Updated for the most recent NCEES® Exam Specifications
Since the PE exam moved to computer-based testing (CBT), outside books, notes, and personal references are no longer allowed in the exam room.
Instead, NCEES® provides the digital Reference Handbook and required code books directly on the exam computer, making speed with digital searches and on-screen code lookups more important than ever.
That’s why we recommend practicing with the official NCEES® Power PE Practice Exam and the National Electrical Code®, while relying on our comprehensive online class for everything else needed to pass.
The supplemental resources below are ranked based on what has worked best for our students and from feedback gathered through hundreds of successful post-exam exit interviews.
For up-to-date information on:
- Updates on the latest NCEES® Power PE Exam Specifications
- Updates to the NCEES® Reference Handbook
- Which code book version years are currently being tested on
Visit the following pinned post in our online community:
📌 NCEES Power PE Exam Specifications, Codebooks, and Reference Handbook (Always Up-To-Date)
Table of Contents
Click below to jump to each section of this article:
- Texas Instruments Ti-36X Pro Scientific Calculator
- NCEES® Practice Exam
- NFPA Link Online Codebooks
- Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide by Electrical PE Review
- Electrical Power PE Practice Exam: 80 AIT Practice Problems for the CBT Format
- Mastering the PE Exam: 100 Qualitative Practice Problems for the Electrical Power PE Exam
- 2020 National Electrical Code Handbook Edition (NFPA70, NEC)
- Electrical PE Review Online Class
- Power System Analysis and Design by Glover, Sarma, and Overbye
- Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Wildi
- Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals by Steven Chapman
- 2020 Journeyman Electrician’s Exam Prep Guide By Ray Holder
- Linden’s Handbook of Batteries
- Complex Imaginary Practice Exams Complete Set Volume 1 – 4
- The Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam by Graffeo
- Power System Analysis by Grainger and Stevenson
- National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2, NESC)
- Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace: Shock and Burns (NFPA 70E)
- Hazardous Area Classification (NFPA 497, 499, 30B)
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1. Texas Instruments Ti-36X Pro Scientific Calculator
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this calculator.
The Texas Instruments TI-36X Pro Scientific Calculator is the approved calculator by NCEES® that we recommend for the PE exam.
Let’s face it, no matter how good you are your still going to have a hard time solving complex math calculations on the exam without a good calculator. We like it due to its intuitive layout, ease of use, and ability to handle complex numbers in both rectangular and polar form with ease. With this calculator, you can mix rectangular numbers with polar numbers and let the calculator worry about converting for you. You can also easily convert an answer from rectangular to polar and vice versa to quickly answer questions in different complex number formats.
We strongly recommend bringing two exam approved calculators with you to the PE exam as cheap insurance. Every year we hear horror stories of calculators malfunctioning, breaking, or losing battery during the exam. Don’t risk all of your hard work on just one calculator. At a price of just $20 it makes sense to bring two.
You can read our in-depth article on why we chose the Ti-36X Pro as the best calculator for the Electrical PE Exam here: Electrical PE Review: TI-36X Pro – the best Calculator for the Electrical Power PE Exam
Our Recommendation: Buy two, no questions asked.
Honorable Mention: Download the TI-36x Pro Guidebook (User Manual) for free directly from the Texas Instruments (no affiliation): Ti-36X Pro Guidebook (English) PDF.
Honorable Mention: Instead of the TI-36x Pro, some engineers prefer the Casio fx-115ES PLUS. Both calculators are capable of handling complex numbers with ease, however, we find the Casio to be much less intuitive to use and it will have a learning curve if you are used to the Ti family of calculators. You may prefer this calculator if you are already familiar with it, if not stick to Ti.
2. The NCEES PE Electrical and Computer: Power Practice Exam
Click the image above to visit the NCEES® (no affiliation) website for the practice exam.
This should be the first practice exam for the Electrical Power PE Exam. Anyone that has already taken the PE exam will tell you that NCEES® is extremely skilled at crafting challenging questions based on the information given, information not given, the particular vocabulary used, and possible answer choices that will force you to second guess your answer for each question. While it is highly unlikely to see exact matches on the actual PE exam from the NCEES® sample exam, what you can expect is similar uses in vocabulary and question setup.
