What color and how are zero, phase and ground wires indicated in an electrician? Wire marking by color Wire blue yellow red

In electrical installations and household electrical networks, conductors are used for various purposes. The main ones used for the transmission of electrical energy are phase voltage conductors, zero working and zero protective.

All of them must be identified. Otherwise, even if there are circuit, wiring or single-line diagrams explaining which contacts of electrical devices they are connected to, it will be impossible to figure it out. And the need for this arises constantly.

Another important reason requiring the identification of conductors is electrical safety. Touching any live parts, even those not under a life-threatening potential, is prohibited without checking the absence of voltage on them. But sections of the circuit containing both dangerous and safe potentials must be clearly marked. This is one of the many components of the organization of the safe operation of electrical installations.

Identification of conductors of power electrical circuits is carried out by two methods:

• conductors are painted in colors corresponding to their purpose;
• at the ends of the conductors or along their entire length, letter designations are applied that unambiguously determine the functional purpose.

The rules for applying color and letter marking to conductors used in power electrical circuits are detailed in GOST R 50462-2009. Despite the fact that it has the status of the national standard of the Russian Federation, it completely repeats the IEC 60446-2007 standard. Thus, the rules for marking wires in Russia are brought into line with European standards. The relevance of this is dictated by the fact that Western equipment manufactured in accordance with European standards is supplied to Russia, and therefore, for its correct operation, our own rules must be brought into line with IEC.

So, now let's figure out what colors the wires and cable cores are for use in various circuits.

Marking of phase conductors

All electrical networks can be divided into:

• single-phase;
• three-phase;
• DC networks.

Each of them has its own rules for marking conductors. Let's start with phase.

In single-phase circuits, all phase conductors according to GOST must be brown. However, this does not mean at all that such wires should be used when installing a single-phase switchboard. Their color may not necessarily be brown, but any, but not blue or yellow-green. Additionally, the ends of the conductors can be marked with the letter L1, L2 or L3, indicating which phase of the three-phase network this shield is connected to.

However, if this single-phase circuit branches off from a three-phase one as part of a device or shield, then the color of its conductors must match the color of the wires of the phase to which it is connected: brown, black or gray.

Brown, blue and yellow-green colors are used for the cores of cables intended for the installation of single-phase networks.

Phase wires in three-phase networks were previously marked with letters: A, B and C. In addition, tires were painted in the appropriate colors for identification:

• phase A - yellow;
• phase B - green;
• phase C - red.

Now GOST prohibits the use of green and yellow for marking, as they can be confused with yellow-green, which has a different purpose, which will be discussed later.

It was not customary to mark the wires at all. A good example of this is the access switchboards. All the wires in them: both phase and zero are the same. An attempt to determine their purpose is fraught with some difficulties: after all, even to conclude that the conductor is connected to the phase of the mains, it is possible with certainty only when there is voltage on it, and you have an indicator in your hands. You can never be sure that the conductor is zero.

Therefore, GOST for phase conductors prescribes the following marking.

It is allowed to mark wires in any of two ways or both at once. In the first case, tags with a letter designation are attached to the ends of the wires, in the second, the corresponding coloring of the current-carrying parts is used. Strictly speaking, it is not at all necessary to use wires that have brown, black and gray colors in switchboards during installation. Color binding is more relevant for cable lines, as their cores are painted in brown, black, gray, blue and yellow-green. When connecting cables to terminal blocks, consumers or to the outputs of electrical devices, it is necessary to comply with the requirements of GOST.

For the assembly of panel products, the installation of phase circuits is allowed to be carried out with single-color wires, while observing the conditions:

• blue color cannot be used;
• yellow-green color cannot be used;
• marking with letters applied to the beginning and end of the wire is required.

