Marking of wires by color. Color coding of wires and busbars

When opening any electrical wire, every electrician encounters wires of different colors. Why do manufacturers do this, why do the colors of the wires: phase zero earth differ from each other? After all, this is not done for beauty. That's right, beauty in a closed cable is not needed. But color is an urgent need. What's the matter?

1. Using the color designation, you can easily determine which wire should be used for what purpose. This makes it easier to switch the entire wire as a whole.
2. It is color marking that reduces the likelihood of errors during the installation process, which can lead, firstly, to a short circuit, and secondly, to electric shock during operation or repair of electrical networks.

It should be noted that the entire color range of designations for the cores of an electrical wire is summarized in the PUE, which is based on GOST R 50462. So the variety of colors is fixed by the state standard. True, we must pay tribute that the designation of veins has not only color application, but also literal. But in this article we will deal with the color of the wires: phase zero ground.

Attention! Color marking is carried out along the entire length of the wire. Often, electricians will make additions to ensure that the wires are connected correctly. To do this, multi-colored cambrics are installed at the ends of the wiring sections (these are heat-shrinkable polymer tubes) or the ends are wrapped with multi-colored insulation.

Tire colors at substations

Three-phase wiring inside an electrical substation is identified by three colors corresponding to each individual phase. Typically, electrical busbars are painted for this purpose. So here it is:

• Phase "A" is usually colored yellow.
• Phase “B” – green.
• Phase “C” – red.

This is not difficult to remember, especially for young and novice electricians.

DC networks

In everyday life, direct current is not used. But on construction sites (electric cranes, various trolleys and lifts), in production, in electrified transport (trams and trolleybuses), at substations for recharging automation systems without direct current not enough.

In such networks, only two circuits are used: positive (plus) and negative (minus). That is, there are no phase conductors here, much less zero. But even then, different colors of conductors are used. So positive is colored red, negative is blue.

Please note that if the single-phase DC network is a branch from three-phase network, then the color designation in the two networks must completely coincide with each other and be colored according to standard requirements.

Coloring of AC networks

It is in the networks alternating current The varied colors of the wire cores create conditions under which confusion between phase and zero, between phases, as well as the ground loop completely disappears. This is especially true in cases where the installation is done by one electrician, and network maintenance is handled by another. The same applies to repair work.

Those electricians who have dealt with old electrical networks know how often they had to constantly ring the circuits, determining whether it was phase or zero. This took a lot of time and made the work very inconvenient. The whole point was that the insulation of the old wires was either white or black, that is, monochromatic. Of course, even during the USSR period, experts thought about creating a certain standard in color design. And the color marking itself changed periodically until a final standard was adopted.

Zero and ground color

In the accepted standards, there are two types of colors, which indicate the neutral conductor and the ground conductor. The first is designated by the letter “N” - this is the working zero, the second by the letters “PE” - this is the protective zero. Their colors are respectively:

• Blue.
• Yellow-green.

Please note that the yellow and green stripes can be located not only along the wire, but also across it.

There are models electrical wires, in which the grounding conductor and the neutral are connected into one circuit, it is designated “PEN”. Its color is yellow-green, and at the ends where the sections connect, it is blue. Or, conversely, the color is blue along the entire length, and yellow-green at the ends. The standard allows such dual designation.

Color of phase conductors

Again, referring to the rules of the PUE, it should be noted that the standard makes it possible to use a fairly wide range of colors for coloring the cores of an electrical wire. Let's list them all: black, white, brown, grey, red, pink, purple, turquoise and orange.

Attention! Since a single-phase electrical network is a branch from a three-phase network, it is necessary to maintain the identity color design wires That is, if in a three-phase network one of the phases is carried by a wire Brown, then try to choose a two-core wire for a single-phase network also with a brown core.

We can conclude that the color of the phase wire simply must differ from the color of the ground loops and the working zero. Of course, a single-color cable can also be used in wiring, there are no problems here. You just have to constantly install cambrics or colored insulation at the ends of the cables. It's not that difficult to carry out installation work. But as mentioned above, this will be inconvenient when the issue of repair arises. And one more point that concerns multi-colored wires. It is imperative to decide on the length of each contour: both in general and in sections. This will simplify installation; there will be no need to make intermediate joints.

