A brief overview of the symbols used in electrical circuits. The designation of L and N in electrics What is l in electrics

Content:

In order to facilitate the installation of electrical wiring, all cable and wire products have the appropriate multi-colored marking. As a rule, in houses or apartments, a lighting device, sockets are connected using three wires. Each of them has its own purpose in the home electrical network. Therefore, the designation of the color of the earth wires has great importance. Due to this, the time of installation and subsequent repair is significantly reduced. Thanks to the color marking, any kind of connection is not particularly difficult.

Ground wire

In most cases, yellow is used to indicate the ground wire. green color. Sometimes you can find conductors with insulation only yellow color. Light green is even more rarely used. Typically, such wires are marked with the symbols PE. However, if the ground wire is aligned with the neutral, it is referred to as PEN. It is painted in green-yellow color, and at the ends there is a blue braid.

In the switchboard, the ground wire is connected to a special bus, or to the body and a metal door. In the junction box, the connection is made with similar wires provided in lamps and sockets equipped with special grounding contacts. The ground wire does not need to be connected to a residual current device (RCD), so such protective devices are used where only two wires are used for electrical wiring.

Zero conductor (neutral)

For the neutral conductor or neutral, blue is traditionally used. The connection in the switchboard is carried out through a special zero bus, denoted by the symbol N. All wires that are blue are connected to this bus.

The bus itself is connected to the input via . In some cases, the connection can be made directly, without any additional automatic devices.

In the junction box, all neutral wires of blue color connected together and do not take part in the switching. The exception is the wire coming from the switch. Connection blue wires to sockets is carried out using a special zero contact, denoted by the letter N. This marking is affixed to the reverse side of each socket.

Phase wire color

The phase does not have any exact designation. Quite often there are black, brown, red and other colors that differ from green, yellow and blue. In the switchboard installed in the apartment, the connection of the phase wire coming from the consumer is made with the circuit breaker contact located below. In other circuits, this conductor may be connected to a residual current device.

In switches, the phase is directly involved in switching. With its help, the contact is closed and opened - switching on and off. Thus, voltage is supplied to consumers, and, if necessary, this supply is stopped. In sockets, the phase conductor is connected to the contact marked L.

Wire Definition

Sometimes there are situations when it is necessary to determine the purpose of a particular wire if there is no marking on it. The simplest and most common way is. With its help, you can accurately determine which wire will be phase and which will be zero. First of all, you need to turn off the power supply at the panel. After that, the ends of the two conductors are stripped and bred to the sides away from each other. Then you need to turn on the power supply and determine the purpose of each wire with an indicator. If the bulb lights up upon contact with the core, this is a phase. So the other wire will be neutral.

If there is a ground wire in the wiring, it is recommended to use a multimeter. This device is equipped with two tentacles. The first measurement is set alternating current in the range of more than 220 volts at the appropriate mark. One tentacle is fixed at the end of the phase wire, and the second is determined by grounding or zero. In case of contact with zero, the display of the device will display a voltage of 220 volts. When touching the ground wire, the voltage will be noticeably lower.

Marking

There is not only the color of the wires phase, zero, earth, but also other types of markings, primarily letter and number designations. The first letter A indicates the wire material - aluminum. In the absence of this letter, the core material will be copper.

The main marking of wires in an electrician:

• AA - corresponds to a stranded aluminum cable with an additional braid of the same material.
• AC - additional lead braid.
• B - the presence of protection against moisture and an additional braid of two-layer steel.
• Bn - non-combustible cable braid.
• G - the absence of a protective shell.
• R - rubber sheath.
• HP - rubber sheath made of non-combustible material.

Work with electricity is regulated by special "Electrical Installation Rules" (PUE). Here it is clearly spelled out color coding specific wire and cable used in electrics. Therefore, the designation of phase and zero is the standard for all installation wires.

Electrician opens junction box. And there - the cables are the same, white color. It is extremely difficult to work with them. And to determine the purpose of each, you need to measure all indicators with a multimeter or.

Wires must be checked with an indicator screwdriver or multimeter

It is clear that the coloring of the wires greatly facilitates the repair process. This approach ensures the safety of the work, makes the process simpler and more convenient. In addition, the electrician spends much less time focusing on the colors of the wires.

To equip the electrical network in the house, three main cables are used: phase, zero, ground. During installation, color marking according to poue is used.

It's not hard to remember them. Moreover, usually three main cables are used to equip the electrical network in the house: phase, zero, ground. During installation, color marking according to poue is used. So, it is impossible to confuse the purpose of a particular wire.

