[oliquir]

What do you use as standard colors on control panels with plc, dc wiring and ac wiring mixed together
ive seen lot of different colors on different control panels
im in canada and i don't think there is a standard.

for low voltage dc wiring
i presently use blue for all input dc wiring on plc
orange on output wiring
black for 0V
red for 24V

 

[ponyboy]

What I've been using in our buildings

Red- AC control power
Blue- DC control power
Yellow- fed from remote source

 

[dronai]

Similar here. Blue for DC, Red for 120V control, Yellow for outside source

 

[oliquir]

ok so everything DC (input, output, 0V 24V ) have the same color inside the panel?
(im not talking about wiring between panel and devices)

 

[dronai]

ok so everything DC (input, output, 0V 24V ) have the same color inside the panel?
(im not talking about wiring between panel and devices)

DC negative-Blue with white stripe or white with a blue stripe. That I've seen.

 

[Big John]

Black - Line power
Red - Reduced voltage controls
Yellow - Alternate source
Blue - Ungrounded DC
White - Grounded conductor (marked with stripes per system)

Check out NFPA 79.

 

[MTW]

Red and white for AC I/O, all blue for DC I/O, and numbered black for motors.

 

[lefleuron]

Black for motors or anything with a potential above 120.

Blue for all DC, in or out.

Red for 120, white for 120 common.

Unless you are using EU control devices, then its Brown for 24V+ and Blue for 24V-.

And nobody seems to care about voltage from a different source here, you MIGHT have a sticker or a magic marker scribble.

Just use Black, Blue, Red, and White and you will be fine. Yellow if you are using separate sources inside the same panel would be a nice thing.

 

[SteveBayshore]

What about field devices. How many guys here try to correlate DC field cabling colors with AC wiring and make the black in a black and white pair the positive and make the white the negative?
Next when you come across a black and red pair the black now becomes the negative and the red is the positive.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Now half of the job has the blacks as negative:thumbsup: and the rest of the blacks are positive. Great for troubleshooting.
Most of the shielded cables that we come across have a black as one of the colors in each pair; make it the negative, next color, no mattter what it is, will be the positive.:thumbup:

 

[glen1971]

What about field devices. How many guys here try to correlate DC field cabling colors with AC wiring and make the black in a black and white pair the positive and make the white the negative?
Next when you come across a black and red pair the black now becomes the negative and the red is the positive.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Now half of the job has the blacks as negative:thumbsup: and the rest of the blacks are positive. Great for troubleshooting.
Most of the shielded cables that we come across have a black as one of the colors in each pair; make it the negative, next color, no mattter what it is, will be the positive.:thumbup:

Colors mess people up.. Eliminate all wire colors, go with black and number each wire.. Shielded pairs and triads would be easy - Wire #1 is +.. 2 wire devices with x-link (or thhn) would be the same..
When I do industrial buildings in conduit I don't even try to pull circuits by phase color any more for the AC.. Controls are all black wire (12 volt, 24 volt or 120 volt)... Belden are terminated as per the client preference, white or black positive.. If there is no spec, or if it is new and not spec'd - white is positive..

Just my 2 cents...

 

[ScooterMcGavin]

Colors mess people up.. Eliminate all wire colors, go with black and number each wire.. Shielded pairs and triads would be easy - Wire #1 is +.. 2 wire devices with x-link (or thhn) would be the same..
When I do industrial buildings in conduit I don't even try to pull circuits by phase color any more for the AC.. Controls are all black wire (12 volt, 24 volt or 120 volt)... Belden are terminated as per the client preference, white or black positive.. If there is no spec, or if it is new and not spec'd - white is positive..

Just my 2 cents...

You mean like this. Control wire is the same color and same size regardless of system or voltage. You really have to watch what you're doing and read the labels.

 

[KDC]

Honestly, anything that makes you refer to prints and think can't be all bad.

I'd rather see things properly labeled and one colour than a rainbow and guess what's what.

 

[oliquir]

What about field devices. How many guys here try to correlate DC field cabling colors with AC wiring and make the black in a black and white pair the positive and make the white the negative?
Next when you come across a black and red pair the black now becomes the negative and the red is the positive.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Now half of the job has the blacks as negative:thumbsup: and the rest of the blacks are positive. Great for troubleshooting.
Most of the shielded cables that we come across have a black as one of the colors in each pair; make it the negative, next color, no mattter what it is, will be the positive.:thumbup:

that whats i do, black is never positive on my dc wiring on field device. it is negative. White or red is positive depending on colors on cable.

 

[Aydin2011]

You mean like this. Control wire is the same color and same size regardless of system or voltage. You really have to watch what you're doing and read the labels.

I try to carefully with color code. Specially main power if it is 480 v ac at least I can identified brown, orange, yellow till I step down to the voltage. Also current and wire size is important for me. Low voltage I use red and white 120 ac and dc blue (+)and black(-)

 

[Wirenuting]

Honestly, anything that makes you refer to prints and think can't be all bad. I'd rather see things properly labeled and one colour than a rainbow and guess what's what.

Prints for us is as rare as the golden goose.
I continue colors from cabinet to device and label all ends. If I'm fabricating a new controller, the colors will match the buildings other control panels color pattern.
I also like to write notes for the next person on, in or near every device or opening I come across.

 

[KennyW]

Colors mess people up.. Eliminate all wire colors, go with black and number each wire.. Shielded pairs and triads would be easy - Wire #1 is +.. 2 wire devices with x-link (or thhn) would be the same..
When I do industrial buildings in conduit I don't even try to pull circuits by phase color any more for the AC.. Controls are all black wire (12 volt, 24 volt or 120 volt)... Belden are terminated as per the client preference, white or black positive.. If there is no spec, or if it is new and not spec'd - white is positive..

Just my 2 cents...

To be honest you have a point. The field wiring is not going to follow the panel color code anyways if you're pulling multiconductors.

Every customer seems to have a slightly different spec as well.

What I find wild is how common using blue for 24vdc is. In my world blue means intrinsically safe and you wouldn't dare use blue wire on a non-IS circuit.

 

[Big John]

...What I find wild is how common using blue for 24vdc is....

It's specified as part of a US panel-building standard, that's the reason for that and red control conductors.

 

[KennyW]

It's specified as part of a US panel-building standard, that's the reason for that and red control conductors.

Ah ok. Is intrinsically safe wiring identified by some other means?

 

[Big John]

Ah ok. Is intrinsically safe wiring identified by some other means?

The code for it is that they are permitted to be light blue when there are no other colors of the same color. So if you had IS wiring in your control panel, you could still use a regular blue for your DC, or you could just label your IS wiring and use whatever colors you choose.

 

[ponyboy]

When I do conveyor control I use every color available to make my job easier. I'll just pick a color for a system and use it throughout. One color for starts, one for stops, one for e-stops, one for light curtains, photo eyes, bridge up/down, tension cable etc.... Seems a lot more practical than running a billion reds and hunting for number tags. Is that hack?