Electrical Wire Color Meaning

What the color of an electrical wire means black electrical wires.

Electrical wire color meaning.

The colors regulated by the national electrical code in the united states are standardized for safety. These are the most common colors used in electrical wiring. Also black wires are often used as switch legs in circuits which is the connection linking a switch to the electrical load. The color of the sheathing indicates recommended.

This helps to protect people from accidental exposure and makes it much easier to run. Other colored wires. 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.

Hot active wires may be any other colors except these. The wire color codes used are only going to apply to the actual wires that are carrying the electricity. 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 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.

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. This color of wire is used to transfer power to switches and outlets in all types of circuits. Non metallic or nm 120 volt and 240 volt electrical cable come in two main parts. The following wiring color requirements apply in canada.

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. Electrical wiring in canada is governed by the canadian electric code cec. Red black and blue it s important to remember that the above color information applies only to ac. 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.

We ve listed the typical uses for wire. In many cases a bundle of these colored wires will be grouped together and sealed within a black or grey cable. The national electrical code mandates particular colors for the ground wire and the neutral or return leg of a grounded circuit. Labeling electrical wires conduits.

Electrical cable and wire color markings. The protective ground must be bare green or green yellow striped. However common practice per local electrical inspectors is for the first hot live or active wire to be black and the. 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.

Consider all black wires to be live at all times. Green or green with a yellow stripe neutral wires.