Western manufacturers do not paint tires in brown, black, gray, as well as blue and yellow-green, marking them with letter markings. At the same time, the cost of assembling panel products and complete switchgears is slightly reduced. But instead, there is a drawback: in order to find out the purpose of the tire, you need to find the nearest marking plate on it or use the knowledge of the Electrical Installation Code, which indicates the requirements for the relative position of the tires. But there are electrical installations in which the phase sequence cannot comply with the PUE. Therefore, when marking tires, it is necessary to stick the plates as often as possible. GOST prescribes marking at least twice within a panel or shield: at the bus inlet to the panel and at the output, or at its beginning and end.

Marking conductors "ground" and zero

Here, the labeling requirements are much more stringent, as this is directly related to electrical safety.

Protective zero (or ground), as well as live parts intended for the potential equalization system, are marked with alternating yellow and green stripes. For tires, this is a uniform alternation of yellow and green stripes, while wires and cable cores are colored appropriately at the factory.

It is prohibited to use yellow-green, as well as blue for marking other circuits, as well as marking the protective zero with other colors.

For the letter marking of the “ground” wire, the designation PE is provided, for the potential equalization conductor - GNYE.

Working zero is marked using only blue. Other markings, as well as the use of blue for other purposes, are prohibited. Working zero is denoted by the letter N.

It is a little more difficult to mark the zero combined, which is assigned the designation PEN. Since it combines the functions of a ground conductor and a working zero, this is also taken into account when marking. It is permissible to use two methods similar to each other: either take a wire that has a blue color and apply yellow-green markings at its ends, or apply blue markings at the ends of a yellow-green wire. This can be done either with insulating tape or heat shrink tubing.

Busbars for identification do not need to be painted over the entire length, since this method is difficult for these chains. On the tires designed to connect the conductors "ground" and zero, many holes are made for their connection, which makes solid coloring difficult, and at times impossible. It is allowed to apply colored stripes that have blue or yellow-green colors along the edges of the tire.

In modern life, marking wires by color is not a manufacturer's advertising move to stand out from others. This is a necessity and requirement, without which fast and high-quality installation of electrical wiring is impossible. How does this color help?

• quick identification of the purpose of the wire (phase, zero or earth)
• reduction in the number of erroneous connections during installation
• no need for wire continuity for phasing

Manufacturers choose the colors of the conductor not at will, but according to the rules. Moreover, not only color, but also alphanumeric designation can be applied to the conductor.

The coloring is applied along the entire length of the core insulation. But in some areas, you can also use multi-colored cambric for heat shrink. Basically, they are widely used in cable terminations.

Coloring in the network 220V and 380V single-phase and three-phase voltage

In a three-phase network, wires and buses were previously painted as follows:

Yellow color

Green color

Of red color

In order to make it easier to remember the order of colors, electricians used the abbreviation - J-Z-K.

Since 01/01/2011, new standards have been introduced in accordance with GOST R 50462-2009 ():

Brown

Now it's time to switch to abbreviations - K-Ch-S! Subjectively speaking, this marking loses in clarity to the previous coloring of Zh-Z-K.

And imagine that there is poor lighting in the control room or indoors, dust on the wires? What do you think your eye is better at distinguishing yellow from green or brown from black? In this case, the rules stipulate the need for letter designation and marking of cores, in addition to color.

Letter designation of wires

What should be the letter designation of wires according to GOST is presented in the following tables:

It is best to apply these letters with the help of special rings of tags.

They are a PVC tube, pre-cut, with letters and numbers printed on it.

According to the new rules, marking phase conductors in yellow or green is prohibited. It is because of their similarity with the yellow-green ground conductor.

It is also worth pointing out that the brown color is exactly phase A or L1 (just L in a single-phase 220V network), and black is phase B or L2. When you are wiring for yourself, you may unwittingly miss this moment. But if the electrician is being done at an industrial facility, then here you will be required to strictly comply with the international standard and correct phasing.

White color is the cheapest option in the manufacture of core insulation, as it does not require the use of dyes. Therefore, it is most often used by manufacturers of cheap brands of cables. There are no special marking instructions for this color.

Coloring in the DC network

3 buses are involved in DC voltage networks. There is no zero and phase familiar to us. There is a positive conductor or bus (with a plus sign) and a negative conductor (with a minus sign). The plus tire, according to the old rules, should be red, the minus one should be blue. Zero working tire - blue.

