What color is the phase and neutral wire. Marking electrical wires by color: expert advice

There is a funny opinion among newbies in electrics, they say various colors cables and wires are just an advertising "chip" of manufacturing companies. Of course, this is not true. Conductors differing in color are needed for convenience - in order to immediately determine: where is the phase in the wiring, where is zero and where is grounding.

At the same time, incorrect connection of incompatible types of wires is fraught not only with a short circuit, but also with electric shock to a person.

The main task of the tsyetovaya is to provide safe conditions electro installation work. Insulation colors that differ from each other can significantly reduce the time it takes to find and connect certain contacts.

If you look at the PUE or the same European standards, you can find out that each individual core has its own special color of the insulating layer. The main objective of this article is to help the reader understand: what color are the phase, zero and ground wires.

Appearance of the ground wire

According to the rules for the installation of electrical installations, insulating layer The ground wire must be colored yellow-green. Sometimes manufacturing companies also apply a green insulating layer with longitudinal and transverse yellow stripes to the wire. There are also shells entirely painted in yellow or green. On the wiring diagram, the “earth” is marked with the abbreviation “PE”. What is important - the ground wire can be called "zero protection" and do not confuse this definition with "neutral wire".

Example appearance"grounding":

Appearance of the neutral wire

Both single-phase and three-phase electrical network the color marking of the neutral wire must always be blue or blue color. On the diagram, it is designated as "N". Also, zero is often called zero or neutral working contact.

An example of the appearance of "neutral":

The appearance of the wire "phase"

Unlike the previous versions of the conductors, the phase wire (aka “L”) can be painted in one of the following colors:

• black;
• white;
• grey;
• red;
• brown;
• orange;
• Violet;
• pink;
• turquoise.

It is worth noting that often the “phase” is black, white or brown:

Important information

The color marking of electrical wires has many features. Often beginners are faced with huge amount various questions. The most frequent among them:

1. What does the abbreviation "PEN" mean?
2. How to determine where the ground, zero and phase are, if the wires do not differ in insulation colors or have a non-standard color?
3. How to specify zero, phase and ground yourself?
4. What other wire color coding standards might exist?

Well, let's find answers to these important questions together.

Abbreviation "PEN"

The system that has become irrelevant at the present time grounding TN-C involves connecting earth to neutral. This has its own plus, which is to increase the ease of installation work. However, it also has its drawback, namely, the risk of electric shock when installing wiring in a house or apartment. In this case, such a combined wire is painted yellow-green, but the ends of the insulation are blue (which is typical for neutral). Just this combined contact is indicated on the diagrams as "PEN":

Search for PE, L and N

Suppose, in the process of repairing an electrical network, you find that all the wires are painted the same color. How to figure out what each of the conductors means?

If a single-phase network does not imply the presence of grounding (there are only two wires in the network), then an indicator screwdriver is needed. It will help to determine which of the wires is “phase” and which is “zero”.

Before the procedure, do not forget to turn off the power supply at the input panel. Next, you will need to carefully strip both wires of the network and separate them away from each other, after which, turn on the current supply again. Now it remains to distinguish the “phase” from “zero” using the indicator: upon contact with the “phase” wire, the light on the screwdriver handle will light up (from which it follows that the second wire is the desired “zero”).

In the same situation, when the wiring also has a third ground wire, you need to use a multimeter. In short, it is applied as follows. To get started, set the AC measurement range on the device to above 220 volts. Next, lean one of the two tentacles against the phase core, and with the second tentacle, find “zero” / “ground”. In this case, in case of contact with the neutral conductor, the voltage value within 220 Volts will appear on the display of the multimeter. In the case of contact with the ground wire, the voltage will be slightly lower.

There is another way to determine the types of conductors. It will help you when there is neither an indicator screwdriver nor a multimeter at hand. The logic and color of the insulation will help out here. Remember that the blue shell is absolutely always "zero". Determining the remaining two wires will be a little more difficult. The first option is this: you are left with a colored and black / white contact, among which the colored one is most likely the “phase”, and the last white or black wire is the “ground”. A second scenario is also possible: before you remains red and black / white wire, where white insulation (according to PUE) means "phase", and the remaining red - "ground".

