Electrical Wire Colour Meanings

Green or green with a yellow stripe neutral wires.

Electrical wire colour meanings.

Black or red for a second live wire 3 phase live wires. These are the most common colors used in electrical wiring. The protective ground must be bare green or green yellow striped. Electrical wiring in canada is governed by the canadian electric code cec.

White single phase live wires. What the color of an electrical wire means black electrical wires. Other colored wires. 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.

The following wiring color requirements apply in canada. Don t be confused by the number of electrical wire colors you find we ve got just the. Also black wires are often used as switch legs in circuits which is the connection linking a switch to the electrical load. Consider all black wires to be live at all times.

Knowing the electrical color code that dictates which wire does what is imperative not only in the correct configuration of an electrical system but it s also paramount for your safety. Red black and blue it s important to remember that the above color information applies only to ac. Hot active wires may be any other colors except these. This color of wire is used to transfer power to switches and outlets in all types of circuits.

Other color combinations such as striped wires may be used for other applications. The us national electrical code for both ac and dc mandates that the grounded neutral conductor of a power system be white or grey.