Simulation

Beta

Simulation is still in Beta. Not all cases are covered yet. We’re continuously improving the simulation engine to handle more complex scenarios.

What is Circuit Simulation?

Circuit simulation in Elecplanner brings your electrical diagrams to life. Instead of just drawing static plans, you can test your circuits interactively to verify they work correctly before any real-world installation begins. The simulation calculates electrical states throughout your circuit, shows power flow, and lets you interact with components like switches and circuit breakers in real-time.

Think of it as a virtual electrical testing environment where you can:

• Toggle switches and see lights respond
• Turn circuit breakers on and off
• Observe power flow through wires
• Verify all components are wired correctly
• Catch wiring mistakes before construction
• Test complex switching scenarios

Why Use Simulation?

Catch Errors Early

• Find wiring mistakes before installation
• Verify circuit logic works as intended
• Test complex scenarios like three-way switching
• Identify disconnected components or incomplete circuits

Save Time and Money

• Reduce installation errors that require rework
• Validate designs before purchasing materials
• Train installers with accurate circuit behavior
• Document expected behavior for troubleshooting

Build Confidence

• See your circuits work before committing to installation
• Test edge cases and unusual scenarios
• Verify safety with grounding and protection checks
• Learn electrical concepts through interactive experimentation

Starting and Stopping Simulation

How to Start Simulation

Method 1: Toolbar Button

1. Click the “Start Simulation” button in the top toolbar
2. Look for the button with the Play icon (▶)
3. The button changes to show “Stop Simulation” when active

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut (if available)

• Press S to toggle simulation on/off

What Happens When Simulation Starts

When you start simulation:

1. Circuit Analysis

   • Elecplanner analyzes your entire circuit
   • Builds a graph of all components and connections
   • Validates the circuit configuration
   • Identifies potential issues

2. State Initialization

   • All components are initialized to their default states
   • Circuit breakers start in “ON” position
   • Switches start in “Position 1”
   • Electrical panels provide power

3. Simulation Begins

   • Electrical states are calculated
   • Power flows through wires
   • Components respond to their inputs
   • Visual feedback appears

4. Interface Changes

   • Components become interactive (clickable)
   • Wire path editing is disabled
   • Simulation button shows “Stop Simulation”
   • Visual effects appear on powered components

How to Stop Simulation

To exit simulation mode:

1. Click the “Stop Simulation” button in the toolbar
2. Or press S again (if keyboard shortcuts are enabled)
3. The circuit returns to editing mode
4. All components return to their default appearance

Understanding Electrical States

During simulation, every terminal in your circuit has an electrical state. These states determine how electricity flows and which components are powered.

The Four Electrical States

HIGH (Powered/Live)

• Meaning: Terminal is receiving active power
• Source: Connected to a live circuit breaker output or phase terminal
• Visual: Components connected to HIGH terminals operate (lights glow, etc.)
• Real-world: Like touching a live wire (don’t actually do this!)
• Priority: Highest (overrides all other states)

LOW (Connected but not Powered)

• Meaning: Terminal is connected to the return path or neutral
• Source: Connected to neutral bus or switched-off output
• Visual: No special indication, just part of circuit path
• Real-world: Like the neutral wire in an outlet
• Priority: Second highest (overrides GROUND and FLOATING)

GROUND (Earth Connection)

• Meaning: Terminal is connected to protective earth/ground
• Source: Connected to ground bus or grounding system
• Visual: No special indication (safety connection)
• Real-world: Green/yellow wire, safety grounding
• Priority: Third highest (overrides FLOATING only)

FLOATING (Unconnected)

• Meaning: Terminal has no electrical connection
• Source: Not wired to anything
• Visual: Components don’t work if critical terminals are floating
• Real-world: Like a disconnected wire
• Priority: Lowest (any other state overrides it)

State Priority and Propagation

When wires connect terminals with different states, the highest priority state propagates to all connected terminals:

Priority Order:

HIGH > LOW > GROUND > FLOATING

Examples:

Example 1: HIGH meets LOW

• Terminal A: HIGH
• Terminal B: LOW
• Wire connects them
• Result: Both become HIGH (highest priority wins)

Example 2: LOW meets GROUND

• Terminal A: LOW
• Terminal B: GROUND
• Wire connects them
• Result: Both become LOW (higher priority)

Example 3: Multiple States in Wago Connector

• T0: HIGH
• T1: LOW
• T2: GROUND
• T3: FLOATING
• Result: All terminals become HIGH (highest priority)

This is how Elecplanner determines what happens when you connect different parts of your circuit!