Be careful! The described method is only advisory character and is quite dangerous. In case you decide to use it, make appropriate notes for yourself that will save you from electric shock when replacing a chandelier or socket.

What else I would like to say is that in the chain direct current color marking of plus and minus is represented by black and red color of the insulating layer. In a three-phase network, each “phase” will have its own color (A is yellow, B is green, and C is red). In this case, “zero” will be blue, and “ground” will be yellow-green. In a 380 volt cable, wire A will be white, B will be black, and C will be red. Zero working and protective wires will be the same as in the previous version.

How to specify L, N and PE by yourself?

When the designation does not exist at all, or it is radically different from the standard one, it is recommended to designate all the elements on your own. Colored electrical tape or special heat shrink tubing (also known as cambric) will help in this matter. According to regulatory documents, the types of wires must be indicated at their ends - in those places where the conductors are connected to the bus:


The marks made will help in the future both the owner of the house or apartment, and the invited electrician. And this is really worth taking care of in advance.

Everyone can face the need to repair electrical wiring or purchase various cable products for a future new home, and the color of wires in an electrician plays an important role. The reasons for this are different, but when you start to eliminate it, you should count on one encouraging factor that there is a color marking of wires. It is worth understanding what it is and why they do it.

Basic definitions

In AC power networks up to a thousand kilovolts, the color marking of wires and cables is strictly regulated by state normative documents, such as the "Electrical Installation Rules" (PUE), namely, the section of the seventh edition in Chapter 1, paragraphs 1.1.29 - 1.1.30 is responsible for this. It states that "Identification of wire cores by colors or numerical designations" must be used in accordance with GOST P 50462-92 (IEC 446-89). Marking has the main designations:

In 3-phase AC switchboards, the busbars are painted:

• yellow - L1 (phase A);
• green - L2 (B);
• red - L3 (C);
• blue - block of the zero working conductor N;
• alternating longitudinal or transverse stripes of the same width of yellow-green color - PEN grounding bus.

Important! If the body of the electrical panel serves as a grounding contact at the same time, then the place of connection of the wires is indicated by the sign (ground) and is painted yellow-green.

The PUE allows you to designate the color of the main wires of the phase, zero not along the entire length of the bus, but only to perform at the points of connection to the contacts, if the bus is invisible, it is allowed not to color it.

Important! It is necessary to use the color marking of wires and cables when installing electrical equipment located in the same building with the same color schemes.

We must not forget that the designation of wires by color, in no case, should reduce the degree of electrical safety and convenience in the repair or maintenance of electrical equipment.

electrical safety

Alternating electricity with a voltage of 380V - 220V is a dangerous factor, so if a person touches an unauthorized bare wires, or metal parts of electrical equipment that may carry this voltage, can result in severe burns or death! For this, the PUE gives an answer not only to the questions: what color is the ground wire, or what is PEN, but what it is for.

In order to protect a person as much as possible from possible exposure to electric current, electrical safety systems were adopted, characterized by one or more factors, such as:

• grounding;
• protective zeroing;
• separation of networks by a transformer.

To provide safe work in existing electrical installations up to 1 kV, five grounding systems are used: TN-C, TN-S, TN-C-S, TT, IT with different ways grounding, zeroing and separation of networks. The PUE defines each of the systems as:

1. TN-C, where the working zero N and grounding PE conductors are combined in one PEN wire. It is characterized by: the use of a cable with four cores in three-phase network and a two-core cable in single-phase. This is the oldest electrical network device, still found everywhere, for reasons of economy, for example, in street lighting.
2. TN-S, where the working N conductor and the grounding PE are separated from the supply transformer to the end consumer. Such networks are made of five-core cables for a three-phase network and three-core wires in a single-phase network.
3. TN-C-S, where there is one combined PEN conductor of a four-core cable, from the supply transformer to a group panel at the entrance to the building, which is further divided into N and PE, respectively, into five and three-core wiring. This is the most common system for constructing power supply networks for buildings and structures.
4. TT, where there is only one working N conductor, and only the electrical equipment case is grounded. In such a system, four and two-wire wiring are used, respectively. So, mainly overhead power lines are arranged.
5. IT, where the electrical installation is separated from the supply network by a transformer and completely isolated from the ground. This is the safest system for humans, it is used for special purpose consumers only.

