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EDWartens UK

Free course · AI for professionals

AI for Electrical and MEP Design Engineers

How an electrical or MEP design engineer uses ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot on real design work without handing over the engineering: checked calculations, cable sizing, specifications, BOQ, code look-up, Python scripts, PDF extraction and QA of AI output.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
13
Video
18 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Decide which design tasks AI can speed up and which it must not own; keep client drawings and data confidential; write calculation prompts with inputs, units and method and check every answer by a second route; verify AI load, current, voltage drop and cable sizing results; check lighting and chilled water numbers; draft and review specifications and method statements; use AI on take-off and BOQ with reconciled counts; look up code requirements with editions and citations; write and test Python scripts for repetitive calculations; extract and reconcile data from PDFs and drawings; record a five-step review in a verification register; and build a personal design assistant.

  • Sort design tasks into AI drafts, AI assists with checks, and AI must not own
  • Keep client drawings and data confidential with the right plan, settings and redaction
  • Write calculation prompts with inputs, units and method, and check every answer by a second route
  • Catch the classic AI errors in current, maximum demand, voltage drop and cable sizing
  • Draft and review specifications, method statements and BOQs with AI, with reconciled counts
  • Look up code requirements with editions and citations, and spot edition drift
  • Specify, test and run Python scripts for repetitive calculations and PDF data extraction
  • Run a five-step review with a verification register and build a personal design assistant

Software

Any one AI assistant: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot (free tiers work for most exercises; product and model names are as of October 2026 and change often). A spreadsheet (LibreOffice Calc is free). Python with pandas, openpyxl and pdfplumber for two modules, free in Google Colab with nothing to install.

Hardware

None. Any laptop with a browser is enough.

Syllabus

13 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1Where AI helps and where it fails in design work4 lessons
  2. 2Client data, confidentiality and a safe AI workspace3 lessonsLab
  3. 3Prompting for design calculations with independent checks3 lessons
  4. 4Load, current and cable sizing with an AI assistant, verified5 lessonsLab
  5. 5AI in MEP design tools, and quick checks for lighting and HVAC3 lessons
  6. 6Specifications and method statements with AI5 lessons
  7. 7Quantity take-off and BOQ with AI help4 lessonsLab
  8. 8Code and standard look-up: citations and their limits4 lessons
  9. 9Python scripts written with AI for repetitive calculations5 lessons
  10. 10Extracting data from PDFs and drawings4 lessons
  11. 11Quality assurance of AI output3 lessonsLab
  12. 12Building a personal design assistant4 lessons
  13. 13Final assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Practise the independent check an AI answer needs: size a motor circuit yourself in the MCC lab, and review AI text against its source in the AI Workbench.

Works alongside AI for Electrical and MEP Design Engineers. The Lab is ai for industry practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
AI for industry: Build AI models.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for AI for Electrical and MEP Design Engineers

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

Questions

About this course

What is the AI for Electrical and MEP Design Engineers course?
It is a free-to-learn online course that teaches electrical and MEP design engineers to use AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot on real design work, with every result checked by an independent route. It covers calculation prompts, load and cable sizing checks, lighting and chilled water checks, specifications, method statements, BOQ and take-off, code look-up, Python scripts, PDF and drawing extraction, QA of AI output and client confidentiality.
Can ChatGPT do electrical design calculations?
It can draft and run them, but every answer must be checked by a second route before it is used. Assistants predict text, so they make specific, confident errors such as dropping the root 3 in a three-phase current, using 20 C cable resistance for a hot cable or treating kW as per hour. The course shows how to give the inputs, make the arithmetic run in code and verify the result by hand, spreadsheet or a tested script.
Is AI output compliant with IEC 60364, BS 7671 or the NEC?
No AI output is compliant until a competent engineer has checked it against the adopted edition of the code. Assistants rarely see the full licensed text, mix editions and drop exceptions, for example quoting Article 220 for load calculations that moved to Article 120 in the 2026 NEC. The course teaches look-up with editions and citations, grounding in licensed documents and verification in the code itself.
Is it safe to put client drawings into ChatGPT or Claude?
Only if the client contract and your company's AI policy allow it, and then only on an approved plan with the data classified and redacted first. Consumer plans may use chats for training unless you switch it off, while business plans of the major assistants exclude business data from training by default (as of October 2026). The course covers the settings, a four-level data classification and redaction of drawings and schedules.
Who is this course for and what do I need to know first?
It is for electrical, mechanical and building services design engineers, MEP coordinators, estimators and graduate engineers in consultancies and contractors worldwide, including the Gulf. You should know what a load schedule, a voltage drop check and a specification are; no coding experience is needed. Electrical Design Engineering is the companion course for the calculations themselves.
Which AI tools and software do I need?
One AI assistant is enough: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot, and the free tiers work for most exercises. You also need a spreadsheet such as LibreOffice Calc, and Python with pandas and pdfplumber in Google Colab for two modules, with nothing to install. Product and model names in the course are dated October 2026 because they change often.
How long does the course take and is it free?
About 18 hours at your own pace, of which just under 11 hours is video, plus about 12 hours for the optional project. Every module, the notes, worked problems, practice tasks, project and final assessment are free to learn.
What certificate do I get and how is it verified?
You get a verifiable certificate of completion from EDWartens when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent. It carries a unique certificate number and a QR code that open a public verification page showing the course, the modules covered and your final score. It is not a professional engineering licence or a vendor certification from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or Microsoft.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module