Remember, NCEES® makes the actual PE exam that you will be taking. Your best bet is to get familiar with their word usage and question style as early as possible to prepare you for the real thing.
Just a friendly reminder that Electrical PE Review, INC is a private entity from, and not affiliated with NCEES®.
Our Recommendation: Buy it no questions asked. This should be one of the first books you purchase.
3. NFPA Link
Click the image above to visit NFPA Link®
NFPA Link® is one of the most valuable resources for PE exam prep because it gives you digital online access to nearly every code book tested on the NCEES® Electrical Power PE Exam in one place, making it easy to practice fast code lookups exactly like exam day. The only major exception is the ANSI C2-2017 National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®), which is not included since this is an ANSI standard, not an NFPA standard.
With a low-cost monthly subscription and a free trial, it’s an affordable way to build speed, confidence, and familiarity with the code references you’ll rely on during the exam.
Our Recommendation: Purchase a subscription for the months leading up to the PE exam that you can cancel after taking the exam. If you use these code books in your job, ask your employer to cover the cost.
Honorable Mention: If you are on a budget, NFPA Free Access provides the same code books as NFPA Link for no cost, however there are certain limitations such as search.
4. Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide
(Reminder: the digital version of this book is included with all of our paid enrollment plans).
Looking to get your hands on the best practice exam that will prepare you for the real PE exam and also explain each step of every problem? Stop wasting time chasing missing steps and get a hard copy of the Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide by Zach Stone, P.E. to get a taste of what the PE exam is really like.
Each question in the Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide is written with similar language and keywords that you can expect to see on the real PE exam. It is designed to challenge your thinking and expose you to real exam-like conditions. You’ll be solving for different types of units, dealing with red herrings, and answering both qualitative and quantitative problems.
NCEES® seems to be increasing the number of qualitative theory-based questions every year. So to help get you ready for the PE exam, we have included 26 total qualitative questions in the Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide to give you plenty of practice navigating your reference books to help you get used to answering difficult theory based questions. The Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide has the same question distribution per subject as the official NCEES® exam specifications, and each question was hand-selected for a difficulty level that is comparable to the PE exam to give you the best idea of what to expect when you take the real exam. There are also 13 codes and standards questions, just like the PE exam.
Unlike other practice exams, you’ll never get stuck following along thanks a tremendous level of detail in every solution, including diagrams and illustrations included for every problem solution. Each solution is one to three pages with explanations that are dedicated to helping you not only answer but understand each problem in the practice exam so that you’ll be able to answer similar questions on the PE exam.
To help you learn while you work through each problem, every solution is filled with circuit diagrams, phasor diagrams, formulas, and often solved with multiple approaches so that you can understand the answer from every angle possible.
The Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide is approximately 200 pages long and features 80 practice PE questions split between a morning and afternoon session. It is intended to act as a technical study guide in addition to a practice exam in order to better prepare you for the real exam.
Our Recommendation: This is the best educational content to date for the electrical power PE exam written and illustrated by Zach Stone, PE. Get the hard copy if you want the best practice exam to learn from.
5. Electrical Power PE Practice Exam: 80 AIT Practice Problems for the CBT Format
(Reminder: the digital version of this book is included with all of our paid enrollment plans).
The primary goal of this book is to help you dramatically improve your overall PE exam score by increasing your understanding across all exam subjects as quickly as possible. It is intended to be a powerful learning tool that will rapidly improve your overall exam proficiency.
The average level of difficulty for each problem will be greater than what you can expect to see on the PE exam. This is intentional. You will be challenged. You will be pushed. You will learn far more than you ever thought possible for the Electrical Power PE Exam from one single practice exam.
With the transition of the Power PE Exam from paper-and-pencil to the new computer-based test (CBT) format, NCEES® introduced four new types of exam questions in addition to multiple choice. These new exam questions are known as alternative item type (AIT) questions. There has been a lack of AIT-focused study material on the market to help engineers prepare for the PE exam until the publication of this book that you now hold in your hands.
