electrical wire colors

• Green, Green-Yellow and Bare. According to Mark Dawson, chief operating officer of Mister Sparky, “green insulated wires are used for grounding.”
• Black. Black wires are “hot” wires, which means they carry a live current from your electrical panel to the destination.
• Red and Orange. Red electrical wires often act as secondary live wires. They’re often used when installing larger appliances like stoves, dryers or air conditioning units.
• White and Gray. “White or gray indicates a neutral wire ,” Dawson says. ...
• Blue and Yellow

Full Answer

What are the standard electrical wire colors?

Wiring colours in the USA may be categorised as either AC or DC supply. Standard 120/208/240 Volt AC wiring colouring is shown below: Phase 1 - Black. Phase 2 - Red. Phase 3 - Blue. Neutral - White. Ground - Bare wire, green, or green with yellow stripes. Such forms of wiring are commonly found within domestic and office environments.

What do the electrical wire colors mean?

What do the colors of wire mean? Blue and yellow wires are sometimes used as hot wires and as travelers, green wires (and bare copper wires) are ground wires, and white and gray wires are neutral. However, all electrical wires, regardless of their function, may carry an electrical current at some point and should be treated with equal caution.

What color is electrical wiring?

The standard colouring of 277/480 Volt AC wiring is as follows:

• Phase 1 - Brown
• Phase 2 - Orange
• Phase 3 - Yellow
• Neutral - Grey
• Ground - Green, green with yellow stripes, or bare

What are the electrical codes for wire colors?

• Black - use for line voltage or "hot" wire
• Red - a second line voltage or "hot" wire
• White - neutral
• Bare - protective ground

What do the different colors of electrical wire mean?

Black wires are hot wires that run to the electrical outlet from the switch. Red wires are hot wires common in a 240-volt outlet or when a wall switch controls the outlet. Blue and yellow wires are hot wires for ceiling fans and three- or four-way switches. White or gray electrical wires are neutral wires.

What is the color code for electrical wire?

The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active. Three-phase lines are red, black, and blue.

What colour are electrical wires in the UK?

The new electrical wiring colours in the UK are green and yellow for the earth wire; brown for the live wire, and blue for the neutral wire. The old electrical wiring colours in the UK are green and yellow (or bare) for the earth wire; red for the live wire, and black for the neutral wire.

What color wires are positive and negative?

The positive current must be red. The negative current must be black. The ground wire, if present, must be white or grey.

How do I identify electrical wires?

An electrical cable is classified by two numbers separated by a hyphen, such as 14-2. The first number denotes the conductor's gauge; the second denotes the number of conductors inside the cable. For instance, 14-2 has two 14-gauge conductors: a hot and a neutral.

What color is neutral wire in house?

white wireThe white wire is the "neutral" wire, it takes any unused electricity and current and sends it back to the breaker panel. The green wire (or it can sometimes be uncolored) wire is the "ground" wire, it will take electricity back to the breaker panel, then outside to a rod that's buried in the ground.

Which is live blue or brown?

The blue wire is known as the neutral wire, and its job is to take electricity away from an appliance, and back to the power supply. The brown cable – known as the live wire – delivers electricity from the power supply to your appliance.

Is live black or red?

Black (neutral) Red (live) Green and yellow (earth)

What are the 3 phase colours?

For three-phase cables the phase colours are brown, black and grey, instead of red, yellow and blue, respectively, and the neutral colour is now blue instead of black.

How do you tell which wire is positive and which is negative?

If you have a wire where both sides are the same color, which is typically copper, the strand that has a grooved texture is the negative wire. Run your fingers along the wire to determine which side has the ribbing. Feel the other wire which is smooth. This is your positive wire.

What color wire is hot?

blackHot wire is identified by its black casing. This is the main color of hot wire for most homes. However, other hot wires can red, blue, or yellow, although these colors can indicate a different function besides powering an outlet.

Types of Wire Color Codes

There are quite a few different wire color code standards in place, so it is important to understand which one to follow in which situation. The st...

Labeling Electrical Wires & Conduits

The wire color codes used are only going to apply to the actual wires that are carrying the electricity. In many cases, a bundle of these colored w...

Effective Training Options

Those who work directly with electrical wiring on a daily basis will need to be initially trained on what each of the wiring color codes means. Onc...

Applying Color Standards to Existing Wiring

If there are wires in a facility that were put in place prior to the standards that are now used, it is important to take steps to address this saf...

Why are warning signs placed around electrical wires?

Placing warning signs anywhere that someone might interact with electrical wires, especially high-voltage wires, is another good idea for improving overall safety. These signs can serve as a good reminder to those in the area that there are dangerous wires present.

What is the name of the wire that has a higher voltage?

