How to determine zero and phase? Wire color - phase, zero

There are, in fact, not many different kinds of conductors and their connections. In the electric power industry, the supply and protective conductors are distinguished. Some have heard such words as "zero" and "phase" wire. However, there are questions. How to determine zero and phase in a real network?

What are the conductors in the outlet?

One can deal with the question "what is phase and zero" without delving into the jungle to find out the structure, advantages and negative moments in three-phase or five-phase circuits. You can disassemble everything on your fingers, opening the most common home socket, which was put in an apartment or a private house about ten to fifteen years ago. As you can see, this outlet is connected to two wires. How to determine zero and phase?

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

Apparently, there are certain differences between workers and zero ones. What is the designation of phase and zero? Bluish or blue color is the color of the wire phase, zero is denoted by any other colors, except, of course, blue colors. It can be yellow, green, black and striped. No current flows through the zero conductor. If you take it and do not touch the worker, nothing will happen - there is no difference in potentials (in fact, the network is not ideal, and a small voltage can still be, but it will be measured at best in millivolts). But with a phase conductor this will not work. Touching it can cause an electric shock, even fatal. This wire is always under tension, it is powered by generators and transformers of electrical substations and stations. It must always be remembered that it is by no means possible to touch the working guide, since a voltage of even a hundred volts can be fatal. And in the socket, the phase voltage is two hundred and twenty.

What is the difference between the Euroset and the Soviet?

How to determine zero and phase in this case? In the outlet, designed in accordance with European standards, there are three conductors at once. The first is a phase that is energized and colored in a variety of colors (with the exception of blue hues). The second is zero, which is absolutely safe to touch and colored blue. But the third wire is called zero protective. It is usually painted in yellow or green. It is rooted in the sockets on the left, in the switches - from below. The phase wire is on the right and top, respectively. Given such colors and features, it is easy to determine where the phase is, and where zero, and where the protective zero wire. But what is it for?

Why do I need a protective conductor in eurosockets?

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

Determining the assignment of conductors

How to determine zero and phase? Anyone anyway came across these concepts. Especially when you need to repair the outlet or do wiring. Therefore, it is necessary to understand exactly where the conductor is. But how to determine zero and phase? It must be remembered that all such manipulations with electricity are dangerous. Therefore, in case of uncertainty in your actions, it is better to consult a specialist. If you already approach the socket and the wires in it, you must first completely disconnect the entire apartment. At a minimum, it can preserve health and life. As mentioned earlier, usually the designation of phase and zero is done by coloring. With proper labeling, it will not be difficult to distinguish them. Black (or brown) - the color of the wire phase, zero usually has a bluish or bluish tinge. If the socket of the European standard is installed, the third (protective zero) is executed in green or yellow. What if the wiring is one-color? As a rule, in this case, usually at the ends of the wires are special insulating tubes, which have the necessary color marking. They are called "cambric".

Determination of conductors with a special screwdriver

How to determine zero and phase? For this, it is most convenient to buy a special indicator screwdriver. The handle of such a device is made of translucent or transparent plastic. Inside the built-in diode - a glowing light bulb. The upper part of this screwdriver is metal. How to determine zero and phase by this method?

The order of the work when measuring with the help of an indicator screwdriver:

• We de-energize the apartment;
• Clean the ends of the wires lightly;
• We divorce them to the sides, in order to not accidentally cause a short circuit by contacting the phase and zero;
• Switch on the switch and apply current to the apartment;
• We take a screwdriver by the handle, which has a dielectric coating;
• We put a finger (large or index) on the contact, which is located on the back of the socket;
• Touch the working end of the indicator to one bare conductor;
• Carefully observe the reaction of the screwdriver;
• If the diode has caught fire, then we can state with confidence that this is a phase ;
• By elimination, we understand that the remaining conductor is zero.

The indicator screwdriver responds to the presence of voltage. Naturally, in the zero wire it is not. However, there is a significant drawback of this method. With the help of an indicator screwdriver, you can not understand how to determine: phase, zero, earth - where what is the case with the European outlet.

Method for determining the phase and zero using a voltmeter

If the wires are not painted in the appropriate colors, and there is no indicator screwdriver at hand, you can go the other way. We need a voltmeter (multimeter, tester). It is necessary to set it to the required range - over two hundred volts of alternating current. How to determine the phase of the tester? We take one conductor, which departs from the device (designated V). Attach it to a pre-deenergized conductor (any). Then we apply current (turn on the switch). And just fix that shows the display of the device. 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, it means that there is either zero or grounding protective zero wire in front of us. However, you can use another method that answers the question: "How to determine zero and phase, as well as grounding." To do this, again de-energize the apartment, fix the clamp V on one of their wires. The second is also thrown on any of the three conductors. The voltage is switched on. If the arrow does not move, then you have chosen zero and defensive. Accordingly, the voltage must again be switched off and the position of the clamp V changed (throw it onto another unused conductor). We turn on the current again and make appropriate measurements. Then we perform the same operation, but again we change the conductor. Now you need to verify the results. If the first digit was larger, it means that we measured the voltage between the phase conductor (on which the clamp V hung) and zero. Accordingly, the second wire will be protective earthing. This method is based on measuring the potential difference.

Exotic methods for determining phase and zero in wiring

There are also "folk methods", which do not imply the existence of any special adaptations. They can be used only in the most extreme cases, since they are associated with increased danger to health and life. For example, the method of potatoes. For this purpose, a freshly cut piece of potatoes is put on pre-deenergized conductors. It is necessary to prevent the wires from touching each other so that there is no short circuit between them. Then, literally for a couple of seconds, they give tension and look at the potatoes. If one section near the wire is blue, then the phase is brought to it.