According to the new standards from 01.01.2011:

Plus

Brown

Minus

gray color

Middle conductor

Of blue color

Errors and color options for phase, neutral and ground wires

The issue of marking wires by color arises sharply when one electrician installs the wiring and then serves another. Subject to all the rules of coloring, troubleshooting saves both time and money.

Unfortunately, in the old Soviet wiring, most of the conductors are monochrome, and here you can’t do without a probe or multimeter.

If there is a color marking and observed, then the neutral and protective wires must be:

Neutral wire N - must be blue.
Zero protective PE - yellow-green.
The conductor combining zero protective and working zero PEN is yellow-green along the entire length of the wire, but at the end at the junction it is blue.

When coloring the phase wires, the manufacturer is given a choice from a variety of color options. Here are the main ones:

Custom wire colors

Sometimes, due to incorrect labeling of colors by manufacturers, one has to neglect GOST. For example, you have 3 cores in a cable of different colors:

• blue
• brown
• black

In this case, you do the phase according to the rules, namely, in brown. The neutral wire will be blue. But the black core will become grounding. In this version, the colors will at least resemble the Soviet standard.

Another of the “inconvenient” options for combining the colors of the cable cores:

• black
• blue
• red

In order to violate GOST to a minimum and be close to its requirements, make the phase black. Blue is zero, but red will be the protective conductor PE.

Just be sure to mark it at the end with yellow and green electrical tape.

But what if there is not a single color resembling a phase wire in the cable at all? That is, the colors black, brown and gray are missing. Then choose for the phase the wire that corresponds as closely as possible to the brown color established by the rules. For example, red.

Even at the ends of the wire cutting, according to the phasing, you can put on multi-colored insulating thermotubes or multi-colored electrical tape.
In order not to resort to such methods, pay attention to its color in advance at the stage of buying and choosing a cable.

What to do if the cable is already laid without color marking?

Most often, you may encounter a situation where the wiring has already been laid, and the electrician who did this, as a rule, did not bother to familiarize himself with the rules for color marking and GOST. What to do in this case?

There is nothing left to do but pick up devices - a probe, an indicator, a dial tone and waste time looking for the necessary conductors.
After each definition of one or another conductor, use colored tubes to designate them according to GOST and proceed to the next one. It is enough to make this designation only at the end and beginning of the cable, and not along its entire length.

Phase conductors from zero are easy to distinguish. And how to distinguish a zero worker from a protective one can be found in the article "".

Wire color tips to follow during installation:

• try not to use cables from different manufacturers. As a rule, their colors are not the same, which in the future can lead to errors during installation.
• if you still have to work with cables of different manufacturers and colors, at the very beginning, call all the cores and mark them in advance with multi-colored electrical tape so as not to confuse them in the future. Don't rely on your memory
• when you have to build a short cable, then use wires of the same colors as in the main section.
• try not to use cables that do not have yellow-green cores (protective zero)
• if the cable does not have a yellow-green core, then use the nearest related color as the ground.

Carrying out electrical work is almost impossible without the presence of cables with insulation of different shades. This is not a manufacturer's advertising move or a fashion trend, but a necessity for professional electricians.

According to the requirements, the color of the wires: phase zero earth must be different from each other and have an appropriate option.

In contact with

The concepts of phase, zero and ground

To answer the question: “Phase, zero, earth - what is it?”, You need to understand how the wiring is connected in the house. Electricity enters the housing from a transformer distributor. Zero is a wire that connects to the ground loop at the substation. It is needed to create a load on the phase that is connected to the other end of the transformer winding. Grounding is not included in the power circuit, it provides protection in case of an accident.

The use of insulation of different shades makes it possible to determine whether the wires belong to a certain group.

In addition, this eliminates errors during the installation of electricians, which will protect against short circuits and electric shocks during network repairs.

The choice of wire colors in a three-core cable is carried out according to a single standard.