Compared to multiple-choice questions, AIT questions can be much more difficult. Answering AIT questions correctly will require you to really challenge and refine your understanding of each PE exam subject area, especially when it comes to maximum or minimum values, interpreting graphs, proper rounding, and how each variable in any given relationship relates with the others. Each AIT practice problem that you are able to fully understand after working through the detailed solutions in this book represents a new relationship that you now have a much stronger grasp of and that can be applied to a higher number of exam questions, especially the much more common multiple-choice-type question. Taking the time to work through these problems will likely result in a much higher overall exam score with a greater chance of passing.
Our Recommendation: This is our newest practice exam and is the most effective book available on the market to help prepare you for the new CBT format, help you identify your problem areas and mistakes, and help maximize your score on the actual PE exam for your greatest chance at passing on your next attempt. Get the hard copy if you want the best practice exam to learn from.
6. Mastering the PE Exam: 100 Qualitative Practice Problems for the Electrical Power PE Exam
(Reminder: the digital version of this book is included with all of our paid enrollment plans).
Mastering the PE Exam: 100 Qualitative Practice Problems for the Electrical Power PE Exam is more valuable today than ever because the PE exam continues to shift more and more toward qualitative, theory-driven, and application-based questions.
Over time, NCEES® has placed increasing emphasis on testing whether engineers can interpret concepts, apply standards, recognize real-world system behavior, and make sound engineering judgments without depending on a calculator.
Success now depends less on crunching numbers and more on understanding why systems behave the way they do. This book is designed specifically for that evolution in the exam, helping you master the subtle theory, code interpretation, and scenario-based decision making skills that are becoming increasingly important for passing the Electrical Power PE Exam.
Our Recommendation: This is the only qualitative practice exam on the market for the NCEES® Power PE Exam. If you want to answer qualitative questions correctly on the PE exam, purchase this book.
7. 2020 National Electrical Code® Handbook Edition (NFPA70, NEC®)
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
The 2020 National Electrical Code® Handbook Edition (NFPA70, NEC®) is a valuable tool to help you learn the code book.
The Handbook version of the National Electrical Code® is about the same price and contains the entire codebook in addition to supplemental diagrams, graphs, step by step examples of how to apply the code, and added commentary directly following newer code and code that is often misinterpreted or hard to follow. It is extremely helpful.
As with all codebooks used on the exam, you should first talk with your employer about covering the cost for an office copy that you can use to study from and bring with to the exam if your personal copy is currently out of date. You should have no problem convincing your employer to make this purchase if your workplace doesn’t already have a copy in its library for you to use. Every workplace in the electrical industry should have one readily available.
Our Recommendation: Buy the 20 handbook edition no questions asked. If your employer will pick up the tab even better.
Honorable Mention: Download and print out the FREE Mike Holt Enterprises (no affiliation) NEC® 2020 Index. Mike’s index is laid out in a much more intuitive format than the NEC® index. We recommend using it when looking up new unfamiliar code.
8. Electrical PE Review Online Class
Our live and on-demand online class for the NCEES® Electrical Power PE Exam is designed to teach you the material listed on the electrical power PE exam specification faster than any other method available.
Our comprehensive online program includes the following:
-
- 21 Live or On-demand Classes (covers all exam subjects, approximately 3 hours each class)
- On-demand Review Course (over 200 example videos and 400 practice problems)
- Power Fundamentals Boot Camp
- Circuit Analysis Boot Camp
- Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide (80 question practice exam PDF)
- 80 Question AIT Practice Exam for the CBT Format (80 question practice exam PDF)
- Mastering the PE Exam: 100 Qualitative Practice Problems for the Electrical Power PE Exam (100 question practice exam PDF)
- Random Practice Exam Generator
- Access to the largest online community for the Power PE Exam
- 100% Complimentary Retake Guarantee if you do not pass the PE exam
- Unlimited Support
- And more
For more information, you can compare the features and costs of all enrollment plans by visiting the pricing page.
