Wiring Color Codes
Wiring for AC and DC power distribution branch circuits are color coded for identification of individual wires. In some jurisdictions all wire colors are specified in legal documents. In other jurisdictions, only a few conductor colors are so codified. In that case, local custom dictates the “optional” wire colors.
IEC, AC: Most of Europe abides by IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) wiring color codes for AC branch circuits. These are listed in Table below. The older color codes in the table reflect the previous style which did not account for proper phase rotation. The protective ground wire (listed as green-yellow) is green with yellow stripe.
| Function | label | Color, IEC | Color, old IEC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protective earth | PE | green-yellow | green-yellow |
| Neutral | N | blue | blue |
| Line, single phase | L | brown | brown or black |
| Line, 3-phase | L1 | brown | brown or black |
| Line, 3-phase | L2 | black | brown or black |
| Line, 3-phase | L3 | grey | brown or black |
| Function | label | Color, IEC | Old UK color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protective earth | PE | green-yellow | green-yellow |
| Neutral | N | blue | black |
| Line, single phase | L | brown | red |
| Line, 3-phase | L1 | brown | red |
| Line, 3-phase | L2 | black | yellow |
| Line, 3-phase | L3 | grey | blue |
| Function | label | Color, common | Color, alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protective ground | PG | bare, green, or green-yellow | green |
| Neutral | N | white | grey |
| Line, single phase | L | black or red (2nd hot) | |
| Line, 3-phase | L1 | black | brown |
| Line, 3-phase | L2 | red | orange |
| Line, 3-phase | L3 | blue | yellow |
| Function | label | Color, common |
|---|---|---|
| Protective ground | PG | green or green-yellow |
| Neutral | N | white |
| Line, single phase | L | black or red (2nd hot) |
| Line, 3-phase | L1 | red |
| Line, 3-phase | L2 | black |
| Line, 3-phase | L3 | blue |
| Function | label | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Protective earth | PE | green-yellow |
| 2-wire unearthed DC Power System | ||
| Positive | L+ | brown |
| Negative | L- | grey |
| 2-wire earthed DC Power System | ||
| Positive (of a negative earthed) circuit | L+ | brown |
| Negative (of a negative earthed) circuit | M | blue |
| Positive (of a positive earthed) circuit | M | blue |
| Negative (of a positive earthed) circuit | L- | grey |
| 3-wire earthed DC Power System | ||
| Positive | L+ | brown |
| Mid-wire | M | blue |
| Negative | L- | grey |
| Function | label | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Protective ground | PG | bare, green, or green-yellow |
| 2-wire ungrounded DC Power System | ||
| Positive | L+ | no recommendation (red) |
| Negative | L- | no recommendation (black) |
2-wire grounded DC Power System
|
||
| Positive (of a negative grounded) circuit | L+ | red |
| Negative (of a negative grounded) circuit | N | white |
| Positive (of a positive grounded) circuit | N | white |
| Negative (of a positive grounded) circuit | L- | black |
3-wire grounded DC Power System
|
||
| Positive | L+ | red |
| Mid-wire (center tap) | N | white |
| Negative | L- | black |
UK, AC: The United Kingdom now follows the IEC AC wiring color codes. Table below lists these along with the obsolete domestic color codes. For adding new colored wiring to existing old colored wiring see Cook.
US, AC:The US National Electrical Code only mandates white (or grey) for the neutral power conductor and bare copper, green, or green with yellow stripe for the protective ground. In principle any other colors except these may be used for the power conductors. The colors adopted as local practice are shown in Table above. Black, red, and blue are used for 208 VAC three-phase; brown, orange and yellow are used for 480 VAC. Conductors larger than #6 AWG are only available in black and are color taped at the ends.
Canada: Canadian wiring is governed by the CEC (Canadian Electric Code). See Tableabove. The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active. Three-phase lines are red, black, and blue.
IEC, DC: DC power installations, for example, solar power and computer data centers, use color coding which follows the AC standards. The IEC color standard for DC power cables is listed in Table above, adapted from Table 2, Cook.
US DC power: The US National Electrical Code (for both AC and DC) mandates that the grounded neutral conductor of a power system be white or grey. The protective ground must be bare, green or green-yellow striped. Hot (active) wires may be any other colors except these. However, common practice (per local electrical inspectors) is for the first hot (live or active) wire to be black and the second hot to be red. The recommendations in Table above are by Wiles. He makes no recommendation for ungrounded power system colors. Usage of the ungrounded system is discouraged for safety. However, red (+) and black (-) follows the coloring of the grounded systems in the table.
