Understanding Electrical Outlet Wire Colors | DoItYourself.com

Understanding your home’s electrical outlet wire colors is just as important in knowing how the basic circuit types work. General knowledge on wire colors will come in handy during minor electrical emergencies such as changing an overhead light fixture, replacing a wall light, or installing new bulbs, lamps, and switches.

Electrical Cable and Wire Color Markings . Non-metallic (or NM) 120-volt and 240-volt electrical cable come in two main parts: the outer plastic sheathing (or jacket) and the inner, color-coded wires.The sheathing binds the inner wires together, and its outer markings indicate the number of wires and size of wire (gauge) within the sheathing. The color of the sheathing indicates recommended ...

Basic Wire Color-Coding . A simple standard electrical circuit has a black or red "hot" wire that carries power from the power source to the device (e.g., switch, fixture, outlet, appliance), a white neutral wire that carries the power back to the power source, and a green or bare copper ground wire that connects the device to the home's grounding system.

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Understanding the different electrical wire colors, their function and how to properly connect them is critical to any home electrical wiring project. Electrical wire is color coded, and knowing the role of the black, white, red, and green or bare wire is a must when replacing an electrical outlet, receptacle or switch.

Wiring a 20-Amp 240-Volt Appliance Receptacle. This outlet is commonly used for a heavy load such as a large air conditioner. The outlet should be wired to a dedicated 20-amp/240-volt circuit breaker in the service panel using 12|2 awg cable.. With this wiring, both the black and white wires are used to carry 120 volts each and the white wire is wrapped with electrical tape to label it hot.

Standard Colors Used for Home Wiring. What follows here is the standard coloring for wires throughout a home. The gauge or size of the wire may change depending on the current requirement of the circuit, but the color is a consistent feature. Black. The wire that carries the current from the power source to the outlet or receptacle is the hot wire.

According to standards in use since the mid-1900s, a wire color code identifies the purpose of each wire in an electrical circuit. The white wire is always neutral, and when the cable has only two conductors, as most 120-volt cables do, the hot wire is black. The ground wire is usually left bare, but in some cases, the ground wire color is green.

Residential electrical devices all use a standard color code for wires and terminals, and if you follow it, it's almost impossible to wire a 110V outlet incorrectly. By the way, if you're wondering why the outlet you just bought has a label indicating it's for a 115-volt plug or a 120-volt plug, don't worry.

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.