where the time goes and what RayCAD does about it.

What do you need before you tag equipment?

• A view that shows the equipment. A floor plan or a section, with the Mechanical Equipment category visible in Visibility/Graphics (VG).
• A loaded equipment tag. The category is called Mechanical Equipment Tags.
• Marks on the units. A tag that reads Mark shows nothing useful until each unit has one.

How do you tag equipment in Revit?

1. Load a mechanical equipment tag

1. Go to the Annotate tab and open the drop-down arrow on the Tag panel.
2. Choose Loaded Tags and Symbols.
3. Click Load and browse to a mechanical equipment tag. The tags that ship with Revit sit in the Annotations folder of your Revit library, under Mechanical.
4. Check that the tag name now appears next to Mechanical Equipment Tags, then click OK.

The last tag you load for a category becomes the default. Load your firm's tag last.

2. Give every unit a unique mark

1. Select a unit.
2. In the Properties palette, find Mark under Identity Data.
3. Type the identifier, such as AHU-1, or FCU-2.
4. Repeat for each unit, or fill the Mark column in a mechanical equipment schedule, which sets the same values faster.

Revit warns when two elements in a category hold the same Mark. Treat the warning as real. The schedule and the tags use the mark to tell units apart, and a duplicate sends a tag to the wrong row.

3. Tag one unit with Tag by Category

1. Go to Annotate, Tag, Tag by Category, or type TG.
2. Set the orientation, and turn the leader on or off.
3. Click the unit. The tag appears.
4. Drag the tag to move it. Press Esc twice to leave the command.

Equipment is large and solid. A tag inside a large unit reads well. A tag on a small unit hides it, so put the tag beside the unit and use a leader when the gap is tight.

4. Tag every unit at once with Tag All Not Tagged

1. Open the view. Select the units you want tagged, or select nothing to tag all of them.
2. Go to Annotate, Tag, Tag All.
3. Choose All objects in current view or Only selected objects in current view.
4. Select Mechanical Equipment Tags.
5. Set Leader and Tag Orientation, then click OK.

Tag All skips units that already have a tag, and it runs on the active view only.

What should an equipment tag show?

Most offices show the identifier, such as AHU-1, and the model. Mark gives the identifier. Type Mark or a type parameter gives the model.

1. Select a tag and click Edit Family.
2. Save a copy under a new name.
3. Select the label and click Edit Label.
4. Add Mark for the identifier, and Type Mark or Model for the type. Use Break to put one on its own line.
5. Click Load into Project.

Mark is an instance parameter, so each unit holds its own value. Type Mark is a type parameter, so every unit of that type reads the same. A tag that shows AHU-1 on every unit reads Type Mark by mistake.

How do you tag equipment that is a generic model?

A family built as a generic model belongs to the Generic Models category, and a mechanical equipment tag does not cover it. Load a Generic Model Tag and use it the same way. Wall penetrations and some small plant items are often modelled this way.

What goes wrong with equipment tags?

What else breaks when you tag equipment by hand?

Missed units. A unit without a tag sends the reader to the schedule. RayCAD lists the units it could not place, and why. See how that reduces RFIs.

Model changes. When a unit moves, its tag stays where it was. Select the moved units and RayCAD's Retag tool places their tags again with the same settings.

How does RayCAD tag equipment end to end?

You pick the views. RayCAD finds each unit, decides where its tag goes, places it, and lists anything it could not place. You review the result. A click-saver only makes the clicks faster. Where each tag goes is still your call.

RayCAD recognises 26 kinds of mechanical equipment, so each gets its own tag family and position. The list is AHU, FCU, VAV, fan, RTU, pump, unit heater, chiller, boiler, cooling tower, heat exchanger, ERV, humidifier, VRF indoor and outdoor units, coil, heating coil, switchboard, tank, chilled beam, cassette unit, drip tray, roof cowl, tundish, sensor, and wall penetration. By default, equipment tags stay horizontal, so they read the same way on every unit, whatever its rotation. You can switch to horizontal where possible or to following each unit.

What should you check before you issue the sheet?

• Every unit has a tag, and every mark is unique.
• Tag values match the equipment schedule.
• No tag covers a pipe, a duct, or another tag.
• Section views show the same units as the plan.

It runs on Revit 2021 to 2027. Try RayCAD, or email us for a demo and an onboarding call. The HVAC tagging page covers the ducts and terminals around the equipment.