Save time, focus your studying, and increase your chances of passing by following these proven tips. Aside from the typical advice on what to bring to the exam and the logistics for the day, below are a list of key study tips and tricks to solving problems faster.

1. Focus on the Syllabus

The NCEES provides a list of the topics and the number of questions per topic to be covered in the exam. This syllabus should be the first thing you look at and your guiding document during your studying. Straying from the syllabus is inefficient and will waste your study efforts. Layout the framework of your studying based on the syllabus.

Find the syllabus for the April 2019 Exam Specifications on the NCEES website. The exam outline had been updated with minor changes, starting with the April 2018 exam. One of the biggest change since the latest update is a greater focus on the protection topic (13 questions instead of 8). The areas that most test takers struggle on are rotating machines, devices, and protection, although this will vary by each person’s experience.

2. Think Practical & Think in 6 minutes

The NCEES syllabus is your outline for studying, but how in depth do you go when studying each topic? The answer is, the test should contain material that is relevant to a practicing engineer and should be simple enough to solve in 6 minutes. The PE exam is a test of whether you are competent enough to practice in the field of Electrical Engineering, not on whether you can derive complex formulas. It should be based on problems that you would normally encounter in the field.

Therefore, when studying, think about the following questions:

(a) How can this topic be applied in real life situations?

Knowing how a topic is used in real life will help you expand your understanding of its purpose, while preparing you with how it can be presented in problems. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this equation?” and “When would I use this in real life applications?”.

For example, when studying per-unit analysis, realize its purpose is to simplify power analysis by putting all the components in like terms. When would you use this in real life? You would likely use this for power flow and short circuit faults.

(b) What information would I be given in the field to solve these problems?

Along the same theme of real life situations, the exam will most likely give you variables that would be given to you in real life. The knowns will be characteristics that are measurable or given in the field, while the unknowns are what would normally be calculated.

For example, in the field, the impedance is usually given based on equipment rating and the voltage is typically given from a power source. When studying each topic, think of the various ways a problem could be encountered based on the possible unknowns. This will help you be prepared for possible variations of a question and will help you to better understand a concept.

(c) Do I understand the concept of how to solve these problems?

One of the most important things you can do while studying is being sure you understand the concept, I cannot stress this enough. Understanding the concept is what distinguishes you from the basic test taker and could make the difference between passing and failing. Some examples are understanding how delta-wye connections create phase shifts, how transformers and generators interact in parallel and under different conditions, how induction and synchronous motors start and operate, the basics behind torque-speed curves, the equivalent circuit diagrams and where losses are experienced, what a capacitor does to a circuit, how VFD’s are controlled, how power flows, how transmission lines have a capacitance effect, the different grounding schemes, and so much more.

Many problems will be a twisted variation of something you may have come across earlier and the only way to overcome them is to understand the concept. The NCEES practice exam shows that there are also a significant amount of conceptual, non-numerical problems. Finally, the test maker will add extraneous information that is intended to throw you off if you do not truly understand the question.

Common conceptual problems will create situations where, if this component fails, or if this value increases, etc., then what happens to another part of the system. Tip: In power engineering, most systems can be represented in three forms: vector form, wave form, or as an equivalent circuit. At least one of these forms should help you to conceptualize an ‘if, then’ problem.

(d) Can this be solved in 6 minutes?

Finally, if it takes you more than a 3–4 steps to solve a problem, then something is probably wrong. If this happens, rewind, take a step back, and ask yourself if you are understanding the problem correctly.

3. Know your resources

Below is a list of a few key references that I have found to be the most helpful for the exam. Because time is limited, it is essential to be able to quickly navigate through these resources, especially the NEC. Tab the important sections and add page number references to your equations list/cheat sheets.

For more details and additional resources organized by topic, refer to “Complete List of the Must Have References for the Power PE Exam.”

4. Know the NEC

There are 12 code questions in the exam from the NEC, NESC, and NFPA, the majority of which will be from NEC. These should be gimme-type questions, as long as you can navigate the NEC. There will be lookup and calculation problems that you will need the NEC for. It is very important to know how to find things quickly in this book to save you time for the rest of the exam.

a. NEC Articles to Read: You do not need to read the entire NEC, although I do recommend at least reading and taking notes on the following key Articles:

(1) Article 220: Branch, Feeder, and Service Calculations

(2) Article 240: Overcurrent Protection

(3) Article 250: Grounding

(4) Article 310: Conductors

(5) Article 430: Motors, Motor Circuits and Controllers

(6) Article 450: Transformers and Transformer Vaults

(7) Article 460: Capacitors

(8) Article 500: Hazardous Locations

(9) Chapter 9, Table 8: Conductor Properties

(10) Chapter 9, Table 9: Resistance and Reactance in 3 phase Conductors

b. Index: The index is the best way to find things in the book. Tom Henry’s Key Word Index can also be used to supplement the NEC index. Test yourself with being able to use the index with Engineering Pro Guides and Complex Imaginary’s NEC practice questions. There is a decent list of questions that will help you familiarize yourself with the NEC. However, since looking through the index still consumes time, there are a few things you should have tabbed and be familiar with. These items are listed below.

c. NEC Format: Know the format of the book. There are patterns to how each chapter is written, depending on what is pertinent to the chapter. The flow usually goes: Definitions, Installation Requirements, Material Requirements, and Equipment over 1000 volts.

d. Main Topics/Practice Problems: Know which chapters to find the main topics, i.e. Wiring, Motors, Transformers, Fire Pumps, Grounding, and Hazardous Locations. There are practice problems in the NEC Handbook. I highly recommend going through these problems in the main topics. It is good practice in understanding the intent of the code and how to use the tables.

e. Key Tables: Know where the main tables are throughout the book. Practice using these tables with item (d) above. The following list is based on the 2017 NEC Handbook. Note that “Section” refers to a paragraph and “Table” refers to a table in the book.