In some uncommon situations, one phase will have a higher voltage than the others. These are known as high-leg connections. While rare, they can be identified by looking for a wire that is marked with orange, which will be the higher voltage wire.

What voltage is AC wire?

AC power comes in many different types based on how many volts the wires will be carrying. For wires that will be 120, 208 or 240 volts, the following wiring color standards are used. It is important to note that with this type of wiring, there are multiple phases in place, each of which will get its own color wire to make it clear what it is for those working on it.

Why is it important to label wires?

When this is the case, it is important to take the time to properly label the wires and electrical conduits to warn people of potential dangers.

What happens if you don't wire properly?

If something is not wired properly, it can result in injuries, deaths, fires, and many other problems. This is why there are well-established wire color codes to ensure those working with an around this type of equipment can ensure everything is wired safely and effectively.

How many wires are needed for DC power?

When wiring for DC power, there are typically going to be either two or three wires. The coloring is as follows:

What color should a phase 1 volt switch be?

Phase 1 - Phase 1 wiring should be black. Phase 2 - Phase 2 wiring should be red. Phase 3 - Phase 3 wiring should be blue. Neutral - Neutral wiring should be white. Ground - Ground wiring can be green or green with a yellow stripe. In some uncommon situations, one phase will have a higher voltage than the others.

What color wires are used in electrical wiring?

These are the most common colors used in electrical wiring. Other color combinations, such as striped wires, may be used for other applications. 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.

What is the difference between blue and yellow wires?

Yellow wires are used as switch legs to ceiling fans, structural lights, and outlets paired with light switches, while blue wires are usually used as travelers for three-or-four-way switches.

What is black wire?

Black Electrical Wires. Black electrical wires carry the current from the power source to the outlet and used for power in all types of circuits. Make sure you use extra caution when dealing with these - when you see a black wire, you know it is hot. Any circuit’s black wire should be considered live at all times.

What does it mean when a wire is white?

If you see a white wire marked with black or red (or a piece of black or red electrical tape at its ends), that means it’s acting as a hot wire and is no longer neutral. Green wires connect to the grounding terminal in an outlet box and run to the ground bus bar in an electrical panel.

What is the purpose of black wires?

These wires are often used as a switch leg that transfers power to switches and outlets in all circuits. Black wires are never used for a ground or neutral wire and are meant to be used as the power feed for a switch or an outlet. They are most commonly found in residential buildings. Red Electrical Wires.

How does electrical current return to the service panel?

Once power leaves the electrical panel through the hot wire of a circuit and works through devices such as a light bulb or an outlet, the electrical current returns back to the service panel through the neutral (and usually white) wire that is connected to the neutral bus bar, which returns the current to the electric utility grid.

Where are red wires found?

They are most commonly found in residential buildings. Red Electrical Wires. Red electrical wires are the secondary live wires in 220-volt circuits and are commonly found in a sheathed, multi-conductor cable.

What is the most common color of electrical wire?

Three-way and four-way switches operate a single appliance from multiple locations and use traveler wires to connect the switches. Blue and yellow are considered the most common travel wire colors, ...

What color wire is used for traveler wire?

Blue and yellow are considered the most common travel wire colors, but brown or purple/violet can also be used. Yellow is more commonly used as a switch leg instead of a traveler wire in these applications. Originally Published: February 12, 2021.

What is the red wire used for?

Red wires can also be used in some 120-volt applications. Like black wires, red wires can be used as switch legs. Dawson notes that red wires are commonly used when installing ceiling fans that use separate switches for the fan motor and light. When this is the case, the hot black wire is connected to one switch to operate the fan motor, ...

What is black wire?

Black wires are “hot” wires, which means they carry a live current from your electrical panel to the destination. They feed electricity to electrical outlets, switches and appliances from the home’s main power supply. Black wires can also be used as “switch legs” that connect wall switches outlets and appliances (like ceiling fans or lights), ...

What is the red wire on a smoke alarm?

Red wires are also used as “trigger wires” for interconnected smoke alarms. In this case, the red trigger wires allow all the interconnected alarms to go off simultaneously when one alarm is triggered. Orange wire may be used in place of red for all of these purposes. 4 / 5. 66North/Getty Images.

What does gray mean on a wire?

White and Gray. “White or gray indicates a neutral wire ,” Dawson says. A neutral wire returns electricity from the hot wire back to a grounded portion of the home’s electrical panel to complete the circuit. Without it, the electrical current couldn’t circulate and the live wire couldn’t provide usable power.

What color wire is used for grounding?

According to Mark Dawson, chief operating officer of Mister Sparky, “green insulated wires are used for grounding.” Green is the most common ground wire color, but “green-yellow” (green wire with a yellow stripe) and “bare” wire ( copper wire without colored insulation) can also be used.

