How to Interpret Electric Wiring Color Codes

by DoItYourself Staff

When thinking about electric wiring of different appliances in your house, you need to know that different wires serve specific functions that are distinct from each other. However, mastering this is not difficult. Here are a few tips to guide you:

Black Wires

Black colored wires are suitable for use as hot wires. Hot wires are ‘live’ wires. These connect directly to the power source. Use them to feed a switch or an outlet. Technicians commonly use them as switch legs for lights and ceiling fans. Never use them for neutral or ground connections.

Red Wires

Red colored wires are hot wires. Red wires interconnect hardwired smoke detectors. They are suitable for use on ungrounded control circuits operating at a reduced voltage levels.

Blue Wires

Blue wires are traveler wires and are suitable for wiring three-way switch applications. These are live wires that should not be exposed to the touch.

Green Wires

These wires are suitable for grounding of appliances to enhance safety when they are in use. In case of an electric fault, the ground wire averts danger by providing an alternative path to the earth.