Ribbed wireto silver or brass

How to identify the hot & neutral wires by color, by ribbing on the zip cord or lamp cord, or by a white strip on the zip cord or lamp cord to be sure that your wall plug is wired properly.

If the plug is not a polarized model, why should you care which wall plug is hot and which is neutral? After all, our building's electrical circuits are mostly 120VAC or 240VAC - where "AC" means "alternating current".

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Why is knowing this detail important? Here we answer those questions. Photo: a add-on line cord switch used to turn a bedside lamp on and off should be wired so that the switch interrupts the hot wire, not the neutral wire.

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A near-transparent lamp cord used to operate a table lamp provides an example of identification of the neutral wire by noticing that the neutral wire is silver while the hot or "line" wire is copper colored.

Really? Not always. As we illustrate below, some clear or translucent line cords will use two copper-colored wires, and others may use two silver-colored wires.

Ribbed wireto black or white

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ELECTRICAL WALL PLUG WIRING ID & CONNECTIONS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Shown earlier on this page (discussing use of a white stripe to mark the neutral wire), this particular grounded line-cord plug does not sport connector-spades of different widths; both are the same, but as we illustrate above, it is impossible to insert this plug incorrectly into the wall receptacle.

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Watch out: mis-wired electrical wall plugs or any other electrical wiring is dangerous, risking fire or shock or even death. Electrical wiring should be performed by a licensed, trained electrician and should comply with the National Electrical Code and local regulations. This article series describes how to choose, locate, and wire an electrical receptacle in a home.

Older non-polarized wall plugs may have just two connecting spades, each the same size. Still you can easily identify which wire is the "hot" and which is the "neutral" in these line cords and wall plugs by observing any of several indicators we list below.

The answer is that some electrical devices are unsafe if polarity is reversed. Some of the hazards are subtle. Here are examples: