# Was Alexander Grafeo's Book Helpful During the PE Power Exam(2013)?



## JB66money (Oct 31, 2013)

To all of those who took the recent Power PE Exam, was the Electrical Engineer's Guide to Passing the PE Exam written by Alexander Grafeo helpful in preparing you for the exam? If so how? If not why?

Would you recommend it?


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## danadiva81 (Oct 31, 2013)

I had the book and it definitely was helpful for me. The author gives his email address, and we emailed back and forth quite a few times. He cleared up some things I had questions about (errors, concepts, etc.) He said that there is a second edition coming out soon. I'm hoping he'll get it done before next April....just...in...case..lol


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## jardine121 (Oct 31, 2013)

It was concise and helpful. Especially in lighting design, of which I have zero experience. I wouldn't rely on it 100%, but I did find it useful. Some of the topics could be expanded on a bit. The test in the back is a bonus (I focused on doing a much practice tests as possible).


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## iahim (Oct 31, 2013)

I used EPRM, but if I were to buy it again, I would go with Grafeo. The only thing I used from the EPRM was the lighting section.


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## JB66money (Oct 31, 2013)

What other material besides the NEC Handbook would be needed in addition to Graffeo's book?


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## iahim (Oct 31, 2013)

Wildi is a must have, in my opinion - and don't just bring it to the exam. You should learn it. I went through it about 4-5 times before the exam.

Stevenson/Grainger is also good to have. I didn't spend as much time with it as I spent with Wildi, but I still went a couple of times through most of the chapters.

I wouldn't bother with the problems too much because most of them are too difficult for the exam.


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## Jabert (Oct 31, 2013)

One other book that doesn't get mentioned a lot that I really liked was Handbook of Electric Power Calculations by Beaty.

Lots of info in here that wasn't covered by my primary references (Grainger and Wildi).

Got a few right on the exam because I had it!


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## iahim (Nov 1, 2013)

Jabert said:


> One other book that doesn't get mentioned a lot that I really liked was Handbook of Electric Power Calculations by Beaty.


I agree. I have the book, but I didn't use it much to study for the exam. But I took it with me, just in case. It turned out to be a good reference on the exam. If you google it, you can find the pdf version. You can also find several other books: Wildi (not current version but still good), NESC (2007), etc.


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## cupojoe PE PMP (Nov 6, 2013)

iahim said:


> Jabert said:
> 
> 
> > One other book that doesn't get mentioned a lot that I really liked was Handbook of Electric Power Calculations by Beaty.
> ...


I also have the Beaty book (and took it to the exam). I pulled it out once as a 'hail-mary,' but it didn't come through.

Wildi &amp; Grainger are must haves.


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## GabeHe29 (Mar 19, 2014)

The Graffeo book was definitely helpful. Presents T&amp;D material, circuits, machines and fault current/protection in an easy to follow manner, with examples. Does not really cover the NEC code (I just went through the code book and also use some quiz's on the Mike Holt website), but is good in many other areas.


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## GreenNGold (Mar 22, 2014)

How is the practice exam in this book? And how long would you say it would take to go through the entire book?

My plan was to use this book as a final overall review the week before the test. I've done most the practice exams (CI, spin ups, NCEES, PPI) but I felt this book covers most topics, so it could be a nice review right before the test.


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## GreenNGold (Apr 4, 2014)

Has anyone does example 51 on page 128 using the MVA method?

If so, what is the MVAsc for the transmission line? I thought we are suppose to use KV^2 / Z to get the MVAsc for cables or transmission lines but when I use (230kv)^2 / 0.19 I get the wrong answer. But if I use the MVA/X I get the right answer?

I can post the entire question if someone needs. Thanks.


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## JB66money (Jun 8, 2014)

I believe that I found the answer to this question that I started on the dicussion page. I used this book as my main study guide and it was definately helpful, I passed the April 2014 PE Power Exam on my first attempt. I would like to note that a person will need additional references for more detail on certain topics such as motor drives and protectective devices. This can be found from texts written by Stephen Chapman (electric machines how to solve the problems) Theodore Wildi (electric machines construction, how they work and many conceptual topics regarding electric power, *also get to know the table of contents*), and J. Duncan Glover (how to solve 3-phase problems, protective devices). You will also need the NEC book. Grafeo's book can really guide your study if you follow it's order and use those texts mentioned above.


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