When installing an equipment grounding conductor (EGC), you must ensure you identify it per Sec. 250.119 [210.5(B)]. Why does Art. 210 of the NEC have you flipping pages, instead of just stating the requirement? The requirement takes up nearly a page and a half, so it really needs to be in only one place.
Section 250.119 starts with a paragraph that provides the color requirements (solid green or green with one or more yellow stripes). After this are three Exceptions and an Informational Note.
The Exceptions are as follows:
- Power-limited Class 2, Class 3, or fire alarm cables; or communications cables containing only circuits under 50V.
- Flexible cords that don’t contain an EGC.
- Green ungrounded signal conductors, in certain traffic signal applications.
Next are three subsections:
- Conductors 4 AWG and larger. A key point is you can permanently identify an insulated or covered conductor as an EGC at each point where it’s accessible. And you can use one of three methods described here.
- Multiconductor cable. Almost identical to subsection A, but a key difference is the identification method “coloring the exposed insulation green” doesn’t include “at the termination” as it does in subsection A.
- Flexible cord. The conductor must have a continuous outer finish that’s green (or green with one or more yellow stripes).
