Electrical Wire Colour Meanings

The us national electrical code for both ac and dc mandates that the grounded neutral conductor of a power system be white or grey.

Electrical wire colour meanings. The protective ground must be bare green or green yellow striped. 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. 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.

Black or red for a second live wire 3 phase live wires. This color of wire is used to transfer power to switches and outlets in all types of circuits. 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. 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.

What the color of an electrical wire means black electrical wires. Consider all black wires to be live at all times. Other color combinations such as striped wires may be used for other applications. Other colored wires.

Green or green with a yellow stripe neutral wires. The following wiring color requirements apply in canada. Also black wires are often used as switch legs in circuits which is the connection linking a switch to the electrical load. These are the most common colors used in electrical wiring.

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.