Electrical Wire Colour Meanings

Consider all black wires to be live at all times.

Electrical wire colour meanings.

Black or red for a second live wire 3 phase live wires. The following wiring color requirements apply in canada. White single phase live wires. Green or green with a yellow stripe neutral wires.

What 12 different electrical wire colors actually mean wiring a light fixture or new appliance. This color of wire is used to transfer power to switches and outlets in all types of circuits. However common practice per local electrical inspectors is for the first hot live or active wire to be black and the. Also black wires are often used as switch legs in circuits which is the connection linking a switch to the electrical load.

Don t be confused by the number of electrical wire colors you find we ve got just the. Hot active wires may be any other colors except these. 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.

Red black and blue it s important to remember that the above color information applies only to ac. 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. Other colored wires. What the color of an electrical wire means black electrical wires.

Electrical wiring in canada is governed by the canadian electric code cec. 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.