Knowing the meaning behind the color coding of your home wiring is essential for homeowners. It’s important to understand the different meanings of the wire colors or you could endanger yourself. To stay safe, calling on Tim Kyle Electric for professional residential electrical service in Ellicott City from may be a better option. Read on to learn more about the basics of wiring color coding.
A Guide to Home Wiring
Color coding of electrical home wires in the U.S. is standardized. Create a guide for yourself and keep it in a handy place for when you need to look at electrical jobs around the home. The basic color codes include:
- Phase 1: Black wires are live and are used to transfer electricity.
- Phase 2: Red wires are often 220 volts and are also live. Like black wires, they are also used in switch legs at times. Two red wires can be linked, or red and black wires can be connected.
- Phase 3: Blue wires and yellow wires are not used to transfer electricity. Yellow wires are used as switch legs for fans, light, and other connections while blue wires are used as travelers in 3- and 4-way switches.
- Neutral: White and Gray wires are neutral and are used to attract power for distribution throughout the required electrical system. These wires should not be connected to other colored wires but only to each other. Even though these wires are neutral, they can still contain a dangerous electrical current.
- Ground: Green, Green with a Yellow Stripe or a Bare Wire are installed to redirect dangerous currents into the ground should there be a fault in the system. Avoid contact with these wires as they may also be live.
Keep this guide available whenever you check the electrical wiring around the home or on appliances.
Tim Kyle Electric
While you may want to save maintenance costs around the home, it is best to stick to small jobs if you are unfamiliar with electrical wiring. For challenging jobs like fixing power panels and expensive appliances, it is recommended that you contract the services of a professional electrician. Tim Kyle Electric offers a broad range of specialized electrical services for the home. Contact one of our experts today for a comprehensive residential electrical service in Ellicott City.