Section 240.6 (A): Standard Fuse Rating

Table 250.66: Grounding Conductor Sizing

Table 250.102(C)(1): Bonding Sizing

Table 250.122: Equipment Grounding Conductor Sizing

Table 300.5: Buried Conduit Covering

Table 310.15: Conductor Temperature Rating

Table 310.104: Conductor Type

Section 430.7(B): Motor LRA Code Letters

Section 430.32: Motor Overload Protection

Table 430.52: Motor Short Circuit Protection

Table 430.248–250: Motor FLA

Table 430.251: Motor LRA

Table 450.3(B): Transformer Overcurrent Protection

Chapter 9, Table 9: Wire Resistance

5. Know the test format. Be aware of unnecessary information.

At the start, I would recommend taking the NCEES Practice Exam to familiarize yourself with how the test is formatted, the types of questions to study, the difficulty of the problems, and the style of the questions. You will notice the test questions in the practice exam have three types: code lookup, calculations, or conceptual. The questions may be convoluted with unnecessary information, so be sure to avoid getting tricked by staying focused on the main question.

At a minimum, you should be very familiar with the concepts of all the questions in the NCEES practice exam; the actual test will be similar to this format. I highly recommend bringing the NCEES practice exam into the test, with your notes on how to solve these problem.

6. Use your time wisely: Go through the test in 3 Passes

Each problem is scored equally on the test. Therefore, instead of trying to solve each problem in order and getting stuck on the difficult ones, use the following process. When doing this, it is important to also continuously check your scan tron to be sure your answers stay aligned with the correct problem.

(1) First Pass: Go through the test.

As soon as you recognize the problem as a code problem, mark it in your book as the code type: NEC, NESC, etc. Completely skip this problem for the second pass.

If the problem is not a code type and you do not immediately recognize how to solve it, then mark it and skip to the next one. If you can solve it, then answer it. This has two benefits: The first is using your time better on problems you know how to do. The second is the subsequent problems may stir your memory or bring you across a resource that could help you solve the skipped problem.

(2) Second Pass: On your second pass do all the code problems at one time. This allows you to take out your code books out at one time, instead of going back and forth between references and code books.

(3) Third Pass: Finish the problems that were left unsolved.

(4) If you have time, take a fourth pass and check your work.

7. Process of Elimination, Multiple Choice answers

Each question has four multiple choice answers. Thinking from a practical standpoint, there may be some answers that are obviously wrong. Use the multiple choice format to your advantage and look at the answers before you start solving. See if there is anything you can eliminate. Sometimes the wrong answers will also be used to trick you. If you used the wrong equation or forgot to multiply by square root of 3, your answer may still be among one of the choices. In the same respect, see if there are two answers separated by a factor of square root of 3 or 12 inches per foot, perhaps it should be one of those two. Finally, there is no penalty for wrong answers. So, even narrowing down your answers to a 50/50 chance gives you a much greater advantage.

8. Memorize basic equations

There are a few basic equations that are so commonly used that you should memorize and not waste your time looking up. The more that you can add to this list, the quicker you will become during the test.

9. Know the extents of your calculator

The NCEES has a list of pre-approved calculators that you are allowed to bring into the exam room. Check the NCEES website for the latest version of this list.

Casio, All fx-115 and fx-991 models

Hewlett Packard, HP33 and HP 35 models

Texas Instrument, TI-30X and TI-36X

I would recommend the Casio FX-115ES Plus or the TI-36X Pro models; the TI-36X Pro does have a slightly better visual.

Your calculator should at least have two key factors. (1) Enough memory to scroll up to previous calculations and answers and (2) Be able to perform calculations between polar and rectangular coordinates without having to first convert to similar coordinates. This will save a significant amount of time. Completing calculations between different coordinates will be under the Complex Mode of your user’s manual.

Review and bring with you the instructions manual of the calculator and practice features that can help you take advantage of the calculator. It is also a very good idea to bring an extra calculator with you as a backup.

10. Create a Cheat Sheet

The next best thing you can do after understanding concepts is creating a cheat sheet for your equations and study material. Not only do cheat sheets help you recognize important concepts and equations, they enhance your speed for the test. On the cheat sheet list the page number and resource of where that equation came from. If there is any background information needed for that equation, you can quickly look back to the source.

Engineering Pro Guides has put together a free cheat sheet on their website. It is well organized, comprehensive, and contains helpful figures for the exam. The best part is that it is an editable file that you can add to and tailor to your needs, which gives you a major head start on your studying. If there is one thing to gain from this article, it should be this cheat sheet. I haven’t seen anything else like it…and it is free.

11. Per Unit vs MVA

Understanding Per Unit is essential for the test, it is in fact listed on the syllabus as a key topic. However, when doing short circuit analysis, there is a much easier method: the MVA method. Instead of keeping track of the base values for each component in the system, you can find the short circuit MVA for each component and find the necessary variable of the problem. It is much easier to execute.

12. Power Factor Correction

There are multiple power factor sample problems throughout various resources. They all follow the same tedious process. I found the following power factor correction tables from the EPG cheat sheet mentioned above to be a huge time saver to these problems. Instead of switching back and forth between polar and rectangular coordinates, the tables simplify the calculations by allowing you to skip 4 or 5 steps. Additional explanation of these tables and other useful resources can be found in the Engineering Pro Guides study guide.

PF Correction, using Real Power

PF Correction, using Apparent Power

Best of luck to everyone taking the exam!!