A good place to start, if you have not already, is to sign up for the Free Trial of the On-demand Review Course.
Our Recommendation: Even if you can only afford a one or two-month subscription, online class is the fastest way to learn what you need to pass the PE exam.
9. Power System Analysis and Design by Glover, Sarma, and Overbye
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
We’ve found Power Systems Analysis and Design by Ducan Glover to have the best explanations, details, and examples on the subject of protection compared to any other book. Relay books are notorious for being difficult to understand if you don’t already have a base level of understanding from the industry.
Our Recommendation: BUY THIS BOOK! This will be your go-to reference for answering and practicing the subject with the largest number of questions on the exam: protection. If you can find the solution manual to this book it will be one of your greatest assets. At the very least you should have a copy of this book, Wildi’s book on Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems (#6 shown below), and the relevant code books.
10. Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems – Theodore Wildi
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Theodore Wildi is one of our favorite, most comprehensive books for the electrical power PE exam.
This book is the absolute go-to reference for some of the harder exam topics such as:
- Transformers
- Rotating Machines
- Power Electronics
- Phasors
- Transformer Connections
- Single Phase and Three Phase Analysis
Since it reads like a college textbook there are plenty of practice problems at the end of each chapter (although you may have to search online to find a solution manual) and plenty of in-depth explanations that make the more difficult concepts intuitive and easy to understand on the fundamental level which is key to solving different varieties of the same question.
All of those “out of left field” conceptual theory questions that some people complain about on the PE exam that are hard to study for and anticipate?
This book will be an asset in answering just about every one of those if you leave yourself enough time at the end of the exam to go back and reference the harder questions.
Our recommendation: Buy it no questions asked. See if you can buy a used or international version on Amazon for less money. At the very least you should have a copy of this book and Blackburn’s Protective Relaying book.
11. Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals By Stephen J. Chapman
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Chapman’s Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals is a fantastic book on transformers and rotating machines like motors and generators. Many of the transformer equivalent circuits in the new NCEES® Reference Handbook for the Power CBT PT Exam are directly from this book. The examples are easy to follow and the explanations are very clear.
Our recommendation: If you’re looking for more practice on transformers, motors, and generators then purchase this book. Linked above is the less expensive international edition. If there are no copies available, try to regular hardcopy version.
12. 2020 Journeyman Electrician’s Exam Prep Guide By Ray Holder
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Need help with code questions on the PE exam? Ray Holder’s 2020 Journeyman Electrician’s Exam Prep Guide By Ray Holder is an excellent source of National Electrical Code® practice problems. Although it was written for journeyman electricians, it will work great for familiarizing yourself with the codebook. This book is quite large and an excellent purchase since it is reasonably priced.
Our recommendation: Codes and Standards is the second-largest subject tested on the Power PE Exam. If you want to pass the PE exam, you’ll need to be comfortable with quickly answering code questions. The vast majority of code questions come from the National Electrical Code®. At under $40 for this book, everyone taking the Power PE Exam should purchase it for extra practice.
13. Linden’s Handbook of Batteries
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Linden’s Handbook of Batteries is the battery bible. It is by far the most comprehensive book on batteries and covers every type of primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) battery including chemistry reaction, electrical circuit characteristics, applications, and more. This book is HUGE!
Ch 7.3 Electrical Energy Storage – Batteries continues to become more prominently featured on the PE exam. It is important to be able to answer a wide variety of not only quantitative battery circuit problems but also qualitative battery application and theory questions.
Our recommendation: If you are looking for a book that can answer any battery question on the PE exam then buy this book. This book can be a little costly (more than $100), so look for cheaper older editions that will be just as useful.
14. Complex Imaginary Practice Exams Complete Set
Click the image above to visit the official Complex Imaginary (no affiliation) website.
The complex imaginary books have been around for quite some time and is one of the largest volumes of practice questions around.
With 4 full-length practice exams and solutions, this book will keep you busy for quite some time.
In our experience, the questions contained in this book tend to be a bit repetitive and seem to favor certain questions and topics over others. So with that in mind do not study solely off of this book since it is not a close match to the actual PE exam. If you do, you will be sorely disappointed and in for a surprise come exam day.
However, the sheer volume of questions it contains and the solutions makes this practice book an extremely valuable asset. You will be able to tell after completing the second out of four practice exams which style of questions this book prefers. It will give you incredible strength at solving these questions, but to be successful you will need to go elsewhere for the type of questions it does not contain. However, do not let that put you off studying from this book.
Keep in mind that this is a practice exam book, it does not contain any references or teach any topics.
This is a good book to make up the bulk of your study sessions that are dedicated to grinding practice problem after practice problem.
Our recommendation: Buy it, but it should not be the only practice book in your library. Combine it with a book that teaches topics like Graffeo’s Guide below for maximum effectiveness.
15. The Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam -Alexander Graffeo
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
The Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam by Alexandar Graffeo tends to be a favorite among some examinees and it is very obvious why.
We like to think of this book as the swiss army knife of references for the electrical power PE exam. It mostly focuses on explanations and concepts in a very light, simple, and a no-nonsense way that is easy to learn from and tends to be lighter on the number of practice questions.
Graffeo’s book is an ideal reference to turn to when starting a new topic that you are unfamiliar with, or when you notice you are struggling to answer specific topics correctly. Expect it to give you a very good and broad overview of just about every topic on the exam which is why we think it serves as a good introduction to new topics, but don’t expect it to go in depth on every single topic. You still may find yourself searching for some of the more elusive details to certain topics that serve as the key to solving some of the more complex questions. However, this is still a fantastic resource and when used in combination with a large question-based practice book like the complex imaginary practice set above, turns into quite the powerful tool.
Our recommendation: buy it. Combine with a resource that has a large volume of practice questions like the Complex Imaginary set (or Spin-Up) for the best outcome.
16. Power System Analysis – Grainger, Stevenson
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
Power System Analysis by Grainger and Stevenson is another fantastic reference book that has aged well for the PE exam in electrical power.
Power System Analysis by Grainger and Stevenson is another powerhouse that also reads like a college textbook with plenty of practice questions at the end of each chapter (but just as for Wildi’s book, you may need to see if you can find a solution manual online).
This is one of our favorite books for:
- Phasor diagrams
- Power Transformer connections
- Delta vs Wye
- Single Phase vs Three Phase Analysis
- Appenix A in this book includes table information for named stranded ACSR conductors including the GMR (ex: Partridge ACSR has a GMR of 0.0217 ft).
The diagrams in this book are the best part and are especially useful for understanding some of the more complex concepts such as the rotation of phasors.
Just as with Wildi’s book, this book is also fantastic at helping you answer those hard to anticipate conceptual theory questions that show up on the exam that you are not likely to answer correctly if you don’t have a reference that contains the answer.
Don’t let the large price tag scare you, you can find used copies or paperback copies on Amazon for less than 20 bucks!
Our recommendation: This is a solid reference and a great buy but you should purchase Black Burn’s Protective Relaying and Wildi’s Electrical Machines book first. Look for the paperback or used editions on Amazon for a discounted price. The ACRS GMR tables are useful if the problem does not give you the GMR value for a named stranded ACSR conductor for transmission line problems.
17. 2017 National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2, NESC)
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
The National Electrical Safety Code (C2-2017), 2017 Edition is one of the codebooks that you’ll need for the subject Codes and Standards.
The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code® however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least one to two questions on the PE exam based on the NESC codebook.
At $200 this book is not cheap and is probably something you are not likely to use often if you are not working in an industry dealing with hands-on maintenance. As with all codebooks, you should first check to see if your workplace has the correct edition in its library to borrow while you study for the exam. If not, you should bring it up to your employer that they do not have the updated version in the office and see if they will cover the cost of the book for your workplace that you can use.
If your workplace does not have the correct edition, and your employer will not cover the cost of an office copy, then you should weigh out the decision if purchasing a $210 codebook that you will probably not use in the future is worth studying for the 1 to 2 problems you might encounter on the exam. If you have the budget for it, purchase it. If you are already tight on funds, you may decide to not purchase it.