Interactive Components During Simulation

Many components in your circuit become interactive during simulation. You can click them to change their state and observe how the circuit responds.

Circuit Breakers

How to Interact:

• Click on the circuit breaker to toggle ON/OFF
• ON (default): Power flows through to connected circuits
• OFF: Power is cut, all downstream devices stop working

Visual Feedback:

• ON: Normal appearance, power flows
• OFF: Visual indication of disabled state

What to Test:

• Turn breaker off, verify downstream circuits lose power
• Turn back on, verify power is restored
• Ensure only intended circuits are affected

Switches (Single and Double)

How to Interact:

• Click on the switch body to toggle positions
• Position 1 (default): Connects L terminals to 1 terminals
• Position 2: Connects L terminals to 2 terminals

Visual Feedback:

• Position 1: Normal color
• Position 2: Green color indicates switched state

What to Test:

• Toggle switch, observe which circuits receive power
• Test two-way switching (control between two devices)
• Verify lights or outlets respond correctly

Differential Switches (RCD/GFCI)

How to Interact:

• Click to toggle ON/OFF
• ON (default): Power flows, ground fault protection active
• OFF: Power cut, simulates tripped state

Visual Feedback:

• ON: Normal operation
• OFF: Visual indication of tripped/off state

What to Test:

• Turn off to simulate ground fault trip
• Verify all protected circuits lose power
• Test reset behavior

Lights

Automatic Response:

• Lights automatically turn on when properly powered
• No clicking needed - purely responsive

Visual Feedback:

• ON: Glowing/bright effect when P=HIGH and N=LOW
• OFF: Normal appearance, no glow

What It Shows:

• Proper wiring verification
• Switch control working correctly
• Circuit breaker state
• Complete circuit path

Heaters

Automatic Response:

• Heaters automatically operate when powered
• No user interaction needed

Visual Feedback:

• ON: Animated heat wave effect from coils
• OFF: Static appearance, no animation

What It Shows:

• L=HIGH and N=LOW (proper power)
• Thermostat or switch control working
• Circuit breaker providing power

Outlets

Automatic Response:

• Outlets show powered state automatically
• Currently no visual indication (future feature)

What It Shows:

• Whether the outlet is receiving power
• Ground connection status (validated)
• Circuit breaker control

Visual Feedback During Simulation

Simulation mode provides rich visual feedback to help you understand your circuit behavior.

Component States

Active/Powered Components:

• Lights: Glowing effect
• Heaters: Animated heat waves
• Switches in Position 2: Green color
• Circuit breakers: State indication

Inactive/Unpowered Components:

• Standard appearance
• No special effects
• Normal colors

Wire States

Currently, wires don’t show different colors based on electrical state, but this is a potential future enhancement. For now, you can trace power flow by observing which components are active.

Simulation Insights Panel

While simulating, Elecplanner may show:

• Warnings about circuit issues
• Errors preventing proper simulation
• Information about circuit behavior
• Safety concerns requiring attention

Circuit Validation and Warnings

When you start simulation, Elecplanner validates your circuit and reports any issues.

Automatic Validation Checks

Power Source Validation

What it checks:

• At least one electrical panel exists
• No more than one electrical panel (multiple sources = hazard)

Possible Warnings:

• “No active power source in the circuit”
• “Multiple active power sources detected - potential hazard”

How to Fix:

• Add an Electrical Panel component
• Or remove extra electrical panels

Circuit Breaker Validation

What it checks:

• Electrical panel has at least one circuit breaker
• Circuits are protected by breakers

Possible Warnings:

• “Circuit has no circuit breaker - safety hazard”

How to Fix:

• Add circuit breakers to your electrical panel
• Connect circuits through breakers, not directly

Grounding Validation

What it checks:

• All outlets have ground connections
• Ground terminals are properly wired

Possible Warnings:

• “Outlet [ID] is not properly grounded - safety hazard”

How to Fix:

• Connect outlet PE (ground) terminal to ground bus
• Verify ground wire continuity

Disconnected Components

What it checks:

• All components have at least one wire connection
• No isolated/floating components

Possible Warnings:

• “Node [ID] ([type]) is disconnected from the circuit”

How to Fix:

• Connect component to circuit with wires
• Or remove component if not needed

Future Validation Checks (Planned)

The simulation engine will eventually check for:

• Short circuits: HIGH and LOW directly connected
• Overcurrent: Too much current for wire gauge
• Voltage drop: Long wire runs causing voltage loss
• Ground faults: Ground and phase connected
• Reverse polarity: Hot and neutral swapped
• Open circuits: Incomplete circuit paths

How Simulation Works (Technical Overview)

Understanding how simulation works helps you troubleshoot issues and design better circuits.

The Simulation Loop

When simulation runs, Elecplanner performs these steps continuously:

Step 1: Build Circuit Graph

• Convert components and wires into a mathematical graph
• Each component becomes a node
• Each wire becomes a connection
• Terminals store their electrical state

Step 2: Initialize States

• Set component states to defaults (breakers ON, switches Position 1)
• Set terminal states to FLOATING initially
• Apply any user changes (clicked switches, toggled breakers)

Step 3: Validate Circuit

• Run all validation checks
• Generate warnings for issues
• Proceed with simulation even if warnings exist

Step 4: Propagate Electrical States

• For each wire connection:
  • Compare states of both terminals
  • Apply highest priority state to both
  • Repeat for all connections
• This spreads electrical states through wires

Step 5: Update Components

• Each component examines its terminal states
• Components calculate their internal state
• Components set their output terminal states
• Example: Light checks if P=HIGH and N=LOW, then turns ON

Step 6: Check Stability

• Compare current states to previous iteration
• If unchanged, circuit is stable (done!)
• If changed, repeat from Step 4
• Maximum 100 iterations to prevent infinite loops

Step 7: Display Results

• Update component visuals
• Show warnings in UI
• Enable interactive controls

Why Iteration Matters

Some circuits need multiple iterations to stabilize:

Example: Series Circuit

Circuit Breaker → Switch → Light → Neutral

Iteration 1:

• Breaker outputs HIGH
• Switch input sees HIGH
• Switch output still FLOATING

Iteration 2:

• Switch output now HIGH
• Light input sees HIGH
• Light output still FLOATING

Iteration 3:

• Light sees HIGH on P, LOW on N
• Circuit is complete
• States stabilize

Complex circuits with many components may need more iterations!

Testing Your Circuits

Simulation is most useful when you actively test your circuits. Here are scenarios to try:

Basic Functionality Tests

Test 1: Simple Light Circuit

1. Start simulation
2. Verify light turns on automatically
3. Click circuit breaker OFF
4. Verify light turns off
5. Click breaker back ON
6. Verify light turns back on

Test 2: Switched Light

1. Start simulation
2. Light should be off (switch Position 2)
3. Click switch to Position 1
4. Verify light turns on
5. Toggle switch again
6. Verify light turns off

Test 3: Multiple Lights on One Switch

1. Start simulation
2. Toggle switch
3. Verify all lights respond together
4. Check that no lights are left on when switch is off

Advanced Tests

Test 4: Three-Way Switching

1. Start simulation
2. Toggle first switch
3. Observe light state
4. Toggle second switch
5. Observe light state changes
6. Try all four combinations of switch positions

Test 5: Circuit Breaker Protection

1. Multiple circuits from one panel
2. Turn off one breaker
3. Verify only that circuit loses power
4. Verify other circuits still work

