Any electrical cable For ease of installation, it is manufactured with multi-colored insulation on the cores. When installing standard electrical wiring, three-core cables are usually used (phase, neutral, ground).

Phase ("L", "Line")

The main wire in the cable is always the phase. The word "phase" itself means "live wire", "active wire" and "line". Most often he is strictly certain colors. In the distribution panel, the phase wire, before going to the consumer, is connected through the device protective shutdown(RCD, fuse), phase switching occurs in it. Attention! The bare phase is no joke, so in order not to confuse the phase with anything else, remember: the phase contacts are always marked with the Latin symbol “L”, and the phase wire can be red, brown, white or black! If you are not sure about this or the wiring is arranged differently, then purchase a screwdriver with a simple phase indicator. By touching the bare conductor with its tip, you can always find out whether it is a phase or not by the characteristic glow of the indicator. It’s better to immediately contact a qualified specialist.

Zero ("N", "Neutre", "Neutral", "Neutral" "Zero")

The second important wire is the neutral, popularly known as the “wire without current”, “passive wire” and “neutral”. It only happens blue. In apartment distribution panels it must be connected to the zero bus, it is marked with the symbol “N”. At the socket, the neutral wire is connected to the contacts, also marked with the sign “N”.

Ground ("G", "T", "Terre" "Ground", "gnd" and "Earth")

Ground wire insulation can only be yellow with green stripe. In the distribution panel it is connected to the grounding bus, to the door and body of the panel. In sockets, grounding is connected to contacts marked with the Latin symbol “G” or with a sign in the form of an inverted and briefly underlined letter “T”. Usually, grounding contacts are visible and can protrude from sockets, becoming accessible to children, which sometimes causes shock for many parents; however, these contacts are not dangerous, although it is still not recommended to stick your fingers there.


Attention! When working with live electrical networks, there is always a high probability of injury to a person. electric shock or fire. Even if an RCD is installed, it is strongly recommended to follow all safety precautions! It is known that the special design of such a switch checks the synchronism of the phase and zero operation, and if the RCD detects a phase current leak without returning some of its percent to zero, it will immediately break the contact, which will save a person’s life; however, if you touch not only the phase, but also zero, then the RCD will not save you. Touching both wires is deadly!!!

Anyone who has ever dealt with wires and electricity has noticed that conductors always have different insulation colors. This was done for a reason. The colors of the wires in electrics are designed to make it easier to recognize the phase, neutral wire and ground. They all have a certain color and are easily distinguished during operation. The color of the phase, neutral, and ground wires will be discussed further.

How phase wires are painted

When working with wiring, phase wires pose the greatest danger. Touching the phase, under certain circumstances, can become lethal, which is probably why they were chosen for bright colors. In general, the colors of electrical wires allow you to quickly determine which of a bunch of wires are the most dangerous and work with them very carefully.

Most often, phase conductors are red or black, but other colors are also found: brown, lilac, orange, pink, purple, white, gray. Phases can be painted in all these colors. It will be easier to deal with them if you exclude the neutral wire and ground.

In the diagrams, phase wires are designated by the Latin (English) letter L. If there are several phases, a numerical designation is added to the letter: L1, L2, L3 for a three-phase 380 V network. In another version, the first phase is designated by the letter A, the second by B, and the third by C .

Ground wire color

By modern standards, the ground conductor is yellow-colored. green. It usually looks like yellow insulation with one or two longitudinal bright green stripes. But there are also transverse yellow-green stripes in color.

In some cases, the cable may only have yellow or bright green conductors. In this case, the “earth” has exactly this color. It is displayed in the same colors on diagrams - most often bright green, but it can also be yellow. Signed on circuit diagrams or equipment “ground” in Latin (English) letters P.E.. The contacts to which the “ground” wire must be connected are also marked.

Sometimes professionals call the grounding wire “neutral protective”, but do not be confused. This is an earthen one, and it is protective because it reduces the risk of electric shock.

What color is the neutral wire?

Zero or neutral is blue or light blue, sometimes blue with a white stripe. Other colors are not used in electrical engineering to indicate zero. It will be like this in any cable: three-core, five-core or with a large number of conductors.