Don’t forget that you can most likely sell the book to future examinees once you pass the exam to reduce the overall cost.
There are two different handbook editions of the NESC. If you do purchase this book, we recommend to just buy the standard codebook. Unlike the NEC, you will most likely not need the additional information presented in the handbook edition. If for some reason you do decide to purchase the handbook edition, for example, if you use this book often at your workplace, then make sure you buy the correct handbook edition. The cheaper, less than $100 McGraw-Hill NESC Handbook Edition does NOT contain the entire NESC code and should NOT be purchased for the PE exam. The more expensive Premier Edition NESC Handbook by the IEEE of the NESC DOES contain the entire NESC along with commentary and examples, similar to how the NEC handbook contains all of the NEC in addition to commentary and examples.
Our recommendation: Try to get your employer to purchase this book for you.
18. 2021 Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace: Shock and Burns (NFPA® 70E)
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
2021 NFPA 70E®: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® is another codebook you’ll need for Codes and Standards, which now has the second-highest approximate number of questions on the exam. The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least a few questions on the PE exam from NFPA® 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace.
Similar to our recommendation for the NESC, first check to see if your workplace has the correct copy of this book to use for the exam, and if not, see if your employer will purchase an office copy that you can use. If neither is an option, then check your budget. Luckily, this book is much less expensive at about $65.
Our recommendation: Try to get your employer to purchase this book for you. If not, decide if an additional $65 is worth answering one or two questions correctly on the PE exam.
19. Hazardous Area Classification (NFPA® 497, 499, 30B)
As mentioned previously, the Codes and Standards is one of the largest subjects on the PE exam. The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least one to two questions on the PE exam from the Hazardous Area Classification code books.
Similar to our recommendation for the NESC® and the NFPA® 70E, first check to see if your workplace has the correct copy of these books to use for the exam, and if not, see if your employer will purchase an office copy set that you can use. If neither is an option, then check your budget. Each copy of this book is about $50, so you are looking at roughly $150 for the complete set. You will most likely not see a question from each book, so purchasing these books are a complete gamble. If you do decide to purchase these books, you are better off purchasing the other codebooks mentioned first in the following order:
1. NEC®
2. NESC®
3. NFPA® 70E
4. NFPA® 497, 499, 30B.
Our recommendation: Purchase this set if money is not an object, you have a large budget, or your employer will cover the cost.
Would you like to share?
Comment below and share your experience using different references for the Electrical Power PE Exam or comment on a different reference not listed in this article if you would like us to review it for you.
Fantastic article. I’ll go through this and develop my own library not only for the PE exam, but for my professional reference.
Thanks
Kaihan, thanks for the comment, glad you found the article useful.
If there are other resources not covered in the article that you would like reviewed feel free to comment below.
This article is really extra-ordinary which helped me to gather the material required for my exam.
I have all of those books except for the Engineering Economics Analysis book. I can tell you right now from experience, that you will most likely get a question correct on the exam by finding the answer in Wildi’s book. For me, out of the resources you just mentioned Wildi and the Power Reference Manual (EERM) have been the most helpful to me. Graffeo’s analysis on certain subjects vary in length, but it does cover every single topic on the exam and is a very good reference. Having said that, Graffeo is also one of my favorite resources because it is simple and topics are easy to find because of the index template (tabs aren’t necessary). Thanks Zach for the resources! Keep them coming!
I was reluctant to buy the Grainger book because I just didn’t think I would have enough time to look through during the exam but now that I failed the exam, I realized that it could have helped me.
Thanks for this list! As I realize that this is not an all inclusive comprensive list, it sure is nice to know that I am in good company with my reference library.
This was one of the first articles I read before prepping for the exam. I gathered my references mostly from this list, and I have found that they have been really helpful during my studying! Thanks!
Zach,
You are absolutely correct about Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems – Theodore Wildi. This book truly is informative to a level of understanding of how electrical machines work. I have seen books that were so complicated to understand, this is not one them. With that said I truly think you should come out with a book yourself. Thank you for sharing your favorite authors with us.