Marking the phases by color will help you hang the chandelier correctly, connect any electrical equipment to the network. The most obvious example is with a lamp. If you mix up the phase and zero, when replacing a light bulb, a person will receive a powerful electric shock. And vice versa. When phase and zero, their designation is not confused, you can even touch a burning lamp. It's absolutely safe. After all, the phase goes to the switch, and zero - to the lamp, neutralizing the voltage.

Letter hints

In wiring diagrams, not only color, but also letter marking is adopted. The main thing is to remember three notations. This is l, n, pe in electrics. These letter designations are also excellent tips for craftsmen.

Color and symbols will help you understand the wires

The designation l and n in electrics is applied near the connection terminals. These are the first letters of English words or phrases denoting the function of a particular wire. These simple symbols will guide you on how to properly connect the device to the network.

It should be noted that l and n in electrics are universal designations. They are accepted everywhere. This means that there will be no problems with connecting equipment, devices, devices of foreign manufacturers. And the designations l, n in electrics will tell you which wire to which you need to connect.

Grounding: safety green-yellow

Grounding or protective conductor is, first of all, safety. Electrical safety is worth a lot. This cable functions as a substitute. And it comes into play only when the insulation of the phase or neutral conductor is broken. Simply put, without grounding, a faulty electrical appliance will hit a person at the moment of contact, but not with grounding.

That is why now various household appliances, other devices are produced with a protective cable. Grounding must necessarily have an electrical wiring at home.

Grounding wires ensure the safety of electricity in the house

Grounding is denoted by the combination pe - short for the phrase Protective Earthing. Sometimes they write the word "land". In the diagrams, a graphically marked cable can be marked with special symbols:

If disassemble color designation, then, according to GOST R50462, yellow-green colors are used for this type of cable. In a rigid single-core wire, the main color is green, trimmed with a yellow stripe. In soft stranded, yellow is used as the main color. The longitudinal stripe, on the other hand, is green. There are non-standard options color marking of protective connections. In this case, the strips have a transverse view. In addition, only green colors are used.

Often a ground cable is paired with a neutral cable. Then a blue border is added to the yellow-green coloring at the ends of the cable. In this case, the literal abbreviation - pen - changes.

Video: how to figure out the color coding of wires

One way or another, but the answer to the question, what color is the ground in a three-wire wire, is unambiguous. You should always look for a green-yellow combination.

In the switchboard, grounding is not difficult to find. A special bus is used to connect it. Otherwise, the cable is attached to the body and metal door shield.

Zero conductor

The neutral conductor or, as it is also called, the neutral performs a simple but important function. It equalizes the loads in the network, providing a voltage of 220 volts at the output. Eliminates phases from jumps and distortions, neutralizing them. Not surprisingly, its symbol is the letter n - derived from English word Neutral. And the combination of designations n, l in electrics always go side by side.

The color of the neutral wire is always blue. Of course, there are variations - from dark blue to sky blue. But blue is also blue in Africa.

Zero conductor is always blue light

In the switchboard, all cables of a given color are grouped on one, zero bus with the corresponding letter abbreviation. AT sockets also have the necessary markings.

Therefore, the master will never confuse where to attach a special zero contact.

Such marking, the principle of operation is applicable to both single-phase and three-phase network.

Phase: assorted colors

It is through the phase that the voltage passes. So, you need to be especially careful when working with this type of cable. This wire is denoted by the letter l in electrics, which is an abbreviation for the word Line. In a three-phase network, following notation conductors: l1, l2, l3. Sometimes instead of numbers are used English letters. Then it turns out la, lb, lc.

Wire color coding

A lot can be said about the color designation of phases. One thing is clear: the phase conductor can be of any color, except for yellow, green and blue. However, in Russia they found their answer to the question of what color the phase is. According to GOST R 50462-2009, it is recommended to use black or Brown color. However, this standard is only a recommendation. Therefore, manufacturers do not limit themselves to certain color frames. For example, red and white are much more common than brown. Bright colors - pink, turquoise, orange, purple are also often present in the set. It is believed that bright colours protect from danger, attract the attention of the master. Still, stress is no joke.

Phase color coding helps in multi-phase networks. Cables with several phases differ in color, which makes it easier for an electrician. Despite this, they must be handled with care.

Trust but check

Despite GOSTs and standards, color marking may not always correspond to the purpose of a particular cable. Therefore, it is better to check the correctness of the marking before connecting the equipment. A three-core wire is best tested with a multimeter. The device will point to the phase wire and, accordingly, to the zero one.

Before connecting, it is better to check the correctness of the marking with special equipment.

