ICEA Cable Color Coding

[Steve Merrick]

My company has recently adopted the ICEA/NEMA cable color coding standard (ICEA S-73-532). For 600V rated 3-ph 4-wire power cable, the ICEA standard color codes the conductors as 1-BK, 2-RD, 3-BL, and 4-OR. OK - I know that Brown-Orange-Yellow is not a Code requirement and I could learn to live with Black-Red-Blue for 480V as long as the color coding scheme is well posted and understood, but why is the neutral conductor not White or Gray per NEC 200.6? Why is there no green for the equipment ground? Am I missing something?

Thanks!

 

[Hv&Lv]

see if this helps: http://www.houwire.com/pdf/color_codes.pdf Along with :
http://www.anixter.com/AXECOM/AXEDocLib.nsf/(UnID)/6B3FE3C2856B04A980256F24006F6B49/$file/C-2_9.pdf

 

[renosteinke]

Yes, you missed - a lot.

ICEA codes are for communication and control wiring, not for power wiring. There's no neutral or ground, because such wiring ordinarily does not have loads on ot, or a need for grounding.

Here's yet another link, giving folks a better idea of the scope of the ICEA practice:
http://www.charlottewire.com/index.php/cPath/31_215

 

[Steve Merrick]

I agree with the above replies and appreciate your feedback. The ICEA color coding tables appear to be suited to communication and control cable rather than power as you suggest. My problem is that our central engineering office has standardized on and specified ICEA Method 1, Table E-2 color coding scheme for all 600V POWER cable through 10AWG, and for 600V power cable 8 AWG and larger, our new standard is ICEA Method 4 (1-BK, 2-BK, 3-BK, 4-BK). Are you saying that specifying the ICEA color coding method for all power conductors through 480V (not limited to multiconductor cable) is inappropriate? That is my impression and I am hoping to have one or two of you gurus confirm this for me before I attempt to battle our central engineering group to allow Brown-Orange-Yellow-White for 480/277V and Black-Red-Blue-White for 120/208V. This is for a major new power plant construction project.

Thanks!

 

[don_resqcapt19]

If the installation is covered by the NEC take a look at 210.5. You will have to provide some method to identify the ungrounded branch circuit conductors by phase and voltage system.

 

[Steve Merrick]

If the installation is covered by the NEC take a look at 210.5. You will have to provide some method to identify the ungrounded branch circuit conductors by phase and voltage system.

Yup - that's what I thought. So we will end up with an orange conductor with white tape on the ends to identify a neutral. Suboptimal, IMHO...

Thanks for your help.

 

[Volta]

Yup - that's what I thought. So we will end up with an orange conductor with white tape on the ends to identify a neutral. Suboptimal, IMHO...

Thanks for your help.

No, not for sizes smaller than #4 per 200.6. White or gray with orange tape, maybe...

 

[Steve Merrick]

No, not for sizes smaller than #4 per 200.6. White or gray with orange tape, maybe...

That's the problem... The ICEA standard that we're adopting for a 4-wire cable calls for Black-Red-Blue-Orange. It doesn't provide white or gray as a choice. 200.6(E) Exception No. 1 allows this as long as the ends are identified with white tape "or equally effective markings," but I'm not sure why we would want to do this to ourselves as a standard on a 480Y/277V circuit.

 

[renosteinke]

This is what an RFI, or 'request for information' is for.

That is, you reject the spec as inappropriate, and in conflict with the NEC. You tell them you cannot comply and ask them what they want you to do. I suspect they will admit to an error in the specs, say that they didn't mean to apply that standard to the power wiring.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

That's the problem... The ICEA standard that we're adopting for a 4-wire cable calls for Black-Red-Blue-Orange. It doesn't provide white or gray as a choice. 200.6(E) Exception No. 1 allows this as long as the ends are identified with white tape "or equally effective markings," but I'm not sure why we would want to do this to ourselves as a standard on a 480Y/277V circuit.

But my point was not the identification of the grounded conductor. It was the identification of the ungrounded conductors. You can't use black, red, blue for both the 208/120Y system and the 480/277Y system.

 

[Smart $]

... This is for a major new power plant construction project.

As Don said in his first post, "If the installation is covered by the NEC..." If the installation is utility company owned, it is likely not covered by the NEC... though some portions of the spec' may say per NEC.

I have worked several power plants with ICEA number and color coding of power cables. None where single conductors are per ICEA.

 

[Steve Merrick]

You are correct: the power plant specifications do indeed require NEC compliance. This issues applies to four new nuclear power generating stations in the early stages of construction.

Thanks for all your input.