“Zero” is usually drawn in blue on diagrams and signed with the Latin letter N. Experts call it a working zero, since, unlike grounding, it participates in the formation of the power supply circuit. When reading a diagram, it is often defined as "minus", while the phase is considered "plus".

How to check the correctness of marking and wiring

Wire colors in electrical engineering are designed to speed up the identification of conductors, but relying only on colors is dangerous - they could be connected incorrectly. Therefore, before starting work, you should make sure that you have correctly identified their affiliation.

Take a multimeter and/or an indicator screwdriver. It’s easy to work with a screwdriver: when you touch a phase, the LED built into the housing lights up. So it will be easy to identify phase conductors. If the cable is two-wire, there are no problems - the second conductor is zero. But if the wire is three-wire, you will need a multimeter or tester - with their help we will determine which of the remaining two is phase and which is zero.

We set the switch on the device so that the selected jackal is more than 220 V. Then we take two probes and hold them plastic handles, carefully touch the metal rod of one probe to the found phase wire, and the second to the supposed zero. The screen should display 220 V or the current voltage. In fact, it may be significantly lower - this is our reality.

If 220 V or a little more is displayed, this is zero, and the other wire is presumably “ground”. If the value is less, we continue checking. With one probe we again touch the phase, with the second - to the intended grounding. If the instrument readings are lower than in the first measurement, there is “ground” in front of you and it should be green. If the readings turn out to be higher, it means that somewhere there was a mistake with “zero” in front of you. In such a situation, there are two options: look for exactly where the wires were connected incorrectly (preferable) or simply move on, remembering or noting the existing position.

So, remember that when testing a phase-zero pair, the multimeter readings are always higher than when testing a phase-ground pair.

And, in conclusion, let me give you some advice: when laying wiring and connecting wires, always connect conductors of the same color, do not confuse them. This can lead to disastrous results - in best case scenario to equipment failure, but there may be injuries and fires.

In progress self-installation and connecting electrical equipment (this could be various lamps, ventilation, electric stoves, etc.), you will notice that the switching terminals are marked with the letters L, N, PE. Special significance here it is marked L and N. In addition to marking the wires in electrics by letter, they are placed in insulation of different colors.

This greatly simplifies the procedure for determining where the phase, ground or neutral wire is located. In order for the installed device to operate in normal mode, each of these wires must be connected to the appropriate terminal.

Designation of wires in electrics by letter

Electrical communications in the domestic and industrial spheres are organized through insulated cables, inside of which there are conductive cores. They differ from each other in insulation color and markings. Designation l and n in electrics makes it possible to speed up the implementation of installation and repair activities by an order of magnitude.

The application of this marking is regulated by a special GOST R 50462: This applies to electrical installations where voltage up to 1000 V.

As a rule, they are equipped with a solidly grounded neutral. Often electrical equipment of this type have residential, administrative and economic facilities. When installing electrical networks in buildings of this type, it is necessary to have a good understanding of color and letter instructions.

Phase designation (L)

Net AC includes live wires. Their correct name is “phase”. This word has English roots, and is translated as “line” or “active wire”. Phase conductors pose a particular danger to human health and property. For safe operation they are covered with reliable insulation.

The use of exposed live wires is fraught with the following consequences:

1. 1. Electric shock to people. This can result in burns, injuries and even death.
2. 2. The occurrence of fires.
3. 3. Damage to equipment.

At designation of wires in electrical phase conductors are marked with the letter “L”. This is an abbreviation of the English term “Line”, or “line” (another name for phase wires).

There are other versions of the origin of this marking. Some experts believe that the prototype was the words “Lead” (lead wire) and Live (indication of voltage). Similar markings are also used to indicate the clamps and terminals to which the linear wires must be connected. For example, in three-phase networks, each line is also marked with a corresponding number (L1, L2 and L3).

Current domestic standards governing the designation of phase and zero in electrical engineering (GOST R 50462-2009) require linear conductors to be placed in brown or black insulation. Although in practice, phase wires can be white, pink, gray, etc. In this case, it all depends on the manufacturer and the insulating material.