What colors of wire do electricians use?

Before pre-made cables were the norm, though, electricians would run empty tubing between the main panel and the wall and ceiling boxes and filled the tubing with a variety of different wire colors like blue, red, orange, yellow, brown, and violet —a setup still seen in older homes today.

What is the color of the 220 volt wire?

You’ll find black and red or orange wires connected to 220-volt appliances like electric water heaters, well pumps, and older electric ranges. However, those same 220-volt appliances can be wired with a black and white wire, where the white wire had been marked with black or red tape at both the appliance and in the main panel to indicate ...

What is the red wire used for?

Red can also be used as a “signal” or “trigger” wire in three-wire interconnected smoke detector applications. The trigger wire is used to activate all the interconnected smoke detectors the instant one detector senses smoke or fire. In that wiring setup, the smoke detectors get power and neutral from the black and white wires, ...

What is the purpose of red or orange wires?

Red or orange wires are often used to provide the secondary phase voltage in a 220-volt application. Always assume that a red or orange wire (in addition to the black wire, which provides the primary phase voltage) is live. You’ll find black and red or orange wires connected to 220-volt appliances like electric water heaters, well pumps, ...

What is a 2 wire cable used for?

However, when sized appropriately for the load, two-wire armored cables can also be used to provide power to 220-volt appliances like a water heater or well pump , which is where things get tricky.

What is the difference between a neutral and a hot conductor?

The hot or “live” conductor sheathed in black typically carries power to a 110-volt light or receptacle, while a neutral conductor would carry energy away and a bare copper ground wire can conduct any excess energy that might otherwise be a shock or fire hazard.

What is the white sheathing on a water heater?

A: You’re right, white sheathing does generally indicate a neutral wire, but it’s not always so simple to decipher. In this case, your water heater is probably wired with two-wire flexible armor-clad “BX” or “MC” cable—that’s a factory-made cable with a metal jacket protecting a black, white, and bare copper wire.

Safety first

You should never work on electrical wires unless you're confident in your abilities. The danger of electrical shocks is very real unless you know what you're doing. Here are some important safety tips:

Wiring color codes

So, how do we know what color-coding system to use for electrical wiring colors? The answer lies in the National Electrical Code (NEC). The electrical wiring color codes of this code are used in all 50 states and set a uniform series of standards for safe installation, design, and inspection of electrical systems.

The anatomy of electrical cables

If you were to go to your local home improvement store and buy a spool of electrical cable, you might be a bit confused about this discussion of wire colors. All you'll see is some rather bland colored cable. Where are the multi-colored wires that we've alluded to?

Hot wire colors

A "hot" wire. Sound dangerous? You can bet that it is. Hot wires lead directly from your home's main electrical panel or secondary electrical panel to the destination - in most cases light switches or light fixtures, or an electrical outlet.

Ground wire colors

A ground wire is an essential part of any electrical circuit. The wire creates a safe path for the current in the event of a fault.

Neutral wire colors

Don't be deceived by the name "neutral" when discussing wire color codes. Neutral wires carry power in many applications, just the same as red wires or black wires. The difference lies in the pathways the different wires use. Red or black hot wires bring power from the breaker box to the switch or outlet they borrow.

Other wiring colors

We've discussed the most common wiring colors, but there are some other colors that you'll occasionally find when examing electrical wire and wiring systems. These are blue and yellow wires

What color wires do electricians use?

An easy way for electricians to identify the purpose of what’s happening beyond what the human eye can see is to use color-coded wiring. In residential, the colors we use for electrical conduction are BLACK, RED, and BLUE ( blue is not as common in residential, but often found in ceiling fans ). These energy conducting black, red, and blue “hot” wires are found throughout a wired home.

What is the color of ground wire?

And the final color commonly found in homes is the GREEN ground wire, also known as the safety wire, keeps electricity in check ( should it get out of control ). When it comes to grounding, this function of a house’s electrical system is the top priority of the national electric codebook. When all wiring is appropriately grounded breakers will trip when designed to do so and you and your family will remain safe in otherwise dangerous situations.

What is the white wire on a light bulb?

To return electricity to the electrical panel, residential electricians use WHITE wiring, also know as the neutral strand. Whether its a light bulb or some other electrically powered device, all electricity goes back to the panel through this wire. Back to the panel, the white connects to the neutral bar where the black wire will connect to the breaker.

What is bare copper wire?

Outside of this coloring, the only other type of wiring you’ll sometimes come across is bare copper wiring with no color coating at all. This type of bare copper wiring is found in all electrical boxes. If aluminum wire is being used in the house, the bare aluminum wire that does not have a plastic coating would be used as the ground wire. This is usually found in some 220-volt applications and the service wire that runs between the outside meter and the main panel. Good ground wires don’t hold electricity ( they dump it into the earth ), as they are designed.

