120 Volt Plug Wire Colors

Dc supply wire color codes.

120 volt plug wire colors. A word of warning. Consistently make use of a line voltage meter or circuit tester to find out whether a cable is hot or live never rely on the color of the wires alone. The wire color codes followed in usa for ac supply may be categorized in three sub categories depending on the nature and range of ac supply. 120 208 240 volt ac wiring color codes in usa.

Before the national electrical code began requiring grounding in the mid twentieth century it was common to get a shock just by touching a switch or plug. 277 480 volt ac wire color codes. I ve seen all sorts of crazy things. The ground is a safety feature that ensures electricity has a direct path to earth in the event of loose connection.

Unfortunately there isn t a strict color code in residential work. The red wire is also used as a by pass in a two way switched lighting circuit and will often be used also as an interconnection or communication wire in a circuit that requires it such as a smoke detector circuit. Home is rated at 120 volts. In these cases color coding should be added during installation using colored bands that wrap around the wire.

When wires are larger than 6 awg they will typically be manufactured with black insulation. The procedure for 110 volt plug wiring is made easier by the fact that you re dealing with 14 or 12 gauge wires instead of the beefier wires needed for 220 volt circuits. A 120 volt electrical cord has three prongs when the cord includes a ground wire. If there s room for one inside the plug casing an underwriter s knot or ul knot secures the wires so you can t pull them out when you pull the plug out by the cord which you should never do by the way.

Because a red colored wire also serves as an ungrounded conductor these wires are used to connect the second leg of the electrical system to loads which require 240 volts. Most narrow wires will be color coded by the manufacturer using insulation of different colors. Most new led lights do not require that much power and 110v is fine. Except for a specialty outlet such as for a stove larger btu air conditioners or some electrical.

Remember that you should only run higher voltage if you have to. The trade practice for 120 volt 3 phase is. Black for a phase red for b phase and blue. 120 208 240 volt ac wire color codes.

The common voltage in a u s. If you are running 220 volt or more then you will probably have multiple hot wires connecting to the fixture s brown wire and blue wire. For a wire to be used in the united states the color must be in accordance with the national electrical code nec requirements.