Thus, the color of the wires phase and zero, L and N in an electrician will help to visually determine the security system used in a given electrical network.

DC electrical networks

As well as alternating current DC circuits are used, for example, in on-board networks of cars and household appliances. In such wiring there is no phase wire and zero. The wire color rule in DC electrics is much simpler, since there are only two potentials positive, denoted by electrical diagrams, both (+) and negative, having a (-) sign. The colors of such wires are easy to remember: plus - red, and minus - black.

Important! For household appliances these colors are correct only for the supply lines, in the further part of the diagram the positive wire may have a different color.

Practice

Starting directly to electrical work or repair in electrical wiring, you may encounter non-compliance with the color regulation, which is established by regulatory documents. As practice shows, this case is not the rule, but the exception.

For example:

• you can buy a three-core cable type BBG 3x1.5, which has cores with white, red and brown colors;
• often found cable products with white wires with a color stripe of black, gray or of blue color, along the entire length;
• in the wiring that was done before, in general, you can find a two or three-wire wire white color.

Here are some practical tips:

1. When repairing in existing networks, it is necessary to use electrical safety devices, such as a voltage indicator or an indicator screwdriver. With their help, you can always determine the color of the phase wire.
2. In the absence of the correct color coding for cable products, purchase a cambric or insulating tape of the required color. The main thing is to mark the color of the ground wire with a yellow-green color, the working zero - blue color, and for phase L in electrics, you can choose any other color.
3. For laying new wiring, use a cable of the same brand so that there is no confusion with the color of the wires in the electrician.

Color coding abroad

The yellow and green marker of the ground wire PE and the blue working zero N - are designated absolutely identically in all CIS countries, while they are clearly unified with the countries of the European Union. The color designation of the phase wire is somewhat different, but this is not of fundamental importance in terms of electrical safety.

Other countries such as Brazil, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand the PE ground wire, along with the yellow-green color, can simply be green, and the working zero N is designated by any of black, white or blue.

In the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, the PE conductor may not be insulated at all.

Important! Earlier in the USSR, according to the old edition of the PUE, there was a color marking that was fundamentally different from today. So, the dead-earthed neutral and all grounding conductors were indicated in black, and the white color of the wire corresponded to the working zero.

It is worth remembering that electrical work requires an electrician to have knowledge of electrical installations and safety precautions. Clearly knowing the marking, there will no longer be a question of how to choose the right wire color during operation, and repairing electrical wiring or installing equipment will become not only safe, but also convenient.

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Proper marking of wires and cords can greatly facilitate the installation and repair of any electrical network. After all, proper marking will not only facilitate the installation process itself, but will also allow you or any other person just by looking at junction box, shield or wires, determine their purpose.

It is for these purposes that the marking of wires must be carried out in accordance with the uniform rules that are given in the "Bible" of any electrician - PUE (Electrical Installation Rules).

To ensure clarity, simplicity and ease of recognition separate parts electrical network in accordance with clause 1.1.30 of the PUE, all electrical installations must have an alphanumeric and color designation. Moreover, the presence of one of these designations does not eliminate the need for the presence of another.

And the only relief is the possibility of applying the designation not along the entire length of the conductor, but only at the connection points, as shown in the video.

Wire color coding

The marking of wires by color is the most visual and allows you to quickly determine the purpose of any wire. Such marking can be done by selecting wires with the appropriate color of the core insulation, by applying paint to the busbars, or by painting or using special colored electrical tape at the junctions of the cores.

Moreover, the paint on the tires can not be applied along the entire length, but only at the connection points or at the ends of the tires.

So:

• If we talk about the color designation of wires and cables, then we should start with the phase conductors. According to clause 1.1.30 of the PUE in a three-phase network, phase conductors must be marked in yellow, green and red. So, phases A, B and C are respectively designated.
• The instruction for a single-phase electrical network assumes the designation of a phase wire in accordance with the color of which it is a continuation. That is, if phase wire nick is connected to phase "B" of a three-phase network, then it must be green.