Connection rules and standards are not followed - what to do?

Sometimes you have to deal with situations where the rules for connecting wires by color are not followed in the distribution board. That is, old standards were used or it was simply the negligence of the electrician who carried out the installation. What to do in this case?

There is no need to reconnect. The best option– mark all wires coming from the switchboard to the house or apartment. Of course, in this case, a lot of time will be spent, because you will have to open each junction box, open the wire connections and ring each loop, determining whether it is a phase (and which phase), zero or grounding. And mark all ends of the wires using colored electrical tape or cambrics. It's a lot of work, but necessary.

Correct marking of wires and cords can greatly facilitate the installation and repair of any electrical networks. After all, correct marking will not only facilitate the installation process itself, but will also allow you or any other person to determine their purpose by simply looking at the junction box, panel or wires.

It is for these purposes that the marking of wires must be carried out in accordance with the uniform rules that are given in the “Bible” of any electrician - PUE (Electrical Installation Rules).

To ensure clarity, simplicity and ease of recognition of individual parts electrical network According to clause 1.1.30 of the PUE, all electrical installations must have an alphanumeric and color designation. Moreover, the presence of one of these designations does not eliminate the need for the other.

And the only relaxation is the possibility of applying a designation not along the entire length of the conductor, but only at the connection points, as shown in the video.

Wire color coding

Marking wires by color is the most visual and allows you to quickly determine the purpose of any wire. This marking can be done by selecting wires with the appropriate core insulation color, by applying paint to the busbars, or by painting or applying special colored tape at the core junctions.

Moreover, the paint on the tires may not be applied along the entire length, but only at the connection points or at the ends of the tires.

So:

• If we talk about the color designation of wires and cables, then we should start with the phase conductors. According to clause 1.1.30 of the PUE in a three-phase network, phase conductors must be marked in yellow, green and red. This is how phases A, B and C are designated respectively.
• The instructions for a single-phase electrical network suggest the designation of the phase wire in accordance with the color of which it is a continuation. That is, if a phase conductor is connected to phase “B” of a three-phase network, then it should be green.

Note! In a single-phase network in an apartment or house, you often do not know which phase your phase wire is connected to. In order to comply with GOST, you do not have to find out this at all. It is enough to designate the phase conductor with any of the proposed colors. After all, for a single-phase lighting network, it does not matter at all which phase your conductor is connected to. The only exception is the lighting network, which uses two different phase conductors.

• As for neutral conductors, then they should have a blue color. Moreover, the color of the neutral core does not depend on the three-phase, two-phase or single-phase network in front of you. It is always indicated in blue.
• Wire markings with a yellow-green stripe indicate a protective conductor. It connects to the housing of electrical appliances and ensures safety from damage electric shock in case of damage to the insulation of electrical equipment.

• If the neutral and protective conductors are combined, then according to clause 1.1.29 of the PUE, such a wire core should have a blue color with yellow-green stripes at its ends. To make such markings with your own hands, you just need to take a blue wire and mark it with paint on its end seals or use colored electrical tape for this.
• As for DC networks, the positive core of a wire or bus should be indicated in red, and the negative core in blue. In this case, the designation of the neutral and protective conductors corresponds to the markings in alternating current networks.

Letter marking of wires

But color marking of wires is not always convenient. In shields, distribution devices and on the diagrams the letter designation is much more convenient. It must be used in conjunction with the color designation.

So:

• The letter marking of phase wires in a three-phase network corresponds to their colloquial designation - phase “A”, “B” and “C”. For a single-phase network it should be the same, but this is not always convenient. Moreover, it is not always possible to reliably determine which phase exactly. Therefore, the designation “L” is often used.

Note! Clause 1.1.31 of the PUE standardizes not only the letter and color designation of conductors, but also their location. So for a three-phase network with vertical arrangement bus phase “A” should be the highest, and phase “C” the lowest. And with a horizontal arrangement of conductors, the phase “C” closest to you should be, and the most distant phase “A”.