Zero designation (N)

To mark the neutral or zero working core of the network, use the letter “N”. This is an abbreviation of the term neutral(translated as neutral). This is what is commonly called the neutral conductor all over the world. In our country, the word “Zero” is mostly used.

Most likely, the word Null is taken as a basis here. The letter “N” in the diagram indicates contacts or terminals intended for switching the neutral core. A similar designation is accepted for both single-phase and three-phase circuits. Blue or white-blue (white-blue) insulation is used as a color designation for the neutral wire.

Grounding symbol (PE)

In addition to the designation of phase and zero, electricians also use a special letter indication PE (Protective Earthing) for the ground wire. As a rule, they are always included in the cable, along with the neutral and phase conductors. Likewise Contacts and clamps intended for switching with the grounding neutral wire are also marked.

For ease of installation, the grounding conductors are placed in yellow-green insulation. Home handyman Please note that these colors always indicate the ground wires only. Yellow and green are never used to indicate phase and zero in electrical engineering.

As practice shows, when organizing electrical networks in residential buildings, violations of generally accepted standards for the use of insulation color and corresponding alphanumeric markings are sometimes allowed. In this case, it is not always enough to have the ability to decipher the designations L, N or PE.

In order for the connection of electrical equipment to be truly safe, it is necessary to check whether the markings correspond to the actual state of things. To do this, use special devices (testers) or improvised devices. If you have no experience in such work, for your own safety it is better to invite an experienced electrician with the appropriate permit.

Designation l and n in electrics

Designation of phase and zero in electrical engineering introduced in order to electrical networks were safe and easy to use. For this purpose, a special letter marking (l and n) and insulation of the appropriate color. There may also be conductors marked PE in yellow-green color: this is how grounding wires are designated.

In addition, the same letter designations are used on connecting contacts and terminals. All that needs to be done when installing an electrical appliance is to connect each of the wires to the terminal. To be on the safe side, it is advisable to check each of the wires with a tester.

The Electrician's Bible PUE (Electrical Installation Rules) states: electrical wiring along its entire length should make it possible to easily recognize the insulation by its color.

In a home electrical network, as a rule, a three-wire conductor is laid, each wire has a unique color.

• Working zero (N) – blue, sometimes red.
• The neutral protective conductor (PE) is yellow-green.
• Phase (L) – can be white, black, brown.

In some European countries There are constant standards for the colors of wires by phase. Power for sockets - brown, for lighting - red.

Wiring colors speed up electrical installation

Painted conductor insulation significantly speeds up the work of the electrician. In the old days, the color of the conductors was either white or black, which generally caused a lot of trouble for the electrical installer. When disconnecting, it was necessary to supply power to the conductors in order to use a control to determine where the phase is and where the zero is. The coloring saved me from this torment, everything became very clear.

The only thing that should not be forgotten when there is an abundance of conductors is to mark, i.e. sign their appointment to switchboard, since the conductors can number from several groups to several dozen supply lines.

Coloring of phases at electrical substations

The colors in home electrical wiring are not the same as the colors in electrical substations. Three phases A, B, C. Phase A – yellow, phase B – green, phase C – red. They can be present in five-core conductors along with the neutral conductors - blue and the protective conductor (grounding) - yellow-green.

Rules for observing the colors of electrical wiring during installation

From distribution box a three-core or two-core wire is laid to the switch, depending on whether a single-key or two-key switch is installed; the phase is broken, not the neutral conductor. If there is a white conductor available, it will be the power supply. The main thing is to maintain consistency and consistency in coloring with other electricians, so that it doesn’t turn out like in Krylov’s fable: “The Swan, the Crayfish and the Pike.”

On sockets, the protective conductor (yellow-green) is most often clamped in the middle part of the device. Maintain polarity, zero worker is on the left, phase is on the right.

At the end I want to mention there are surprises from manufacturers, for example, one conductor is yellow-green, and the other two may be black. Perhaps the manufacturer decided, when there was a shortage of one color, to use what was available. Don't stop production! Failures and errors happen everywhere. If you come across exactly the same one, it’s up to you to decide where the phase is and where the zero is, you just need to run around with the control.

