Mike Dolt Enterprises
Mike Dolt Enterprises
User: bsrgames, Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Asked on: Friday, March 25, 2011 at 3:16 pm EDT
Answered on: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 3:16 am EDT
Question: Hi,This question is really trivial but I am having an issue with my Electrician concerning the appropriate color of the neutral conductor. The product that we make is shipped overseas and he is stating that we can use the color blue to identify the neutral, though internal standards are:Brown - HotBlue - NeutralGreen - GroundHe states that we are fine using:Black - HotBlue - NeutralGreen - GroundI believe this to be inaccurate as I want to have our product to NEC specs and I could not find anywhere in the code to where it states that we can identify the neutral conductor as blue. The sections that I saw have shown that it is to be identified as White or Gray.In addition when they are splicing the wire for the transformer they are just tying black to black blue to white and red to green. I think that I have a major issue with the mismatching of colors in the systems that we are doing.Can anyone shed some insight?
Color Coding of Neutral Conductors
According to the National Electrical Code (NEC), the neutral conductor must be identified by one of the following colors: White GrayBlue is not an approved color for the neutral conductor in the NEC.
NEC Reference
Article 250.119(A)(1) of the NEC states:> "Grounded conductor (neutral) shall be identified by white or gray or by three continuous white stripes on other than green, green with one or more yellow stripes, or green with one or more gray stripes."
Color Mismatching in Splicing
As you have mentioned, your electrician is mismatching the colors of the wires when splicing for the transformer: Black (hot) to black (hot) Blue (neutral) to white (neutral) Red (ground) to green (ground)This is incorrect. The following is the correct color coding for splicing the wires: Black (hot) to black (hot) White (neutral) to blue (neutral) Green (ground) to green (ground)Conclusion
Your electrician is incorrect about the use of blue as a neutral conductor color. The NEC only allows white or gray for the neutral conductor. Additionally, the color mismatching in the splicing is also a concern. You are right to want to have your product meet NEC specifications. It is recommended that you have this corrected by a qualified electrician to ensure safety and compliance. Flag for review