• If the wires are marked in the panel, then the symbol “N” indicates the neutral wire.
• The letter designation “PE” is used to designate the protective conductor. In addition, the grounding sign is often used, but the fact is that it cannot always accurately indicate the network diagram.

• The fact is that you may come across the designation “PEN”. It denotes the combination of the neutral and protective conductors. This is possible in the TN-C-S systems which we discussed in one of our previous articles.
• But the marking of DC electrical wires is carried out with the symbolisms “+” and “―”. Which respectively means positive and negative wire. For direct current there is another difference. The zero core is designated by the symbol “M”, which is sometimes misleading.

Non-standardized wire designation options

But unfortunately, the marking of the wires is phase zero; grounding is not always carried out in accordance with the PUE standards. You can often find other designations. This especially often applies to old circuits, electrical equipment, as well as some new devices from non-certified manufacturers.

And so that they do not mislead you, let's look at the most common options.

• Quite often on old Soviet diagrams you can find the symbols “F” or “F1”, “F2” and “F3”. The decoding of this designation is quite simple - it means phase. Moreover, the symbol without letter designation used for single-phase networks, and with letters for three-phase.
• On the new diagrams you can find the designation “L” or, respectively, “L1”, “L2” and “L3”. This is how foreign manufacturers often designate a phase. As for digital designations, the same rule applies here - without a number for a single-phase network, with numbers for a three-phase network.

Note! For a single-phase network, the designation “F” or “L” does not indicate the importance of strictly observing the phases. That is, you can connect any phase. The same applies to a three-phase network with a digital designation. If there is a designation “Fa”, “Fv”, “Fs” or “La”, “Lv”, “Lc”, then compliance with the phase sequence is mandatory.

• Marking of wires in switchboards may contain the symbol “0”. This designation of the neutral wire is often used to this day both in diagrams and in the designation of terminals on equipment.

• To indicate a protective conductor, the grounding symbol is often used, which we already discussed above. It is usually used to indicate the connection point of the protective conductor made according to a system other than TN-C-S.
• DC panel wire markings may contain the symbols “L+” and “L―”. These symbols indicate positive and negative conductors, respectively, and should not mislead you.

Conclusion

Correct marking of wires by color and designation can greatly facilitate not only installation, but also subsequent maintenance of electrical installations. Moreover, the cost of meeting labeling requirements is extremely low, and the requirements are not so difficult to comply with. Therefore, if you want to do everything “smartly” and make it easier for yourself to further operate your electrical network, we advise you to comply with these standards.

Anyone may encounter the need to repair electrical wiring or purchase various cable products for a future new home, and the color of wires in electrical installations plays an important role. The reasons for this can be different, but when you start eliminating it, you should count on one encouraging factor: there is color coding of the wires. It’s worth figuring out what it is and why they do it.

Basic definitions

In AC power networks up to a thousand kilovolts, the color marking of wires and cables is strictly regulated by state regulations, such as the “Electrical Installation Rules” (PUE), and this is what the section of the seventh edition in Chapter 1, paragraphs 1.1.29 – 1.1.30 is responsible for. It states that “Identification of wire cores by colors or digital designations” must be used in accordance with GOST P 50462-92 (IEC 446-89). The marking has the following basic designations:

In 3-phase AC distribution boards, the busbars are painted:

• yellow – L1 (phase A);
• green – L2 (B);
• red – L3 (C);
• blue – block of neutral working conductor N;
• alternating longitudinal or transverse stripes of the same width of yellow-green color - PEN grounding bus.

Important! If the electrical panel housing also serves as a grounding contact, then the location where the wires are connected is indicated by a sign (ground) and is colored yellow-green.

The PUE allows you to designate the color of the main wires, phase and zero, not along the entire length of the bus, but only at the points of connection to the contacts; if the bus is invisible, you are allowed not to color it.

Important! When installing electrical equipment located in the same building, it is necessary to use color marking of wires and cables using the same color schemes.

