Electrical Wire Color Meanings

These are the most common colors used in electrical wiring.

Electrical wire color meanings.

The color of the sheathing indicates recommended. Other color combinations such as striped wires may be used for other applications. Also black wires are often used as switch legs in circuits which is the connection linking a switch to the electrical load. The us national electrical code for both ac and dc mandates that the grounded neutral conductor of a power system be white or grey.

The outer plastic sheathing or jacket and the inner color coded wires the sheathing binds the inner wires together and its outer markings indicate the number of wires and size of wire gauge within the sheathing. Hot active wires may be any other colors except these. In many cases a bundle of these colored wires will be grouped together and sealed within a black or grey cable. However common practice per local electrical inspectors is for the first hot live or active wire to be black and the.

The wire color codes used are only going to apply to the actual wires that are carrying the electricity. This helps to protect people from accidental exposure and makes it much easier to run. White single phase live wires. We ve listed the typical uses for wire.

Red black and blue it s important to remember that the above color information applies only to ac. The colors regulated by the national electrical code in the united states are standardized for safety. The different colors of electrical wires indicate the function of the wire with black and red indicating the wires carry electric current white usually indicating neutral charge and green indicating the wire is grounded. Remember black and red wires are always hot meaning they are source wires that carry power from the electric service panel to a destination such as an outlet or a light.

Non metallic or nm 120 volt and 240 volt electrical cable come in two main parts. The protective ground must be bare green or green yellow striped. The wiring in a typical residence can get complicated and in an effort to keep track of what s what electricians assign certain colors to wires in an electrical circuit. Other colored wires.

Black or red for a second live wire 3 phase live wires. The following wiring color requirements apply in canada. Labeling electrical wires conduits. Consider all black wires to be live at all times.

Electrical wiring in canada is governed by the canadian electric code cec. The national electrical code contains strict wire color rules for grounding and neutral conductors but it s less rigid when it comes to other colors. The national electrical code mandates particular colors for the ground wire and the neutral or return leg of a grounded circuit. Green or green with a yellow stripe neutral wires.

This color of wire is used to transfer power to switches and outlets in all types of circuits. Be aware that all electrical wires regardless of their function could carry an electrical current at some point so treat all wires with equal caution.