The cores have letter and color designations. Most often, insulation of a certain shade of the entire wire is used, sometimes you can specify a certain color on the connections and its ends.

This is done using multi-colored electrical tape or a special tube. To do everything right, you need to know how the phase and zero are indicated.

Varieties of shades of insulation

To make it convenient for electricians to work and not have to constantly check where the phase is and where– zero using special testers, and some rules have been adopted for the designation of phase and zero (PUE).

How do phase wires differ in color

According to the accepted standard, phase cores come in the following shades:

• red;
• black;
• grey;
• brown;
• pink;
• white;
• orange;
• violet.

Important! The wires, which are marked with the letters L, N, in the electrician refer to the phase and zero, respectively, the protection core is signed by PE.

If a single-phase network is a branch of a three-phase circuit, then the color of the core insulation must be the same as that of the conductor to which it is connected.

An important point is the obligatory mismatch of the colors of the phase designation with the tone of grounding and zero.

Attention! If a cable that is not labeled is used, multi-colored marks are placed on it at the junctions and at the ends.

It is advisable, when laying wiring throughout the apartment, to use the same cable so that the colors of the wires in the electrician are the same everywhere.

The color of the working zero and ground

The color of the neutral wire is usually blue, and the protective earth conductor is made in yellow-green color with stripes that are applied longitudinally or transversely. If the functions of the neutral and protective conductor are combined, then its color is blue with yellow-green stripes at the junctions.

If you do not know what color the phase is, in order to determine if the conductors are connected correctly, you need to determine the phase and neutral wire: this will require special tools.

This is the easiest option for finding the phase. Without an indicator screwdriver, you should not start replacing fixtures, installing switches or sockets.

It is very easy to work with the tool. You need to touch the wire with a screwdriver, and if it is energized, then when you press the contact on the back of the tool, the lamp will light up.

A light signal means that a phase has been detected. This is the easiest and often recommended by electricians way to find the phase wire. The cost of a screwdriver is low, so anyone can afford to have one. However, there are drawbacks, for example, it can show voltage where it is absent.

The multimeter does not have a separate special mode that will help determine the phase or zero: you can find out only by the presence of numbers on the display or their absence.

When measuring the mains voltage with the tester, you need to select the mode for determining the voltage in the variable network. Before proceeding with the determination of the phase, check the device on any working outlet. After that, you can search for the phase with a red probe. If, having installed it on the phase, you start touching the rest of the wires with another probe, you will find zero (the device will show 220V) or ground.

But it will be difficult to establish where the ground is and where the zero is. If it is necessary to do this, then it is worth disconnecting the ground wire on the electrical panel, then when checking with the device, it will not show 220V on this conductor.

Multimeters modern industry produces two types: analog and digital. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, analog instruments will help you make measurements in the presence of noise and waves. The digital device is used more often, it is used by construction organizations and manufacturers of radio equipment.

In everyday life, digital models of appliances are also more common.

If we talk about the technical characteristics of the multimeter, then digital models have more accurate measurement readings, but they differ significantly in cost, which depends on the built-in functions of the equipment. The indicator can be digital or pointer, the latter is considered more accurate. There are options that can be connected to a computer for data transfer.

Attention! In order for the device to serve for a long time, it is worth paying attention to its manufacture. The housing must be protected from shock and moisture penetration. It is better if the set includes a special case for storing and carrying equipment.

If the rules for color-coding wires were not used when creating the electrical wiring in the house, then it is difficult for other electricians to work with such a network. It will be necessary to check the phase and zero only with the help of special instruments.

If it is not possible to purchase wires of the appropriate shades when setting up the network, then the connections can be marked with colored tape. This is allowed by the rules. In addition, during installation, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• It is worth choosing cables from one manufacturer: in this case, the colors of the cores will be identical, this will eliminate errors when working with them;
• If you still had to use products from different manufacturers or different shades, then it is worth marking the cores with electrical tape of the appropriate colors. Do not rely on memory, so as not to guess later whether the blue wire is a phase or zero.
• If you had to lengthen the cable, take wires with the same color options as on the main one.
• Do not use cables without grounding (yellow-green core).