We must not forget that the designation of wires by color should in no case reduce the degree of electrical safety and convenience when repairing or servicing electrical equipment.

electrical safety

Alternating electricity with a voltage of 380V - 220V is a dangerous factor, so if a person touches exposed wires or metal parts of electrical equipment that may be under this voltage without permission, it can result in severe burns or fatal injury! For this purpose, the PUE gives an answer not only to the questions: what color is the grounding wire, or what is PEN, but what is it for.

In order to protect people as much as possible from possible exposure to electric current, electrical safety systems were adopted, characterized by one or more factors, such as:

• grounding;
• protective grounding;
• separation of networks by a transformer.

To provide safe work in existing electrical installations up to 1 kV, five grounding systems are used: TN-C, TN-S, TN-C-S, TT, IT s different ways grounding, grounding and separation of networks. The PUE defines each of the systems as:

1. TN-C, where the working zero N and the grounding PE conductors are combined in one PEN wire. Characterized by: the use of a cable with four cores in a three-phase network and a two-core cable in a single-phase network. This is the oldest device in electrical networks and is still found everywhere for reasons of economy, for example, in street lighting.
2. TN-S, where the working N conductor and the grounding PE are separated from the supply transformer to the end consumer. Such networks are made of five-core cables for a three-phase network and three-core wires for a single-phase network.
3. TN-C-S, where there is one combined PEN conductor of a four-core cable, from the supply transformer to the group panel at the entrance to the building, which is further divided into N and PE, respectively into five and three-wire wiring. This is the most common system for constructing power supply networks for buildings and structures.
4. TT, where there is only one working N conductor, and only the electrical equipment body is grounded. In such a system, four and two-wire wiring are used, respectively. So, they are basically arranged air lines power transmission
5. IT, where the electrical installation is separated from the power supply network by a transformer and completely isolated from the ground. This is the safest system for humans and is used only for special-purpose consumers.

Thus, the color of the wires phase and zero, L and N in electrics will help to clearly determine the security system used in a given electrical network.

DC electrical networks

Along with alternating current, direct current circuits are used, for example, in on-board networks of cars and electrical household appliances. In such electrical wiring there is no phase wire and neutral wire. The rule for wire color in DC electrics is much simpler, since there are only two potentials, positive, denoted in electrical diagrams, as (+) and negative, having a sign (-). The colors of such wires are easy to remember: the plus is red, and the minus is black.

Important! For household appliances, these colors are true only for the supply lines; in the further part of the circuit, the positive wire may have a different color.

Practice

Having started directly to electrical installation work or repairs in electrical wiring, you may encounter non-compliance with the color regulations, which are established by regulatory documents. As practice shows, this case is not the rule, but the exception.

Eg:

• you can buy a three-core cable of type BBG 3x1.5, which has cores with white, red and brown colors;
• cable products are often found with white wires with a colored stripe of black, gray or blue along the entire length;
• In the electrical wiring that was done before, in general, you can find a two or three-core white wire.

Here are some practical tips that will come in handy:

1. When making repairs in existing networks, it is necessary to use electrical safety devices, such as a voltage indicator or an indicator screwdriver. With their help you can always determine the color of the phase wire.
2. If the correct color marking of cable products is not available, purchase cambric or insulating tape of the required color. The main thing is to designate the color of the ground wire as yellow-green, the working zero as blue, and for phase L in the electrics you can choose any other color.
3. To install new wiring, use a cable of the same brand so that there is no confusion with the color of the wires in the electrical system.

Color coding abroad

The yellow and green marker of the grounding wire PE and the blue working zero N are designated absolutely identically in all CIS countries, while they are clearly unified with the countries of the European Union. The color designation of the phase wire varies slightly, but this is not of fundamental importance in terms of electrical safety.

In other countries such as Brazil, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand The PE ground wire, along with the yellow-green color, can be simply green, and the working zero N is designated by any of black, white or blue.

In the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA, the PE conductor may not have any insulation at all.

Important! Previously in the USSR, according to the old edition of the PUE, there was color marking that was radically different from today. Thus, the solidly grounded neutral and all grounding conductors were indicated in black, and White color wires corresponded to the working zero.

