Advice for the April 2010 exam

Hey All, I just wrote the FE Exam this past weekend and found this site while looking for advice for the PE. I wish I had found this site sooner....

I'm an I&C Engineer (with a EE background) and am planning on taking the Power PE (for afternoon) in April 2010. As you can guess, I don't deal with Power stuff at my job but the Controls PE is ways away in October and I want my PE ASAP. I have many questions.

So, keeping in mind that my Power background is rusty at best, what advice can you offer to pass the PE? What material should I buy? Is it too early to buy materials for next April? Is the exam expected to change for next year?

PPI has a Power PE pack for ~$350. Is that a good value for what you get? What more do I need? Got a good source for the NEC 2008 book? Once upon a time, I found a PDF of NEC 2005 and 2008 summary pdf / reference guide put out by a vendor but no luck in finding that again on the net.

So far, my strategy is to study the FERM EE section in detail (I skipped that to focus on the ME sections and relied on my retained knowledge to get points on the FE). Beyond that, I could use some guidance. Any and all is appreciated.

Unfortunately, if I take the EE PE, I'll be the first in the new generation of engineers in my company. So no hand me down books or advice is available. It'll be a costly and time consuming venture

Thanks.

Jassi

Last week I took the electrical power PE for the first time. Are you sure power is your strongest thing? Would you be better off in electronics & computer? If not, here's what I learned about preparing for the Power PE.

a. It is never too early to start studying. This is a deep exam, not just solving equations. You need to know HOW and WHY things work.

b. First get the NCEES Power Sample Questions and Solutions, and put it aside until you do the reading that follows: Get your hands on a book on motors/generators/transformers (several good ones out there, older editions are fine). For sure get Basic Electricity for Industry by Wildi (old edition also fine). Read these books from cover to cover. You will need to borrow or buy the NEC 2008 edition. If you've never used this for work, you'll have to read this one too, cover-to-cover (sorry!) There were at least 15 questions on NEC material. You'll need to be familiar with electronics (diodes, battery charging, thyristors), short-circuit studies and transmission lines.

c) Try to find books at the library before you go crazy investing $$ in books. If you have a university library nearby that has an agreement with the city library system and will let you take out books, that works best (as long as the university has an engineering dept, otherwise you probably won't find good EE books).

d) The reference I used most during the PE exam was EC&M's Electrical Calculations Handbook by Paschal. The lighting chapter saved my rear-end. Also, there are also several helpful practice problems in that book. You may want to start your studying with this book - read it from cover to cover, it's a great starting place.

This sounds overwhelming; I don't say these things to discourage you, but to help you. But it's possible - I recommend that you read the books mentioned above from cover-to-cover. Understanding how things work is paramount.

I'll post more as I think of it....enjoy your weekend! :beerchug:

p.s. Get your PE application (especially references) started now - it takes a long time to get everything prepared and shipped off to your Board. I think the postmark date is sometime in January - but start now!

Thanks for the response SparksFlying.

Power may not be my strength right now but I'm going to study it and take a crack at it. If I fail, there's always controls engineering PE I've already had my schools mail in my official transcripts and the paperwork to sign up for the exam will be in the mail soon.

Thanks for your suggestions for the books. Did you use the PPI EERM? A ton of people claim that its the only reference they needed. My local library has the NEC 2008 book and I've placed it on my reserves list. I can at least read it and try to convince my company to buy a copy for the office. Any and all further advice is much appreciated.

Interested in selling any of the books you gathered?

SparksFlying said:

Last week I took the electrical power PE for the first time. Are you sure power is your strongest thing? Would you be better off in electronics & computer? If not, here's what I learned about preparing for the Power PE.
a. It is never too early to start studying. This is a deep exam, not just solving equations. You need to know HOW and WHY things work.

b. First get the NCEES Power Sample Questions and Solutions, and put it aside until you do the reading that follows: Get your hands on a book on motors/generators/transformers (several good ones out there, older editions are fine). For sure get Basic Electricity for Industry by Wildi (old edition also fine). Read these books from cover to cover. You will need to borrow or buy the NEC 2008 edition. If you've never used this for work, you'll have to read this one too, cover-to-cover (sorry!) There were at least 15 questions on NEC material. You'll need to be familiar with electronics (diodes, battery charging, thyristors), short-circuit studies and transmission lines.

c) Try to find books at the library before you go crazy investing $$ in books. If you have a university library nearby that has an agreement with the city library system and will let you take out books, that works best (as long as the university has an engineering dept, otherwise you probably won't find good EE books).

d) The reference I used most during the PE exam was EC&M's Electrical Calculations Handbook by Paschal. The lighting chapter saved my rear-end. Also, there are also several helpful practice problems in that book. You may want to start your studying with this book - read it from cover to cover, it's a great starting place.