Note! In a single-phase network of an apartment or house, you often do not know which phase your phase wire is connected to. In order to comply with GOST, you do not have to find out at all. It is enough to designate the phase conductor with any of the proposed colors. Indeed, for a single-phase lighting network, it does not matter at all which phase your conductor is connected to. The only exception is the lighting network, which uses two different phase conductors.

• As for the neutral conductors, they should have a blue color. Moreover, the color of the zero core does not depend on whether the three-phase, two-phase and single-phase network is in front of you. It is always marked in blue.
• Wire markings with a green/yellow stripe indicate a protective conductor. It connects to the body of electrical appliances and provides safety from shock electric shock in case of damage to the insulation of electrical equipment.

• If the neutral and protective conductors are combined, then according to clause 1.1.29 of the PUE, such a wire core should have a blue color with yellow-green stripes at its ends. In order to make such a marking with your own hands, you just need to take a blue wire and mark it with paint on its terminations or use colored electrical tape for this.
• As for DC networks, the positive core of the wire or bus should be indicated in red, and the negative in blue. In this case, the designation of the zero and protective core corresponds to the marking in AC networks.

Letter marking of wires

But marking wires in color is not always convenient. in shields, switchgears and on the diagrams the letter designation is much more convenient. It must be used in conjunction with a color code.

So:

• Letter marking phase wires in a three-phase network corresponds to their colloquial designation - phase "A", "B" and "C". For a single-phase network, it should be the same, but this is far from always convenient. Moreover, it is not always possible to reliably determine which phase. Therefore, the designation "L" is often used.

Note! Paragraph 1.1.31 of the PUE normalizes not only letter-color designation conductors, but also their location. So for a three-phase network with a vertical arrangement of tires, phase "A" should be the highest, and phase "C" the bottom. And with a horizontal arrangement of conductors, the closest phase to you should be phase "C", and the most distant phase "A".

• If the wires are marked in the shield, then under the symbol "N" they indicate the neutral wire.
• The letter designation "PE" is used to designate the protective conductor. In addition, the ground sign is often used, but the fact is that it cannot always accurately indicate the network diagram.

• The fact is that you can meet the designation "PEN". It means the combination of the neutral and protective conductor. This is possible in TN-C-S systems which we talked about in one of our previous articles.
• But the marking of electric DC wires is carried out by the symbolisms "+" and "-". Which respectively means positive and negative wire. For direct current, there is another difference. The zero core is indicated by the symbol "M", which is sometimes misleading.

Non-standardized wire designation options

But unfortunately, the marking of wires is phase zero, grounding is far from always carried out according to PUE norms. You can often find other designations. This is especially true for old circuits, electrical equipment, as well as some new devices from non-certified manufacturers.

And so that they do not mislead you, let's look at the most common options.

• Quite often, on the old still Soviet schemes, you can find the symbols "Ф" or "Ф1", "Ф2" and "Ф3". The decoding of this designation is quite simple - it means phase. And the symbol without letter designation It is used for a single-phase network, and from letters for a three-phase network.
• On the new schemes, you can find the designation "L" or, respectively, "L1", "L2" and "L3". So foreign manufacturers often denote a phase. As for the digital designations, the same rule applies here - without a number for a single-phase network, with numbers for a three-phase network.

Note! For a single-phase network, the designation "F" or "L" denotes the non-principality of strict observance of the phases. That is, you can connect any phase. The same applies to a three-phase network with a digital designation. If there is a designation “Fa”, “Fv”, “Fs” or “La”, “Lv”, “Lc”, then observance of the phase sequence is mandatory.

• The marking of wires in the shields may contain the symbol "0". This designation of the neutral wire is quite often used to this day both in diagrams and in the designation of terminals on equipment.

• The earth symbol is often used to designate a protective conductor, which we have already discussed above.. It is usually used to indicate the connection point of a protective conductor made according to a system other than TN-C-S.
• The marking of the wires of the DC shield may contain the characters "L +" and "L -". These symbols represent the positive and negative conductors respectively and should not mislead you.

Conclusion

Proper marking of wires by color and designation can greatly facilitate not only installation, but also subsequent maintenance of electrical installations. Moreover, the cost of fulfilling the labeling requirements is extremely low, and the requirements are not so difficult to fulfill. Therefore, if you want to do everything “wisely” and make it easier for yourself to further operate your electrical network, we advise you to comply with these standards.