Content:

Installation work often results in large number wires Both during the work and after its completion, there is always a need to identify the purpose of the conductors. Each connection uses either two or three conductors depending on its specification. Most in a simple way identification of wires and cable cores is to color their insulation in specific color. Later in the article we will talk about

• how phase and zero are designated by assigning certain colors to them;
• what do the letters L, N, PE mean in electrical engineering in English and what is the correspondence with their Russian definitions,

as well as other information on this topic.

Color identification significantly reduces the time it takes to complete repairs and installation work and allows you to attract personnel with lower qualifications. Having memorized several colors that indicate conductors, any householder will be able to correctly connect them to sockets and switches in his apartment.

Grounding conductors (grounding conductors)

The most common color designation for grounding insulation is a combination of yellow and green. The yellow-green coloring of the insulation has the form of contrasting longitudinal stripes. An example of a ground electrode is shown in the image below.

However, occasionally you can find either completely yellow or light green color of grounding insulation. In this case, the letters PE may be marked on the insulation. In some brands of wires, their yellow and green color along the entire length near the ends with the terminals is combined with a blue braid. This means that the neutral and grounding in this conductor are combined.

In order to clearly distinguish between grounding and grounding during installation and also after it, they are used to insulate conductors. different colors. Grounding is performed with light blue wires and conductors connected to a bus marked with the letter N. All other conductors with insulation of the same blue color must also be connected to this zero bus. They should not be connected to switch contacts. If sockets with a terminal marked with the letter N are used, and at the same time there is a zero bus, there must be a light blue wire between them, respectively, connected to both of them.

Phase conductor, its definition by color or otherwise

The phase is always mounted with wires whose insulation is painted in any color, but not blue or yellow and green: only green or only yellow. The phase conductor is always connected to the switch contacts. If during installation there are sockets that have a terminal marked with the letter L, it is connected to a conductor in black insulation. But it happens that the installation is carried out without taking into account the color marking of the phase, neutral and ground conductors.

In this case, to determine the identity of the conductors, you will need an indicator screwdriver and a tester (multimeter). By the glow of the indicator of a screwdriver, which is touched to the current-carrying core, the phase wire is determined - the indicator lights up. Touching the grounding or grounding conductor does not cause the indicator screwdriver to light up. To correctly determine grounding and grounding, you need to measure the voltage using a multimeter. The readings of a multimeter whose probes are connected to the conductors of the phase and neutral wires will be greater than if the probes touch the conductors of the phase and ground wires.

Since the phase wire is previously clearly identified by an indicator screwdriver, the multimeter allows you to complete the correct determination of the assignment of all three conductors.

The letter designations printed on the wire insulation are not related to the purpose of the wire. The main letter designations that are present on the wires, as well as their contents, are shown below.

The colors adopted in our country to indicate the purpose of wires may differ from similar colors of wire insulation in other countries. The same wire colors are used in

• Belarus,
• Hong Kong,
• Kazakhstan,
• Singapore,
• Ukraine.

A more complete understanding of the color coding of wires in different countries produces the image shown below.

Wire color codes in different countries

In our country color coding L, N in electrical engineering is specified by the GOST R 50462 – 2009 standard. The letters L and N are applied either directly to the terminals or to the equipment housing near the terminals, for example, as shown in the image below.

These letters denote neutral (N) and line (L - “line”) in English. It means "phase" in English. But since one word can take different meanings Depending on the meaning of the sentence, concepts such as lead or “live” can be used for the letter L. And N in English can be interpreted as “#null” - zero. Those. On diagrams or devices, this letter means zero. Consequently, these two letters are nothing more than the designations of phase and zero in English.

Also from English language The designation of the conductors is PE (protective earth) - protective grounding(i.e. land). These letter designations can be found both on imported equipment, the markings of which are made in Latin, and in its documentation, where the designation of the phase and neutral wire is done in English. Russian standards also require the use of these letter designations.

Since in industry there are also electrical networks and circuits DC, the color designation of the conductors is also relevant for them. Current standards require buses with a plus sign, as well as all other conductors and cores of positive potential cables, to be red. The minus is indicated in blue. As a result of this coloring, it is immediately clear where the potential is.