It is worth remembering that electrical installation work requires an electrician to have knowledge of electrical installations and safety precautions. Once you clearly know the markings, the question of how to choose the right wire color during work will no longer arise, and repairing electrical wiring or installing equipment will become not only safe, but also convenient.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

There are, in fact, not many different types of conductors and their connections. In the electrical power industry, a distinction is made between supply and protective conductors. Some have heard words such as “neutral” and “phase” wire. However, this is where questions arise. How to determine zero and phase in a real network?

What kind of conductors are there in a socket?

You can understand the question “what is phase and zero” without delving into the jungle of clarifying the structure, advantages and negative aspects of three-phase or five-phase circuits. You can practically disassemble everything on your fingers by opening the most ordinary household outlet, which is installed in an apartment or a private house ten to fifteen years ago. As you can see, this outlet connects to two wires. How to determine zero and phase?

How do the wires in a socket work and why are they needed?

As you can see, there are certain differences between workers and zeros. What is the symbol for phase and zero? bluish or blue coloring- this is the color of the phase wire, zero is indicated by any other colors, except, of course, blue flowers. It can be yellow, green, black and striped. There is no current flowing. If you take it and do not touch the worker, then nothing will happen - there is no potential difference on it (in essence, the network is not ideal, and there may still be a small voltage, but it will be measured in millivolts at best). But this will not work with a phase conductor. Touching it may result in an electric shock, even fatal. This wire is always energized; current flows to it from generators and transformers and stations. You must always remember that under no circumstances should you touch the working conductor, since voltage of even a hundred volts can be fatal. And in the outlet it is two hundred and twenty.

How to determine zero and phase in this case? The socket, designed in accordance with European standards, contains three conductors at once. The first is phase, which is energized and painted in a variety of colors (with the exception of blue shades). The second is zero, which is absolutely safe to touch and is colored. But the third wire is called neutral protective. It is usually colored yellow or green. It is located in the sockets on the left, in the switches - at the bottom. The phase wire is located on the right and top, respectively. Given these colors and features, it is easy to determine where the phase is, where the zero is, and where the protective neutral wire is. But what is it for?

Why is a protective conductor needed in European sockets?

If the phase wire is intended to supply current to the socket, and the neutral wire is intended to lead to the source, then why do European standards regulate another wire? If the equipment that is connected is working properly, and all wiring is in working condition, then the protective zero will not take part, it is inactive. But if suddenly an overvoltage occurs somewhere, or a short circuit occurs on some parts of the devices, then the current enters places that are usually without its influence, that is, not connected to either a phase or a zero. A person will simply be able to feel the electric shock on himself. In the worst situation, you can even die from this, as the heart muscle can stop. This is where the protective neutral wire is needed. It "takes" the short circuit current and directs it to the ground or to the source. Such subtleties depend on the wiring design and the characteristics of the room. Therefore, you can safely touch the equipment - there will be no electric shock. The thing is that current always flows along the path of least resistance. In the human body, the value of this parameter is more than one kiloohm. The resistance of the protective conductor does not exceed a few tenths of one Ohm.

Determining the purpose of conductors

How to determine zero and phase? Any person has encountered these concepts in one way or another. Especially when you need to fix an outlet or do some wiring. Therefore, it is necessary to understand exactly where each conductor is. But how to determine zero and phase? It must be remembered that all manipulations of this kind with electricity are dangerous. Therefore, if you are unsure of your actions, it is better to contact a specialist. If you are already approaching the outlet and the wires in it, then you must first completely turn off the power to the entire apartment. At a minimum, this can save health and life. As mentioned earlier, usually the designation of phase and zero is done using coloring. At correct labeling it will not be difficult to distinguish them. Black (or brown) is the color of the phase wire; neutral usually has a bluish or bluish tint. If a European standard socket is installed, then the third (protective zero) is made in green or yellow. What to do if the wiring is one color? As a rule, in this case, at the ends of the wires there are usually special insulating tubes that have the necessary color markings. They are called "cambrics".