Carrying out electrical work is a rather complicated matter, which is best entrusted to a specialist in this field. However, if it is necessary to purchase cords, wires and various cables for installation, it is necessary to understand their marking. An indication of the alphanumeric code on the insulation of products is the marking of the wires.

AT this moment each manufacturer designates its products with codes so that any consumer, looking at him, can understand what the product is made of, what is the rated withstand voltage, the type of cross section, as well as its design features and type of insulation.

To comply with these parameters, all factories and enterprises engaged in the manufacture of electrical products are required to use the international standard - GOST. Wire marking also allows special efforts determine the location of the phase, zero, and in some cases, ground. Consider the main electrical products on the market.

Cables

Electric cables come in several types depending on the purpose of use. They may also consist of copper or aluminum strands, which are bundled together under one or different winding materials plastic or PVC. Also sometimes there is an additional protective sheath made of steel tape.

Depending on the application, the color coding of the wires may also be different. So, they distinguish:

• RF cables that transmit radio and video signals.
• Control for signal transmission to certain devices.
• Power cables are used in lighting fixtures for the transmission of electricity. They can be used in both internal and external wiring.
• For communication transmission, cables capable of conducting current of different frequencies are used.
• In automation systems, control cables are used, which are copper conductors that are under protective screen, which removes interference and prevents mechanical damage.

wires

A product formed from several wires or only one is called a wire. In most cases, the winding is plastic, less often wire, but there are also no insulation at all.

At the moment, more preference is given to wires whose cores are made of copper or aluminum. Such products are used not only in electrical work, but also as a winding for electric motors.

They have a low cost, but the impossibility of connecting them with others, for example, copper ones, is considered a huge disadvantage. Copper products withstand loads well, but oxidize quickly in the open air and are expensive.

Marking electrical wires also depends on their purpose. Installation and power are used both inside and outside the premises. Mounting, in turn, are used in the collection of electrical circuits in switchboards or radio equipment.

Cords

The cord is a few strands with a small cross section, which consist of many wires intertwined with each other. Most often, this electrical product is represented by stranded cords, the winding of which is non-metallic.

The main use of cords is for connecting industrial and household appliances to the network.

Letter marking

Any electrical product must be marked in accordance with GOSTs. The first letter means the material from which the core is made. If it is copper, the letter is not assigned, if it is aluminum, then it is marked with the letter “A”.

Decoding and wires with the second letter characterizes the type or material of insulation. It, depending on the type of wire, can be written as “P”, “M”, “MG”, “K”, “U”, which corresponds to a flat, mounting, mounting with flexible conductors, control and installation type of wire. The installation may also be marked as "P" or "Sh".

The next, third letter, means the material of the winding of the product:

• "K" - kapron;
• "C" - fiberglass;
• "VR" or "P" - polyvinyl chloride;
• "F" - metal;
• "E" - shielded;
• "P" - rubber;
• "ME" - enamelled;
• "T" - winding with a bearing torso;
• "NR" or "N" - nairite;
• "L" - varnished;
• "G" - winding with a flexible core;
• "O" and "Sh" - polyamide silk as a braid or insulation.

Wire marking may also have a fourth letter, which characterizes design features electrical product:

• "K" - the wire is armored with round wires;
• "A" - asphalt wire;
• "T" - the product is used for conducting in pipes;
• "B" - armored with ribbons;
• "O" - the presence of a protective braid;
• "G" - for a wire - flexible, and for a cable - without protection.

Digital marking

The marking of electrical wires by the first digit indicates the number of cores, if it is absent, the conductor has only one core. The second and third digits mean in square millimeters and the nominal withstand voltage of the network.

grounding

For the most part, the color marking of wires is designed to facilitate electrical work and the safety of its implementation.

According to the ground conductor insulation should be green-yellow. In some cases, the color may be exclusively green or only yellow.

For grounding, wire color markings are applied either longitudinally or transversely. On electrical circuits, "ground" is usually denoted by the letters "PE", which is also sometimes called zero protection.

Zero

The zero working contact does not carry a voltage charge, but is only a conductor. Wire marking by color should be bluish or blue tint. On the electrical circuit, zero is usually denoted as "N".