Thanks for the kind words Carlos! Wildi’s book is by far my favorite, the information contained between the pages are phenomenal and his explanations are almost always superior to anything else. The book is actually Wildi’s life work – it is the sum of what he learned working with electrical machines when they were still “new” and just being figured out – imagine that. Wildi owned his own machine shop.
One of my favorites articles. I’ve purchased #11. Engineering Economic Analysis by Newnan, #8. Power System Analysis by Grainger, Stevenson, #7. Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Theodore Wildi and I already had #6. The Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam by Alexander Graffeo. These purchases were based on Zachs reviews and I think they were honest great reviews. My favorite book overall is Wildi’s book. It gives you a great explanation of multiple topics that are given in the PE Exam and uses analogies you can relate to. For example, a Three Phase system he relates to a gasoline engine and continues to explain how they are similar in a manner where the reader can appreciate and clearly understand. These are textbooks that will be used and referenced throughout your career and will come in handy.
Agreed! Wildi is a beast and his book is fantastic.
Really helpful list of resources for the PE Exam! I think that the online PE review course has been one of the most helpful resources on this list.
Thanks for the kind words Jason! Glad the review course has been a great resource for you.
It don’t know what I have done without this article. I was reading from just the PE Power Manual, but after reading this piece I realized how vast the syllabus really is and how wrong my previous strategy was. This writing has provided my a lot of insight, and gave a proper checklist for the required literature.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I recommend every test-taker to read it to get a proper idea about the exam topics and their best sources.
Thanks Eklas! Don’t forget to shop around, if you have enough time before the exam you can buy used copies of the books online just watch out for the longer shipping times.
Has anyone used the international version of Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems? It is much cheaper than the hardcover but don’t know how much of a difference it would be.
Josh, go for it! It’s the same version except for a soft cover instead of a hard cover. Content is the same.
Awesome! This will save about $200!!
There is a Second Edition of the Power Reference Manual so you may want to update this to link it. There are a few new sections and many of the original sections have been extended! Worth the upgrade. I am re-taking this exam and after taking time to compare the two, practically page by page, decided to trash the old one and buy the newer one.
https://www.amazon.com/Reference-Manual-Electrical-Computer-Second/dp/1591265029/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
P.S. This is an amazing article, thank you Zach for compiling the comprehensive list!
What is your recommendation for NFPA 497, 499, 30B, & 70E? Purchase?
Hi Jeremy,
This article is due for a minor upgrade including a mention of those code books.
In my opinion, the next codebook to purchase after the NEC handbook edition would be the NESC and NFPA 70E. This is mostly because these codebooks have their own category on the exam specs. The hazardous classification books (NFPA 497, 499, 30B) depend on your budget and your risk tolerance. If you have the budget or can convince your employer to purchase them as company copies, then go for it. If not, check the prices and decide how much the added expense is worth having these books. Since the three codebooks are spread across a single category on the exam specs, chances are that you are not going to need all three, and you can probably safely expect to see one to two questions on hazardous area classification. Which book the question(s) will come from is a complete gamble.
I hope this helps! Good luck on the PE Exam
This article has been really the only resource I have used to search for all the resources. This is an exhaustive list and should be plenty to go through.
I am going to claim it – This is the best article there is out in the internet if you are trying to figure out where to start for your PE prep. A friend pointed me to this article and it really helped me get started in the right direction!!!
I greatly appreciate the time you put in this to put this together. Till this date I’ve not seen recommendations on references to take in for the exam. This has definitely been helpful for me. Thank you again for your time and dedication.
The most beneficial reference is the PE Review Class. I’m currently taking the class for the October 26 test and it has helped me out tremendously. Zach is an excellent professor. The live classes and interactions with other students has helped me understand topics I would never be able to understand just by reading a book.
Thanks Zach!
I actually read this more than once. I wanted to make sure I was tripled prepared with all of my references. This is a better list than others I’ve seen on the web. Thanks, Zach
Thanks for this list. This made it easier for me to prepare all my references as well as budget from the beginning and realize which resources were most useful for prepping.
Is the exam for April 2019 going to be computer based? I just heard that from co-worker.