Identifying conductors using a special screwdriver

How to determine zero and phase? To do this, it is most convenient to buy a special indicator screwdriver. The handle of such a device is made of translucent or transparent plastic. There is a diode built inside - glowing light bulb. The top part of this screwdriver is metal. How to determine zero and phase using this method?

The procedure for performing measurements using an indicator screwdriver:

• de-energize the apartment;
• lightly strip the ends of the wires;
• we move them apart so as not to accidentally cause a short circuit by contacting the phase and zero;
• turn on the switch and supply current to the apartment;
• We take the screwdriver by the handle, which has a dielectric coating;
• place your finger (thumb or forefinger) on the contact, which is located on the back of the socket;
• touch the working end of the indicator to one exposed conductor;
• carefully observe the reaction of the screwdriver;
• if the diode lights up, then we can confidently state that;
• By method of elimination we understand that the remaining conductor is zero.

The indicator screwdriver reacts to the presence of voltage. Naturally, it is not in the neutral wire. However, there is a significant drawback of this method. Using an indicator screwdriver, it is impossible to understand how to determine: phase, zero, ground - where is what in the case of a European socket.

Method for determining phase and zero using a voltmeter

If the wires are not painted in the appropriate colors, and you don’t have an indicator screwdriver at hand, then you can go another way. We need a voltmeter (multimeter, tester). It is necessary to set it to the required range - over two hundred volts alternating current. How to determine the phase with a tester? We take one conductor that extends from the device (labeled V). We attach it to a previously de-energized conductor (any). Then we apply current (turn on the switch). And we simply record what the device display shows. After all of the above, turn off the power again and transfer the tester clamp to another conductor. If there is nothing on the display, this means that in front of us there is either a zero or a grounding protective neutral wire. However, you can use another method that answers the question: “How to determine zero and phase, as well as grounding.” To do this, we turn off the power to the apartment again and fix the V clamp on one of the wires. We also throw the second one onto any of the three conductors. The voltage turns on. If the arrow does not move, then you have chosen zero and protective. Accordingly, the voltage must be turned off again and the position of terminal V must be changed (place it on another previously unused conductor). We turn on the current again and take the appropriate measurements. Then we perform the same operation, but change the conductor again. Now you need to compare the results. If the first digit turned out to be larger, it means that we measured the voltage between the phase conductor (on which terminal V hung) and the zero one. Accordingly, the second wire will be a protective grounding wire. This method is based on measuring the potential difference.

Exotic ways to determine phase and zero in wiring

There are also " traditional methods", which do not imply the presence of any special devices. They can only be used in the most extreme cases, since they are associated with increased danger to health and life. For example, the potato method. To do this, put a freshly cut piece of potato on the previously de-energized conductors. It is necessary to prevent the wires from touching each other so that there is no short circuit between them. Then literally apply voltage for a couple of seconds and look at the potatoes. If one section near the wire turns blue, then a phase is connected to it.

Carrying out electrical installation work almost impossible without insulated cables different shades. This is not a manufacturer’s advertising gimmick or a fashion trend, but a necessity for professional electricians.

According to the requirements, the color of the wires: phase zero earth must be different from each other and have a corresponding option.

In contact with

Concepts of phase, neutral and grounding

To answer the question: “Phase, neutral, ground - what is it?”, you need to understand how the wiring in the house is connected. Electricity enters the home from a transformer distributor. Zero is a wire connected to the ground loop at the substation. It is needed to create a load on the phase that is connected to the other end of the transformer winding. Grounding is not included in the power supply; it provides protection in the event of a fault.

The use of insulation of different shades makes it possible to determine whether the wires belong to a certain group.

In addition, this eliminates errors during electrical installation, which will protect against short circuits and electric shocks during network repairs.

The choice of wire colors in a three-core cable occurs according to a single standard.

The cores have letter and color designations. Most often, insulation of a certain shade of the entire wire is used; sometimes you can specify a certain color on the connections and its ends.

This is done using multi-colored electrical tape or a special tube. To do everything correctly, you need to know how phase and zero are designated.

