Draw an electrical plan — outlets, switches, lights, and symbols
Open the Symbols panel, tap a wall to drop an outlet or switch, add lights and low-voltage symbols, and export a clean electrical layer.
An electrical plan is the one drawing almost every renovation needs: where the outlets go, which wall the switch is on, where the lights hang. RoomSketch3D keeps all of it in the Symbols panel, the tab beside Furniture on the right (or the Symbols pill on a phone).
There are two kinds of symbol, and they place differently. Wall-mounted devices — outlets, switches, wall lights — are placed by tapping a wall, exactly like a door or window, and they sit flush on that wall in 2D and 3D. Free symbols — ceiling lights, fans, smoke detectors, data jacks, cameras, vents — drop into the room like a piece of furniture and can be dragged anywhere.
Everything you place shows up in every export and print, and there is a dedicated Electrical plan export style that hides the furniture and colour fills so an electrician sees only the shell and the devices.
What you'll need
- •Any floor plan with walls (a single room is fine)
- •Desktop, iPad, or phone — the Symbols panel is on all three
Step by step
- 1
Open the Symbols panel
In the right-hand panel, tap the Symbols tab (next to Furniture and Outdoor). The library is grouped by trade — electrical, plumbing, HVAC, telecom, security, and generic markers — with a search box at the top. Your own uploads appear under My Library.
Symbols sits beside Furniture. Tiles are grouped by trade; search filters them. - 2
Place an outlet on a wall
Tap Outlet (Duplex), then +Add. The banner reads Outlet (Duplex): tap a wall to place it — tap the wall where the outlet goes and it snaps flush to that wall. Add as many as the run needs; most codes want a receptacle within six feet of any point along a wall, so roughly one every twelve feet. Outlet (Quad) and Outlet (GFCI) place the same way.
Wall-mounted symbols are a tap-a-wall placement, not a drop. - 3
Add a switch beside the door
Tap Switch (Single) → +Add → tap the wall just inside the entry door, on the latch side where a hand naturally lands. Switch (Double) and Switch (3-Way) are there for two-gang boxes and stair or hallway circuits controlled from both ends.
Put the switch on the side of the door the handle is on. - 4
On an interior wall, choose the side
An interior wall has two rooms facing it. Tap the wall to place the outlet or switch, then in the inspector under Sides pick In or Out to choose which face — and therefore which room — the device serves. The symbol flips to that side of the wall on the plan and in 3D.
Interior walls expose an In / Out toggle: the room the device faces. - 5
Drop lights and low-voltage symbols
Free symbols behave like furniture: tap Ceiling Light → +Add and it lands in the middle of the room; drag it to where the fixture hangs. Do the same for Recessed Light, Ceiling Fan, Smoke Detector, a Data Jack, a CCTV Camera, or an HVAC Supply Vent. Select any symbol to resize it, colour it, or Show label below symbol.
Lights, jacks, and cameras drop at the room centre and drag anywhere. - 6
Export the electrical layer
Open Share / Export → Export to Image / PDF. Under Style, switch on Electrical plan — furniture and colour fills are hidden, leaving the shell, the symbols, and the light fixtures. Combine it with Black & white for a pure line drawing, or add Elevation views as extra pages. Symbols also print, and they render as real fixtures in the 3D view.
Style → Electrical plan: just the shell and the devices.
Tips
Outlets go on walls, lights go in rooms
If a symbol won't drop where you tap, check its kind: wall devices need a wall under the tap; ceiling and low-voltage symbols need a tap-free +Add, then a drag.
Search by trade word
Type outlet, switch, vent, jack, or camera in the Symbols search — the library is filtered instantly, including your uploads.
Plan the switch where the hand lands
Inside the door on the latch side, about 48 inches up (the default mount height). For a room with two entrances use Switch (3-Way) at each.
Next: connect them
Once the devices are down, the Circuit line tool links them into numbered runs — see the Circuit lines guide.
Common mistakes
Placing an interior-wall outlet on the wrong face
The default side is the room you tapped from. Check the In / Out toggle — a bedroom outlet accidentally facing the hallway is the classic miss.
Exporting with furniture still shown
A furnished plan buries the symbols. Use the Electrical plan style so the trades see only what they need.
Hunting for outlets in the Furniture tab
They live in Symbols. The Build panel holds structure (walls, doors, stairs); Symbols holds trade markup.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put an outlet on an interior wall?
Yes. Outlets, switches, mirrors, and wall safes place on interior walls as well as exterior ones. The inspector's In / Out toggle picks which side of the wall — which room — the device faces.
Do the symbols show up in 3D?
Yes. Symbols render as fixtures in the 3D view — outlets and switches flush on their wall, ceiling lights on the ceiling — so a walkthrough shows the electrical layout in context.
How do I get a plan that shows only the electrical layout?
In Share / Export → Export to Image / PDF, turn on the Electrical plan style. It hides furniture and colour fills and keeps the shell, symbols, and light fixtures.
Is there a plumbing or HVAC set too?
Yes. The Symbols library includes shut-off valves, floor drains, hose bibs, a water heater, thermostat, supply and return vents, phone and data jacks, Wi-Fi access points, CCTV cameras, and generic markers — plus anything you upload yourself.
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