In general, a three-core cable is often used in electrics. That is why it is important to learn how to work with it. It is very important to observe color symmetry. The colors of the wires by phase must be strictly observed. Only conductors of the same color should be connected to each other.. Otherwise, trouble cannot be avoided. Equipment may break down. Masters can be electrocuted. Incorrectly connected wiring can cause a fire. In order to avoid all this, the marking of phases, cables, terminals is just used.

In most modern cables, the conductors are insulated different colors. These colors have certain value and are not just chosen. What is the color marking of wires and how to use it to determine where zero and ground are, and where is the phase, and we will talk further.

In electrics, it is customary to distinguish wires by color. This makes the work much easier and faster: you see a set of wires of different colors and, by color, you can guess which one is intended for what. But, if the wiring is not factory and it was not you who did it, before starting work, you must definitely check whether the colors correspond to the intended purpose.

To do this, they take a multimeter or tester, check the presence of voltage on each conductor, its magnitude and polarity (this is when checking the power supply network) or simply call where and where the wires come from and whether the color changes “on the way”. So knowing the color marking of wires is one of the necessary skills of a home craftsman.

Ground wire color code

By latest rules wiring in a house or apartment must be grounded. Last years all household and construction machinery Supplied with ground wire. Moreover, the factory warranty is preserved only if the power supply is supplied with a working ground.

In order not to be confused, it is customary to use a yellow-green color for the ground wire. A rigid single-core wire has a green base color with a yellow stripe, and a soft stranded wire has a main field of yellow color with a green longitudinal stripe. Occasionally there may be instances with horizontal stripes or just green, but this is not a standard.

Ground wire color - solid and stranded

Sometimes there is only bright green or yellow wire. In this case, it is they who are used as "earthen". On diagrams, "earth" is usually drawn in green. On the equipment, the corresponding contacts are signed in Latin letters PE or in the Russian version they write "earth". A graphic image is often added to the inscriptions (in the figure below).

In some cases, on the diagrams, the ground bus and the connection to it are indicated in green

Neutral color

Another conductor that is highlighted in a certain color is neutral or “zero”. A blue color is allocated for it (bright blue or dark blue, occasionally blue). On color schemes, this circuit is also drawn in blue, signed Latin letter N. The contacts to which you need to connect the neutral are also signed.

Neutral color - blue or light blue

In cables with flexible stranded wires As a rule, lighter shades are used, and solid solid conductors are sheathed in darker, more saturated tones.

Phase color

With phase conductors, it is somewhat more complicated. They are dyed in different colors. Excluded are already used - green, yellow and blue - and all the rest can be present. When working with these wires, you must be especially careful and attentive, because it is on them that voltage is present.

Wire color coding: what color is the phase - possible options

So, the most common color marking of phase wires is red, white and black. It can also be brown, turquoise orange, pink, purple, gray.

On the diagrams and terminals, phase wires are signed with the Latin letter L, in multi-phase networks there is a phase number next to it (L1, L2, L3). On cables with several phases, they have a different color. It's easier when distributing.

How to determine if the wires are connected correctly

When trying to install an additional outlet, connect a chandelier, household appliances, you need to know which wire is phase, which is zero, and which is grounding. If the connection is incorrect, the equipment fails, and careless touching of current-carrying wires can end sadly.

You need to make sure that the colors of the wires - ground, phase, zero - match their wiring

The easiest way is to navigate by the color marking of the wires. But it's not always easy. Firstly, in old houses, the wiring is usually monophonic - two or three white or black wires stick out. In this case, you need to understand specifically, and then hang tags or leave color marks. Secondly, even if the conductors in the cable are colored in different colors, and you can visually find the neutral and ground, the correctness of your assumptions must be checked. It happens that during installation the colors are mixed up. Therefore, we first double-check the correctness of the assumptions, then we begin work.

To check, you will need special tools or measuring instruments:

• indicator screwdriver;
• multimeter or tester.

You can find the phase wire using an indicator screwdriver; you will need a tester or multimeter to determine zero and neutral.

Checking with an indicator

Indicator screwdrivers are of several types. There are models on which the LED lights up when a metal part touches live parts. In other models, an additional press of a button is required for verification. In any case, when voltage is present, the LED lights up.

Using an indicator screwdriver, you can find the phases. metal part touch the bare conductor (if necessary, press the button) and see if the LED is on. Lit - this is a phase. Off - neutral or ground.

We work carefully, with one hand. The second one does not touch walls or metal objects (pipes, for example). If the wires in the cable under test are long and flexible, you can hold them with your other hand by the insulation (keep away from the bare ends).

