House Wiring Colours Uk

Although the uk has used the european standard of blue brown colouring for flexes for a long time the same colour standard has also now been adopted for fixed wiring as well.

House wiring colours uk. New vs old wiring colours. Most european countries follow a wire color code established by iec. This colour scheme had already been introduced for appliance flexes in the uk in the early 1970s however the original red black colour scheme recommended by the iee for fixed wiring was retained until 2006 albeit with change to a green yellow striped earth in 1976. As mentioned above most of the europe union countries and uk china russia hong kong singapore ukraine belarus kazakhstan israel turkey argentina south africa ksa saudi arabia uae united arab emirate and malaysia are following the iec international electrotechnical commission wiring codes.

In 2006 the 17 th edition amendment 2 of the bs7671 wiring regulations sought to harmonise the house wiring colours then in use in the uk with those already in use on the european mainland. Brown for live blue for neutral and green yellow for earth. Hence you need to be aware of the changes. The colour coding for current wiring standard is highlighted above.

As a homeowner tenant or business owner it s important that you re aware of the colours used in uk standard wiring for your own safety. This was to ensure consistency avoid confusion and allow trade of electrical goods as well as compatibility of electrician s qualifications between the mainland and the uk. Wiring color codes in europe including uk iec most european countries including the united kingdom are now following the color conventions for ac branch circuits laid down by the international electro technical commission iec. We show you how the new wiring colours translate to the old electric wire colours and how you can ensure that the right wires are connected in any instance.

4 dc power wiring color codes in usa. Tv aerial cables do not carry any voltage but many are brown in colour the same colour as the new live wiring in the uk. This colour coding is implemented in 2006 amendment 2 of 17th edition bs7671 to harmonise the uk europe wiring colours to maintain consistency avoid confusion. Other cable colours to be aware of.

In 2006 amendment 2 of 17 th edition bs7671 wiring regulations saw a change to harmonise the uk colours with the european cable colours for consistency and to avoid confusion. Whether you re considering hiring an electrician to rewire your property or if you are thinking about doing a spot of diy legal guidelines state that anybody working with electricity should have a working knowledge of how electricity works. It s important that properties get their wiring checked to see if the wiring colours are out of date have deteriorated over time and to check if they comply with bs 7671 wiring. Iec wiring color codes for ac uk eu other countries.

Bare or green yellow earth. Just to confuse matters there are other cables in the uk that have similar colours to the mains electrical wiring.