Why are electrical wires different colors?  What’s the difference between wires?

Don’t know the answers?  That’s okay, an electrician does…

Why Are Electrical Wires Different Colors?

Need an Electrician? Call Us (480) 926-1033

Want to do something fun?  Go into your local home improvement big box store, or visit your local hardware store.  Saunter down the electrical aisle and look at the spools of wire.  After a short time, you will be bewildered by a bunch of information.  There will be a lot of numbers, prices, and other bits of information.In addition, the wires themselves have markings on them as well.  If you know how to read them, these markings show what type and size of wire they are. To add to this confusion, the wires that are inside the insulation also have colors on them as well.  That’s where electricians come in handy.   They are trained and could find the right type of wiring for your electrical project within seconds.  Here’s a color breakdown for you

Black wires are always hot. So you never want to use them for any ground wires.  The same holds true for red wires.  Blue and yellow wires are used as hot wires however, they are also used as switch legs for things like light fixtures and ceiling fans.  Green wires and bare copper wires are used only for grounding purposes.

What About White Electrical Wiring?

White wire sometimes is used for a secondary hot wire.  If you are using white wire as a second hot wire, you want to make sure that you mark it appropriately.  The best way?  Put a piece of black or red electrical tape on the ends of it.  That way no one misuses the wire., or if an electrician comes along later, he’ll know what the wire is used for.

Each individual wire within a larger bundle of them serves a different purpose.  Be sure that you know each purpose before you begin any project.  If not, call in an electrician contractor in Chandler to help you.

Dodge Electric
781 South Arizona Avenue
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 926-1033
http://www.dodgeelectric.com