By applying these simple tips, you can avoid mistakes when creating electrical wiring or repairing it. This will keep you out of trouble. If another electrician has to maintain or repair the network, he will quickly figure it out, and he will not have to check each wire with instruments.

Hello, dear readers and guests of the Electrician's Notes website.

When carrying out electrical work, the question of the color marking of wires is very often raised.

It used to be, so to speak, in "stagnant" time, only white wires were used, less often black.

Therefore, it took a lot of time to determine the phase or zero in the electrical assembly. I had to resort to help and.

To avoid this, it is necessary to bring the color marking of wires and tires to a single standard.

And as always, let's turn to regulatory documents, namely, Chapter 1, clause 1.1.29. and clause 1.1.30. It clearly states that the identification of conductors of wires and tires by colors or digital designations must be used, in accordance with GOST R 50462-92.

And what does this GOST say ?!

According to GOST R 50462-92, clause 3.1.1, the following colors can be used to identify conductors and tires: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue, gray, white, pink, turquoise.

According to the EIC, clause 1.1.29:

• neutral conductors (N) must be blue
• the combined zero working and zero protective conductors (PEN) must have a blue color along the entire length and yellow-green stripes at the ends
• protective neutral conductors (PE) and protective earth conductors must be green-yellow

Let me give you a few photos as an example. All zero working conductors (N) are connected to the bus (N) and are blue. All neutral protective conductors (PE) are connected to the busbar (PE) and are green-yellow.

And all other colors, except for blue (blue) and yellow-green, can be used as phase conductors.

The photographs below show that the phase conductors are white.

According to the PUE, clause 1.1.30, with a three-phase alternating current, the tires of phase A should be yellow, phase B - green, phase C - red. It is remembered easily and simply in the form of the abbreviation "ZhZK", i.e. yellow, green, red.

For clarity, I will give a few examples.

Two measuring transformers NOM-10 (kV).

Outgoing feeder of a distribution substation with a voltage of 500 (V).

As you can see, in the examples given, the color marking of tires with three-phase alternating current is fully respected.

By the way, it is not necessary that the tires be completely painted in one color or another. It is quite enough to make color marking (in the form of paint, stickers, heat shrink tubes, tags, etc.) in the places where the busbars are connected to the switching devices.

According to the PUE, clause 1.1.30, with single-phase alternating current, the phase B bus connected to the end of the power source winding should be red, and the phase A bus connected to the beginning of the power source winding should be yellow.

Unfortunately, I have no good examples of such electrical installations. Maybe someone has photos, I will be very grateful if you share.

By the way, if single-phase current buses are a branch from a three-phase current system, then they are designated according to the color marking requirements of a three-phase system.

According to the PUE, p.

As an example, I will give a direct current shield (SCPT) \u003d 220 (V).

And these are the conclusions directly from the battery.

By the way, we are gradually switching from lead-acid batteries SK-5 to maintenance-free Varta batteries.

Addition

Since 01/01/2011, the GOST R 50462-92 specified at the beginning of the article has been canceled. Instead, GOST R 50462-2009 came into force, in which some points contradict the previous GOST. For example, paragraph 5.2.3 states that the following colors are preferred for phase conductors:

• grey
• brown
• black

For clarity, I post a photograph of the switchboard of one of the banks, where we carried out electrical installation.

In my opinion, the previously adopted marking "ZhZK" is more descriptive.

In a single-phase network for a phase conductor, the preferred color is brown. Accordingly, if a single-phase network is a branch from a three-phase network, then the color of the phase conductor must match the color of the phase conductor of the three-phase network.

A ban was also introduced on yellow and green colors used separately (clause 5.2.1). They must only be used in the yellow/green color combination for PE protective conductors. In this regard, the marking of the three-phase network "ZhZK" was changed, because. yellow and green colors were used in it separately.