Varieties of insulation shades

To make it convenient for electricians to work and not have to constantly check where the phase is and where– zero using special testers, and some rules have been adopted for the designation of phase and zero (PUE).

How do phase wires differ in color?

According to the accepted standard, phase cores come in the following shades:

• red;
• black;
• grey;
• brown;
• pink;
• white;
• orange;
• violet.

Important! Wires, which are marked with the letters L, N, in electrics refer to phase and zero, respectively, the protection core is signed PE.

If a single-phase network is a branch of a three-phase circuit, then the color of the core insulation must be the same as that of the conductor to which it is connected.

An important point is that the color of the phase designation must not match the tone of ground and zero.

Attention! If a cable that does not have markings is used, multi-colored marks are placed on it at the joints and at the ends.

It is advisable to use the same cable when laying wiring throughout the apartment so that the colors of the electrical wires are the same everywhere.

Color of working zero and grounding

The color of the neutral wire is usually blue, and the protective grounding conductor is made of yellow-green color with stripes that are applied longitudinally or transversely. If the functions of the neutral and protective conductor are combined, then its color is blue with yellow-green stripes at the joints.

If you do not know what color the phase is, in order to determine whether the conductors are connected correctly, you need to determine the phase and neutral wires: this will require special tools.

This is the simplest option for finding the phase. Without an indicator screwdriver, you should not begin replacing lamps or installing switches or sockets.

Working with the tool is very simple. You need to touch the wire with a screwdriver, and if it is energized, then when you press the contact on the back of the tool, the lamp will light up.

A light signal indicates that a phase has been detected. This is the simplest and most often recommended method for locating a phase wire by electricians. The cost of a screwdriver is low, so anyone can afford to have one. However, it has its drawbacks, for example, it can show tension where there is none.

The multimeter does not have a separate special mode that will help determine phase or zero: this can only be determined by the presence of numbers on the display or their absence.

When measuring the mains voltage with a tester, you need to select a mode to determine the current voltage in an alternating network. Before you begin determining the phase, test the device on any working outlet. After this, you can look for the phase with the red probe. If, having installed it on the phase, you begin to touch the remaining wires with another probe, you will find zero (the device will show 220V) or ground.

But it will be difficult to establish where the grounding is and where the zero is. If you need to do this, then you should disconnect the grounding wire at the electrical panel, then when checking with the device it will not show 220V on this conductor.

Modern industry produces multimeters of two types: analog and digital. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, analog instruments can help make measurements in conditions of interference and waves. The digital device is used more often; it is used by construction organizations and manufacturers of radio equipment.

Digital models of appliances are also more often present in everyday life.

If speak about technical specifications multimeter, then digital models have more accurate measurement readings, but they differ significantly in cost, which depends on the built-in functions of the equipment. The indicator can be digital or pointer, the latter is considered more accurate. There are options that can be connected to a computer to transfer data.

Attention! For the device to last long time, you should pay attention to its manufacture. The housing must be protected from shock and moisture penetration. It is better if the kit includes a special case for storing and carrying equipment.

If the rules for color marking of wires were not used when creating the electrical wiring in the house, then it is difficult for other electricians to work with such a network. It will be necessary to check the phase and zero only with the help of special instruments.

If, when installing a network, it is not possible to purchase cores of the appropriate shades, then you can mark the connections with colored electrical tape. This is allowed by the rules. In addition, during installation you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• It is worth choosing cables from the same manufacturer: in this case, the colors of the cores will be identical, this will eliminate errors when working with them;
• If you still had to use products from different manufacturers or different shades, then it is worth marking the wires with electrical tape of the corresponding colors. Don't rely on your memory so you don't have to guess later. blue wire– is it phase or zero.
• If you had to extend the cable, take wires with those color options, as in the main one.
• Do not use cables without grounding (yellow-green core).

Applying these simple tips, you can avoid mistakes when creating electrical wiring or repairing it. This will keep you out of trouble. If another electrician has to service or repair the network, he will quickly figure it out and will not have to check each wire with instruments.