Phase

The phase wire is always energized if it is connected to the network. Phase wire color marking can be done in many color shades- brown, black, turquoise, purple, gray and others. But most often the phase conductors are white or black.

PEN conductor

In any residential building or premises, it is always necessary to ground or ground electrical wiring. At present, it is important to carry out a TN-C grounding system, which includes the combination of ground and neutral wires. The color marking of wires combined according to such a system will change from yellow-green to blue.

First you need to divide the conductor into two tires - PE and N, which are subsequently connected to each other by a jumper in the middle or two at the edges. Then re-ground the PE bus and check the resistance.

How to determine the phase?

Sometimes during the repair or renovation of electrical wiring, it is necessary to determine which wire means what. But it happens that marking wires by color is not an ally in this, since this is impossible due to a long service life or in the event of a short circuit.

This task can be dealt with using indicator screwdriver, popularly called "control". This method is suitable for a single-phase network, without a ground wire. First you need to turn off the electricity supply, separate both conductors to the sides and turn them on again. After that, bring the indicator screwdriver to one of the wires. If the light on the "control" lights up, respectively, this wire will be the phase, and the remaining core will be zero.

If the wiring is three-wire, you can use a multimeter to determine each of the wires. This device has two wires. First you need to set it to a rated voltage of over 220 volts. Then fix one of the wires of the multimeter on contact with the phase, and determine the ground or neutral with the other. If a ground wire is found with the second wire, the readings on the device will drop slightly below 220, and if zero, then the voltage will shift to 220 volts.

The third method for identifying wires can be used if there was neither a screwdriver nor a multimeter at hand. The marking of the wires can help with this, which in any situation will be marked in blue-blue for zero isolation. color scheme. The remaining two contacts will be more difficult to determine.

If one of the contacts is colored and the other is white or black, then most likely the colored one will be the phase. By old standards black and white marked the ground wire.

Also, according to the rules for installing electrical equipment, the ground wire is marked in white.

Marking in DC circuit

The marking of wires in the DC voltage network has a red insulation color for plus, and black for minus. If the network is three-phase, then each phase will have its own specific color: red, yellow and green. Zero and ground, as usual, will be blue and yellow-green.

If a cable is inserted on the phase wires, black, white and red insulation will correspond, and the color of the neutral and "earth" will remain unchanged, as is the case with a 220 Volt network.

Independent designation of wires

Sometimes, for lack of a suitable color, you can independently change the color of the same wire used for zero, phase and ground. In this case, decoding the wire markings will be very helpful.

You can make small notes on the wires, which in the future can be very useful. You can also use colored electrical tape and wrap the wires in accordance with the markings.

To date, cambric, which are colored plastic tubes capable of heat shrinkage, are in great demand. In the case of using busbars, it is also necessary to mark the ends of the conductors.

Switching wiring in a private house must be carried out by color. The best answer on how wires are marked by color is given by GOST R 50462. But unfortunately, practice shows that electric lines in the private sector are often not made with the material they should, but with what they have. This article does not cover other technical aspects of the wiring device. The following information gives an idea of ​​how the conductors should be color-coded correctly and how to remedy the situation in the event of a discrepancy.

The conductors may be colored in their entirety or marked with a thin strip of color along the length of the conductor's insulation. We also produce cable products that have a two-color color.

The color of the phase and neutral wires in the input cable

The supply lines leading to the house can be made in several versions. It all depends on the type of cable. If single-phase input is performed:

1. With a SIP type wire, the phase conductor will have a colored stripe (usually yellow, green or red). Zero core is black.
2. Cable type AVVG or VVG, then the neutral conductor is blue, white, red or green - phase.
3. Cable type KG - phase wire brown, zero - blue.

If a three-phase input is performed:

1. A SIP-type wire and in addition to the two primary colors of red and green, blue and black wires - the neutral wire will necessarily be black.
2. With an AVVG or VVG type cable, the neutral conductor will be blue, and one of the phase conductors, in addition to red and green, will be black or white.
3. Cable type KG zero - blue, brown and two black - phase conductors.

Cable products are often produced not according to GOST, but according to specifications. Therefore, even in a two-core SIP with black and blue, the black wire will be zero. The black wire contains a steel core, which performs the self-supporting function of the wire. Connecting the input to the house from overhead lines cable type VVG and KG are not recommended.