The digital marking of DC circuits has also been changed (clause 5.2.4):

• brown color - positive pole (+)
• gray color - negative pole (-)
• blue color - middle conductor (M)

Attention!!! I want to warn you that you do not need to run now and change the existing markings. After all, when the objects were introduced, the old GOST R 50462-92 was still in effect. But when commissioning new electrical installations, GOST 50462-2009 should not be neglected.

If for some reason it is not possible to mark wires and tires according to the above requirements, then any colors can be used. But it is necessary to wind electrical tape, stickers on the ends of the cores, put on cambric or heat-shrink tubes of the corresponding color, for example, like this:

And already by tradition, watch the video based on the materials of this article:

P.S. Dear colleagues, I ask you to follow the requirements for the color marking of wires and tires when performing electrical work. Let's respect each other.

Color coding and marking of wires in electrical wiring. The color of the wire phase, ground, zero.

Color designation of wires of phase, grounding, zero of electrical wiring

[PUE-7]

According to the seventh edition of the PUE (2002, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), electrical wiring should provide easy recognition along the entire length of the conductors by colors:

· bluecolors - to indicate zero, zero working or middle conductor of the electrical network (N);

· two-color combinationgreen- yellowcolors - to indicate grounding, protective or zero protective conductor (PE);

· two-color combinationgreen- yellowcolors throughoutbluemarks at the ends of the line that are applied during installation - to indicate the combined zero working and zero protective earth conductor (PEN);

· black, brown, red, purple, gray, pink, white, orange, turquoise colors - phase, to designate a phase conductor(L) .

Functional color coding

[GOST 12.2.007.0]

Color identification of conductors according to the functional purpose of the circuits in which they are used (according to GOST 12.2.007.0):

· for conductors in power circuits color- black;

· for conductors in AC control, measurement and signaling circuits color- red;

· for conductors in DC control, measurement and signaling circuits color- blue;

· for neutral protective conductors color combinationgreen And yellow;

· for conductors connected to the zero working conductor and not intended for grounding, color - blue.

Designation of wires by color

[GOST IEC 60204-1-2002]

According to GOST IEC 60204-1-2002 "ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT OF MACHINES AND MECHANISMS" if color marking is used to identify wires, the following colors can be used: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue (including light blue), violet, grey, white, pink, turquoise.

Note- Color list taken from IEC 60757.

For safety reasons, the colors green and yellow should not be used if it is possible to confuse them with a two-color combination.green- yellow.

The protective conductor must be easily recognizable by its shape, position, marking or colour. When color designation is used, it must be a two-color combination.green- yellow. It is used along the entire length of the wire. This combination is for protective conductor only.

On insulated wires, two-color combinationgreen- yellowshould be such that, over a length of 15 mm, one of the colors covers at least 30%, but not more than 70% of the surface of the wire, and the other color covers the remainder.

When the protective wire grounding easily distinguishable due to its shape, design, location (e.g. braided wire), or when insulated wire is difficult to access, color coding is not required along its entire length. However, ends or accessible parts must be clearly marked.icon 417-IEC-5019 or two color combinationgreen- yellow.

When the circuit includes a neutral wire, indicated by color, the latter must belight blue(IEC 60446, 3.1.2). Where possible, light blue should not be used to represent other wires.

In the absence of a neutral wire, the light blue wire can be used for other purposes, but not as a protective wire.

When color designation is used, bare wires used as neutral wires should be marked with a light blue stripe with a width of 15 to 100 mm , a color that is duplicated on every sheath, piece of equipment, or available space, or dyed light blue throughout.

Identification of other wires should be carried out using color (or in whole, or one or more stripes), numbers, letters, and also by their combination. Numbers must be Arabic, letters must be Latin (uppercase or lowercase).

Insulated unipolar rigid wires must be color coded as follows:

· black- AC and DC power circuits;

· red- AC control circuits;

· blue- DC control circuits;

· orange- blocking control circuits powered by an external power source.

Exceptions to the above are allowed:

· for internal cables on independent units purchased separately with a complete set of cables;

· when the insulating material used cannot be painted in the desired colors;

· when a multi-wire cable is used, except for the two-color green-yellow combination.