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Q. What are the NEC rules addressing conductor identification?
See answer below.
A. As per Sec. 310.6(A) [Neutral Conductor], insulated neutral conductors must be identified as white or gray per Sec. 200.6.
(B) Equipment Grounding Conductor. Insulated equipment grounding conductors must be identified as green or green with a yellow stripe per Sec. 250.119.
(C) Identification of Phase Conductors. Phase conductor insulation can be any color but white [Sec. 200.7] or green [Sec. 250.119].
Although the NEC does not require a specific color code for phase conductors, electricians often use the following color system:
- 120/240V, single-phase — black, red, and white
- 120/208V, three-phase — black, red, blue, and white
- 120/240V, three-phase — (high-leg) black, orange, blue, and white
- 277/480V, three-phase — brown, orange, yellow, and gray; or, brown, purple, yellow, and gray
These materials are provided to us by Mike Holt Enterprises in Leesburg, Fla. To view Code training materials offered by this company, visit www.mikeholt.com/code.