Test 6: Outlet Grounding

1. Start simulation
2. Check for grounding warnings
3. Verify all outlets are grounded
4. Fix any that aren’t

Test 7: Differential Switch Protection

1. Circuit protected by differential switch
2. Turn off differential switch
3. Verify entire protected circuit loses power
4. Turn back on
5. Verify power is restored

Stress Tests

Test 8: Maximum Load

1. Many devices on one circuit breaker
2. Start simulation
3. Verify all devices receive power
4. Check for overcurrent warnings (when implemented)

Test 9: Complex Switching

1. Multiple switches controlling multiple loads
2. Test every switch combination
3. Verify no unexpected behavior
4. Document the switching logic

Troubleshooting Simulation Issues

Simulation Won’t Start

Problem: Clicking “Start Simulation” does nothing or shows error

Possible Causes:

• No electrical panel in circuit
• Multiple electrical panels (not allowed)
• Critical component configuration error

Solutions:

• Add exactly one Electrical Panel component
• Check for duplicate electrical panels
• Verify all components are properly configured
• Check browser console for errors

Component Doesn’t Respond to Clicks

Problem: Clicking switch/breaker during simulation has no effect

Possible Causes:

• Not clicking directly on component body
• Simulation is processing (brief delay)
• Component is not clickable during simulation (by design)

Solutions:

• Click directly on the component’s main body
• Wait a moment and try again
• Verify component type supports interaction

Light Won’t Turn On

Problem: Light appears off even when it should be on

Check:

• Is circuit breaker ON?
• Is switch in correct position?
• Is wire actually connected to Phase terminal?
• Is neutral wire connected?
• Is circuit path complete?

Solutions:

• Toggle circuit breaker
• Toggle switch to Position 1
• Verify wire connections at terminals
• Trace complete circuit: Breaker → Switch → Light → Neutral → Panel

Everything Shows As Disconnected

Problem: All components show “disconnected” warning

Cause:

• No electrical panel, or
• Panel not connected to any circuit breakers, or
• Breakers not connected to any devices

Solutions:

• Add Electrical Panel
• Add circuit breakers to panel
• Wire from breakers to devices
• Ensure complete circuit paths

Simulation Shows “Processing…” Forever

Problem: Simulation gets stuck processing

Cause:

• Circuit configuration causes infinite loop
• Very complex circuit taking long time
• Browser performance issue

Solutions:

• Stop and restart simulation
• Simplify circuit temporarily to isolate issue
• Check for unusual wire configurations
• Reload page if necessary

Warnings Appear But Circuit Works

Problem: Simulation shows warnings but everything seems to work

Explanation:

• Warnings are informational, not blocking
• They highlight safety concerns or potential issues
• Circuit can simulate even with warnings

Action:

• Review warnings carefully
• Fix safety issues (especially grounding)
• Understand the warning implications
• In real installation, these must be addressed!

Best Practices for Simulation

Before Starting Simulation

1. Complete Your Wiring

   • Finish basic circuit connections
   • Verify all components have necessary wires
   • Check that power source is connected

2. Organize Your Layout

   • Arrange components logically
   • Clean wire routing
   • Label important components

3. Review Circuit Logic

   • Understand what should happen
   • Document expected behavior
   • Identify test scenarios

During Simulation

1. Test Methodically

   • Start with simple tests (breaker on/off)
   • Progress to complex scenarios
   • Document what you test

2. Observe Carefully

   • Watch for visual feedback
   • Check unexpected behavior
   • Note component responses

3. Fix Issues Immediately

   • Stop simulation to fix wiring
   • Make changes in edit mode
   • Restart simulation to verify fix

After Simulation

1. Review Warnings

   • Address all safety warnings
   • Fix disconnected components
   • Verify grounding

2. Document Behavior

   • Note how circuits work
   • Record switch combinations
   • Create usage notes for installers