Thank you Zach for this article. It is helps a lot!
No, the electrical PE power exam will not be CBT in 2019. According to the NCEES website, the schedule to move the electrical power PE exam to CBT (computer-based) is tentatively set for 2021 and may be pushed further back.
Can students pass the PE power exam without any of this reference and only using your course notes?
Yes, however, at the very least it would still benefit you to purchase the official NCEES® practice exam and the codebooks.
Hi Zach,
Very great efforts and very helpful year; since the above recommended refrence books were for 2018 exam, could you advise the updated recommended list for the coming 2019 exam.
So which edition and year do you recommend for the following books ? Also do you recommend the handbook or the standard book?
1. NEC®
2. NESC®
3. NFPA® 70E
4. NFPA® 497, 499, 30B.
As per your comment above you mentioned this statement:
“Remember that NCEES® does not adopt codebooks for the PE exam until the year after they are updated.”
So that is why we do prefer to have your recommendation before we go ahead with any purchase.
Again thank you Zach for your great efforts, you course is excellent and awesome!!
Regards,
Omar
Hi Omar,
NCEES adopts codebooks the year after they are updated, the earliest edition for a codebook to be tested on the PE will be the year after it was updated. That means for all 2019 PE exams, if a code book was updated in 2018 then that means the 2018 edition is the correct copy to purchase for the exam. If a codebook was not updated in 2018, then the most recent edition is the correct copy for the 2019 exams. Most codebooks are on a three year update schedule but they do not all coincide with each other (for example some were updated in 2018 others were not). You’ll need to check each individual codebook.
Hi Zach,
For the Power Reference Manual for the Electrical and Computer PE Exam do you recommend more the 1st edition than the 2nd or third edition? I am asking because your book link takes me directly to the first edition and I found the 2nd and 3rd edition at a cheaper price. Just wanted to check if there are any preferences or major differences.
Thank you
Luis
Hi Luis,
If you can find new editions at a cheaper price then I would definitely purchase them over an earlier edition. New editions tend to correct typos and errors. I will look at updating the link in the article to point to the newer edition, thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Hi Zach,
Thanks for providing all of the required material in a single post with the review. Complete writing on FE Electrical and Computer Science. Much appreciated!!
I have a question. Do I need to buy all of the reference books or buying some of them is OK?
Please answer.
Hi Khaled, our recommendations are for the PE exam, and not the FE exam. Typically it is better to have more compared to less references, as it increases your chances of finding the answer to a question you do not know on the PE exam. However, books are expensive and time is limited, so to answer your question it depends on your budget and how much time you have to get familiar with each reference book. We summarize in this article the benefits of each book and how strongly we recommend buying it to help you decide, but ultimately it is up to you.
Hi Zach
I am planning to prepare for PE electrical Computer: Power Exam. I am looking for the books to buy for self-preparation , i found your article very beneficial. I have few questions, the books you mentioned like power reference book, Wildi’s book, Protective relying, Grainger’s book, Graffeo’s and some other too those available on Amazon are pricey for new editions and quite cheaper for old editions. Do I go for latest editions ? Is there any major difference between old books n new ones?
I am thinking to start with buying NCEES Exam first and Greaffeo’s.
Can you give me suggestions in buying books?
Thank you
Hi Jay,
There is not much difference between older editions except for minor error corrections. If you are looking to save money then go for the cheaper versions.
Great article. I started off my preparation looking at this article and adding weapons to my armory 😀
Thank you Zach for listing all those good materials. You may have a little bit more preference with one more than the other but the reality is that those resources, especially the first 5 are a must to bring to the PE exam. Thanks!
Great article, purchased several of these per your suggestion 🙂
Purchasing reference material is Type I decision, its too late to return after discovering a book is useless. Thank you for listing the must haves.
Thank you for sorting these all out and making recommendations!
This is not only a great list, but a good description of each item with Zach’s recommendation.
Zach – are all these reference books correctly dated (correct edition) for the October 2020 exam? I noticed that some standards Are out for more than a year and could have been updated in the exam.