Checking with a multimeter or tester

We set the scale on the device, which is slightly larger than the estimated voltage in the network, connect the probes. If we call a household single-phase network 220V, we put the switch in the 250 V position. With one probe we touch the bare part of the phase wire, the second - to the intended neutral (blue). If at the same time the arrow on the device deviates (we remember its position) or a number close to 220 V lights up on the indicator. We perform the same operation with the second conductor - which was identified as “ground” by color. If everything is correct, the readings of the device should be lower - less than those that were before.

If there is no color marking of the wires, you will have to sort through all the pairs, determining the purpose of the conductors according to the readings. We use the same rule: when the “phase-ground” pair rings, the readings are lower than when the “phase-zero” pair rings.

When working with electrical wiring, and especially in switchboard, you need to clearly know which of the wires is responsible for what. Therefore, there is a color marking that allows, without the use of special devices, to determine which of the wires is a phase, zero, or serves as a ground.

General marking rules have been developed and described in the rules for the installation of electrical installations (edition 7).

Important! PUE is mandatory for execution in any case.

You can also often hear that the colors of the plus and minus wires do not matter. But this is fundamentally not the right position, which can lead to tragic consequences.

And so, according to the requirements, the color designations for phase and zero, as well as protection, should be as follows:

• blue color - serves to designate zero (N); (Fig. 1)

• yellow or green, as well as their combination - indicate the ground (protection) wire (PE); (Fig. 2)

• combination of yellow-green and blue - serves to indicate the combined zero (working) and ground (PEN); (Fig. 3)

• brown, red, black, gray, purple, pink, white, turquoise, orange - they all indicate the color of the phases of the wires (L). (Fig. 4)

In no case should wires of similar colors be used in one connection. So the situation will be unacceptable as a result of which, for example, yellow or green wires will be used in the shield and at the same time there will be a yellow-green color, which will indicate the protection wire.

Should know! On wires that are covered with insulation, the combination of colors of green and yellow should be such that in a section 1.5 centimeters long, one color has at least thirty percent, but not more than seventy of the surface, and the second color has the entire remaining part.

When the neutral wire is in the circuit, it should have a blue color, and to avoid confusion, there should not be any similar ones. But if there is no zero, then the color can be used, but not to designate a protective cable.

The designation of the wires must be carried out using color shades, numbers, letters or their various combinations.

Necessarily! Numerical designations must be made in Arabic, alphabetic - in Latin.

If it is not possible to use wires with insulation already applied to them desired color, or they will not be insulated, then it is still necessary to make their designation without fail. So often for this you can use multi-colored insulating tape, which must be glued to the ends of the sections of wires that are connected to various devices or elements. Also on these ends, you can hang tags with letter and number designations.

Many can now look into their switchboards and find there a discrepancy between the currently existing color designations. But do not assume that this is not correct. It’s just that earlier GOST acted for such cases, which regulated all installations. Therefore, it makes no sense to change the phase and zero markings now.

Important! If there is no confidence in the correct identification of the wires, then you should resort to using phase detection using a tester.

Content:

Installation work often leads to the appearance a 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 the coloring of their insulation in a certain color. Later in the article, we will talk about

• how the phase and zero are denoted by the way they are assigned certain colors;
• what do the letters L, N, PE mean in electrics in English and what is their correspondence to Russian-language definitions,

as well as other information on this topic.

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

Grounding conductors (ground electrodes)

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

However, occasionally you can find either completely yellow or light green color of the insulation of grounding conductors. In this case, the letters PE can be applied to 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 ground in this conductor are combined.

In order to distinguish between grounding and grounding during installation and also after it, different colors are used to insulate the conductors. Grounding is carried out with light blue wires and conductors connected to the 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, the insulation of which is painted in any color, but not blue or yellow with green: only green or only yellow. The phase conductor is always connected to the switch contacts. If during installation there are sockets in which there is a terminal marked with the letter L, it is connected to a conductor in black insulation. But it happens that the installation is performed without taking into account the color marking of the conductors of the phase, zero and ground.

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

Since the phase conductor is previously uniquely determined indicator screwdriver, the multimeter allows you to complete the correct determination of the purpose of all three conductors.

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

The colors adopted in our country to indicate the purpose of the wires may differ from similar wire insulation colors 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 gives the image shown below.

Wire colors in different countries

In our country, the color marking L, N in electrics 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 case near the terminals, for example, as shown in the image below.

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

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

Since the industry also has Electricity of the net, and chains direct current, for them the color designation of conductors is also relevant. Current Standards prescribe tires with a plus sign, like all other conductors and cable cores of positive potential, red. Minus is indicated in blue. As a result of this coloring, it is immediately clearly visible where the potential is.