This sounds overwhelming; I don't say these things to discourage you, but to help you. But it's possible - I recommend that you read the books mentioned above from cover-to-cover. Understanding how things work is paramount.

I'll post more as I think of it....enjoy your weekend! :beerchug:

p.s. Get your PE application (especially references) started now - it takes a long time to get everything prepared and shipped off to your Board. I think the postmark date is sometime in January - but start now!

Click to expand...

I passed the Electrical Power PE in October 2009. I can't imagine taking only the PPI EERM with me to the exam (though I did take this with me). I must agree with SparksFlying. The NEC 2008 is essential as is a good motor/generator/transformer reference. I would also recommend the following reference materials:

Power Electronics (Mohan)

Power Systems (Grainger)

The Power Systems by Grainger does a good job with transmission, symmetrical components, and per unit analysis.

The NCEES website has decent information regarding the possible topics that may be on the exam, as well.

PE Electrical: Power

Good Luck!

jassiinpublic said:

Thanks for the response SparksFlying.

Power may not be my strength right now but I'm going to study it and take a crack at it. If I fail, there's always controls engineering PE I've already had my schools mail in my official transcripts and the paperwork to sign up for the exam will be in the mail soon.

Thanks for your suggestions for the books. Did you use the PPI EERM? A ton of people claim that its the only reference they needed. My local library has the NEC 2008 book and I've placed it on my reserves list. I can at least read it and try to convince my company to buy a copy for the office. Any and all further advice is much appreciated.

Interested in selling any of the books you gathered?

Click to expand...

Hello All,

I was very glad to have found this engineering discussion board. It has a lot of useful information from engineers who have already passed the PE exam. I myself am scheduled to take the exam in April of 2010. I am an electrical engineer in the Nuclear division of a reputable material handling corporation. My primary design responsibilities focus around power distribution, PLC control, and variable frequency drive controls. That being said I will be taking the Electrical Power PE as it pertains directly to my employment field. In reading this thread among others (such as this thread), I have been gathering notes on what reference materials to obtain for studying and for the exam itself. Basically this is what I have read:

The following reference books are a MUST:

- Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Wildi

- Power Systems Analysis by Grainger/Stevenson

- NEC 2008 (which I already have and use on a daily basis)

- EC&M's Electrical Calculations Handbook by Paschal

- Electrical Engineering Practice Problems for the Power, Electrical and Electronics, and Computer PE Exams (EEPP8), 8th Edition

The following reference books would be HELPFUL but not necessary:

- Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals by Chapman

- Practical Variable Speed Drives and Power Electronics by Barnes

- Electronic Variable Speed Drives by Brumbach

- PPI EERM (EXSPENSIVE! :angry: )

And I currently own the following:

- Electric Machinery by Kingsley/Fitzgerald/Umans

- Power Systems Analysis by Hadi Saadat

- Handbook of Electric Power Calculations by H. Wayne Beaty

I would like to get some further thoughts/suggestions on my assumptions above. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated and helpful. Also, if anyone has or knows of where I could find the above referenced material used, that would also be appreciated. I will be checking the local university libraries and also half.com. Thanks again.

Regards

reqex78 said:

I passed the Electrical Power PE in October 2009. I can't imagine taking only the PPI EERM with me to the exam (though I did take this with me). I must agree with SparksFlying. The NEC 2008 is essential as is a good motor/generator/transformer reference. I would also recommend the following reference materials:
Power Electronics (Mohan)

Power Systems (Grainger)

The Power Systems by Grainger does a good job with transmission, symmetrical components, and per unit analysis.

The NCEES website has decent information regarding the possible topics that may be on the exam, as well.

PE Electrical: Power

Good Luck!

Click to expand...