What color is phasing tape?

You’re familiar with the most common electrical tape color, black. But electrical phasing tape is also found in the other colors of the rainbow. When needed, we update those color wires when servicing our electrical repair customers.

Is color accurate in electrical?

Like we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the color is only as useful as it is used accurately. Mistakes happen, even with the best electricians, but often they’re the result of someone not paying attention or getting distracted on the job ( which thankfully is more common in receptacles than it is in electrical panels ). Color matching accuracy is also a good reason why we steer those with color blindness to choose another profession.

What does color mean in electrical wiring?

For electricians, wire colors indicate how power moves within circuits.

Why color wires?

Simply put, color makes it easier to work with wires. Just ask those who come in frequent contact with wires, mainly:

What is the NEC code for wires?

Though there are international wire color codes, the U.S. follows the National Electrical Code ® (NEC). The code is identified as NFPA 70 ® because the NEC is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association. Though not a federal law (states can choose to adopt it), it is approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Every three years, the NEC reviews, amends and adopts the latest code. The current NEC was last updated in 2020.

How do you ground an electrical circuit?

They ground the electrical circuit by connecting to a grounding terminal in an outlet box and connecting to a metallic strip (busbar) in an electrical panel.

What does a white wire mean?

When you see a modified white wire (with black or red tape wrapped around it), it signals the wire is hot, not neutral. You may see these in 240-volt outlets replacing the red wire as the second live wire.

What does it mean when you see a red wire?

In the case of electricity, recognizing a red electrical wire (hot wire) could mean lowering the risk of electrical shocks, burns, electrocution and fires. If a body encounters a high-magnitude electrical surge, it could take years to recover.

Why do we remember colors?

We remember better when colors are used compared to when they’re not. That’s because colors play an essential role in keeping information in the memory system. Since electrical wires are colored, it’s easier to understand their purpose within a network .

Why are wires different colors?

Why Wires are Different Color. The wires inside an NM sheathed cable are color-coded to make it possible to identify each one at both ends of the cable and wire correctly. All NM cables contain the basic black insulation and white insulation wires plus the bare copper or green insulated ground wire. In a three-wire cable, there will also be an ...

How to identify electrical wiring?

The quickest way to identify house electrical wiring is by its color. Depending on where a wire ultimately gets installed, you cannot always rely on the markings printed on the insulation coating, nor will you always be able to read them legibly.

What is the name of the wire that carries the current from the power source to the outlet or recepta?

The wire that carries the current from the power source to the outlet or receptacle is the hot wire. Whenever you see a black wire, you know it is hot. There are other wires (called travelers) that carry current in more complicated circuits, but black is always hot.

What does a green wire mean?

Green or Bare. When you see either a green wire or a bare copper wire, you can be sure it is a ground wire. A ground wire is used as a protective measure. Ground wires return fault current to earth ground, protecting the individual from electrocution.

What wire does a circuit go through?

To complete the circuit, the current must return to the power source. It does this through the neutral wire, which is always white.

What are the different types of wires?

The helpful reality is that you really have only three types of wire to identify: hot, neutral, and ground. A number of different colors may be used for the hot wire in various types of switch wiring, while neutral and ground wires should always be the same.

What is red wire?

Red wires are commonly found in sheathed, multi-conductor cable. These are called travelers and typically used for two-way switch wiring. Since red wires still conduct current, they are considered hot.

What color wires are used in UK AC circuits?

US, AC: The US National Electrical Code only mandates white (or grey) for the neutral power conductor and bare copper, green, or green with yellow stripe for the protective ground. In principle any other colors except these may be used for the power conductors.

What color is the neutral power conductor?

US, AC: The US National Electrical Code only mandates white (or grey) for the neutral power conductor and bare copper, green, or green with yellow stripe for the protective ground. In principle any other colors except these may be used for the power conductors.

What color conductors are used for 208 VAC?

Black, red, and blue are used for 208 VAC three-phase; brown, orange and yellow are used for 480 VAC. Conductors larger than #6 AWG are only available in black and are color taped at the ends.

What color is the ground for DC power?

US DC power: 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 protective ground must be bare, green or green-yellow striped. Hot (active) wires may be any other colors except these.

What color is the protective ground?

The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active. Three-phase lines are red, black, and blue.

Does the UK follow the IEC?

UK, AC: The United Kingdom now follows the IEC AC wiring color codes. Table below lists these along with the obsolete domestic color codes. For adding new colored wiring to existing old colored wiring see Cook.