Color Code
To enable wires to be easily and safely identified, all common wiring safety codes mandate a colour scheme for the insulation on power conductors. In a typical electrical code, some colour coding is mandatory, while some may be optional. Many local rules and exceptions exist. Older installations vary in colour codes, and colours may shift with insulation exposure to heat, light, and aging.
Many electrical codes now recognize (or even require) the use of wire covered with green insulation, additionally marked with a prominent yellow stripe, for safety grounding (earthing) connections. This growing international standard was adopted for its distinctive appearance, to reduce the likelihood of dangerous confusion of safety grounding wires with other electrical functions, especially by persons affected by red-green colour blindness.
| Standard wire colours for FLEXIBLE cable (e.g. Extension cords, power (line) cords and lamp cords) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Region or Country | Phases | Neutral | Protective earth/ground |
| European Union (EU), Australia, South Africa (IEC 60446) | |||
| Australia, New Zealand (AS/NZS 3000:2007 3.8.3) | , | , | |
| Brazil | , | ||
| United States, Canada | (brass) | (silver) | (green) |
| Standard wire colours for FIXED cable (e.g. In-, On-, or Behind-the-wall wiring cables) |
|||
| Region or Country | Phases | Neutral | Protective earth/ground |
| European Union (EU) (IEC 60446) including UK from 31 March 2004 | , | ||
| UK prior to 31 March 2004 | , | (formerly) bare conductor, sleeved at terminations (formerly) |
|
| Australia, New Zealand (AS/NZS 3000:2007 clause 3.8.1, table 3.4) | Any colour other than, or Recommended: or for single phase; or, or for multiphase |
or | (since about 1980) (since about 1980) bare conductor, sleeved at terminations (formerly) |
| Brazil | , | ||
| South Africa | , or, | bare conductor, sleeved at terminations |
|
| India, Pakistan | , | ||
| United States | , (120/208/240V) (brass) , (277/480V) |
(120/208/240V) (silver) (277/480V) |
(green) bare conductor (ground or isolated ground) |
| Canada | , (120/208/240V) , (600/347V) , (single phase isolated systems) , (three phase isolated systems) |
(120/208/240V) (600/347V) |
(green) bare conductor (isolated ground) |
| Notes:
Parenthesized colours in italics are used on metallic terminals. "Green/yellow" means green with yellow stripe. See illustrations nearby. The colours in this table represent the most common and preferred standard colours for wiring; however others may be in use, especially in older installations. Australian and New Zealand wiring standards allow both European and Australian colour codes. Australian-standard phase colours conflict with IEC 60446 colours, where IEC-60446 supported neutral colour (blue) is an allowed phase colour in the Australia/New Zealand standard. Care must be taken when determining system used in existing wiring. Canadian and American wiring practices are very similar, with ongoing harmonization efforts. |
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