3. Iterate and Improve

   • Refine circuit design
   • Optimize wire routing
   • Test again

Limitations and Known Issues

Current Limitations

Simulation is in Beta. Be aware of these limitations:

Not Yet Implemented

Advanced Electrical Calculations:

• Voltage drop calculations
• Current/amperage calculations
• Wire gauge vs. load verification
• Short circuit detection
• Overcurrent protection

Visual Enhancements:

• Wire color based on electrical state
• Current flow animation
• Voltage levels displayed
• Power consumption indicators

Complex Scenarios:

• Some multi-phase circuits
• Advanced differential protection behavior
• Detailed ground fault scenarios
• Complex load calculations

Known Issues

Performance:

• Very large circuits (100+ components) may be slow
• Complex switching scenarios may take multiple iterations
• Browser performance affects simulation speed

Edge Cases:

• Some unusual wiring configurations may not stabilize
• Complex multi-panel scenarios not fully supported
• Some component interactions may not be realistic

Visual Feedback:

• Not all components show state changes visually
• Wire electrical states not color-coded
• Some states difficult to distinguish

Workarounds

If you encounter limitations:

1. Simplify complex circuits into testable sections
2. Test in stages - add complexity gradually
3. Use annotations to document expected behavior
4. Report issues to help improve simulation

Future Enhancements

Planned improvements to simulation:

Coming Soon

• ✅ Better visual feedback for wire states
• ✅ Improved component state indicators
• ✅ More comprehensive warnings
• ✅ Performance optimizations

On the Roadmap

• 🔄 Voltage and current calculations
• 🔄 Short circuit detection
• 🔄 Load balancing analysis
• 🔄 Wire sizing recommendations
• 🔄 Energy consumption estimates
• 🔄 Multi-phase support

Under Consideration

• 💡 Time-based simulation (day/night cycles)
• 💡 Temperature effects
• 💡 Aging and degradation simulation
• 💡 Cost estimation based on usage
• 💡 Export simulation results

Real-World Considerations

Simulation vs. Reality

What Simulation Does Well:

• ✅ Verify circuit logic and switching
• ✅ Test basic functionality
• ✅ Identify wiring errors
• ✅ Validate component connections
• ✅ Check safety basics (grounding)

What Simulation Doesn’t Replace:

• ❌ Real electrical testing
• ❌ Load calculations by electrician
• ❌ Code compliance verification
• ❌ Professional inspection
• ❌ Safety certification

Using Simulation Results

For Planning:

• Use simulation to validate designs
• Test scenarios before installation
• Document expected behavior
• Train installation crews

For Installation:

• Simulation ≠ approval for installation
• Still need permits and inspections
• Still need licensed electrician
• Still need code compliance

For Troubleshooting:

• Simulation helps identify logic errors
• Can’t diagnose physical problems
• Use with real-world testing
• Verify assumptions with measurements

Safety Reminders

Important Safety Information

Simulation is a design tool, not a safety certification!

Planning Only

• Elecplanner simulation is for planning and visualization
• Not a substitute for proper electrical engineering
• Not approved for permit applications without review
• Not a guarantee of code compliance

Professional Installation Required

Always hire licensed professionals:

• ⚡ Licensed electricians for all installations
• ⚡ Proper permits and inspections
• ⚡ Code compliance verification
• ⚡ Safety testing after installation
• ⚡ Ground fault and arc fault protection

Never Attempt DIY Electrical

• Electricity can kill
• Improper wiring causes fires
• Insurance may not cover DIY work
• Many jurisdictions require licensed electricians by law

Use Elecplanner to plan. Use professionals to install.

Related Topics

• Wiring Basics - How to wire your circuits
• Switch Component - Interactive switch behavior
• Circuit Breaker - Power control
• Light Component - Observing light responses
• Electrical Panel - Power source
• Components Overview - All simulated components

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💡 Quick Tip: Think of simulation as your virtual electrical tester. Use it early and often during design to catch mistakes when they’re easy to fix - not after installation begins! Test every switch, every circuit, every scenario. Your future self (and your wallet) will thank you!