Wiring inside the house is carried out only with single-phase lines and copper wires.

In electrical circuits used for domestic purposes, the working zero must always be blue!

According to the PUE, house lines must be laid with a grounding conductor. In all three-core conductors made in accordance with GOST, suitable for internal works, ground wire - yellow green.

If a three-core conductor flexible type PVA, then the phase conductor is usually brown. For inside house wiring, it is better to use wires made of cast copper. If the conductors are marked with stripes, then a conductor with a stripe of any color except blue and yellow-green is phase. If there is no yellow-green conductor in the cable, use the conductor with a green stripe as the ground wire. The ground wire can be marked cleanly yellow. In cables, the cores of which are colored entirely, the white wire is the phase wire.

Connection to the electric stove

A 220v household electric stove is connected to a special outlet that can withstand high power. The color of the cores is red, green, blue, where red is the phase, green is the earth, blue is the neutral conductor. There is a nuance in electric stoves and hobs, foreign-made, designed for 220/380V, the connection is made with a four-wire conductor:

• blue - zero;
• yellow-green conductor - grounding;
• black conductor - phase A;
• brown conductor - phase B.

It is allowed, when connecting to a single phase network, to combine phase conductors on an electric stove under one contact clamp.

Neutral wire

Neutral conductor is a wire connected to the middle (zero) point electrical system. AT standard scheme connection is a combined zero working and zero protective conductor in a three-phase circuit. The color of the neutral wire is all blue with yellow-green ends or all yellow-green with blue ends.

Designation of wires phase, zero, earth

Wires are marked by color, letters and numbers. Until 2009, GOST interpreted the possibilities of marking wires more widely. Starting in 2009, the standards are being revised towards a clearer classification of colors and the elimination of notes that allow conductors not to be marked. In the national standard 2009, the terminology has been clarified and the alphanumeric classification has been supplemented. For electrical circuits until 2009, the classic color of conductors was used: yellow, green, red.

AT classic version three-phase circuits up to 1000 volts, conductors are marked in the following combinations:

1. Phase A - L1, yellow - brown recommended.
2. Black is recommended in phase B - L2, green.
3. Phase C - L3, red - gray recommended.
4. Zero conductor - N blue.
5. Combined working zero with a grounding conductor - PEN, blue with yellow-green tips - yellow-green with blue tips.
6. Grounding conductor - PE, green-yellow.

This combination does not imply any direction of rotation or phasing.

What color is the phase and zero

In single-phase lines without a ground conductor, the phase conductor is marked in red, the zero conductor is marked in blue. Also often there is a combination of phase - white, neutral wire - blue. The worst combination of wire colors, phase, zero, earth found in the coloring of conductors is white, red, black.

If we take identification standards, the phase wire should be red, black - ground conductor, white - zero. But from practice it is better to make zero red, and the phase white. Visually, zero conductors will be better visible. There is a danger of mixing phase and neutral conductors made different materials! It is better to mark the ends of the conductors with insulating tape in standard colors.

Color-coded wire marking for DC lines

DC circuit conductors are recommended to be painted as follows:

• positive pole - red (recommended Brown color isolation);
• minus pole - blue (grey is recommended);
• ground conductor in a three-wire DC circuit - blue (since 2009, blue is recommended).

The polarity of the wires by color can be determined more easily. Cold colors - negative terminal, warm colors- plus. If in a three-wire electrical circuit Since there are taps for direct current, the outgoing lines must be the same color as the supply lines. What color the plus and minus wires were not painted, it is necessary to mark them with an alphanumeric marker.

Electrical wire colors

Even GOST is not mandatory. Conductors can be colored black, blue, green, yellow, brown, red, orange, purple, grey, white, pink, turquoise colors. Prohibitions on the use of yellow and green are clearly given.

The cable cannot contain a core marked double color, in combination with yellow or green with anything else, except for just one yellow-green conductor.

To avoid confusion, it is better to put on the ends of the conductor heat shrink tubing classic colors. Enough 10 cm tube desired color. The opinion in this article is subjective and contains only a recommendation, based on the assumption that all other rules for the installation of electrical installations will be observed.

Video about marking wires and cable lines