415/240 V color code
- Thread starter Knarfluna
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Another C10
Electrical Contractor 1987 - present
- Location
- Southern Cal
- Occupation
- Electrician NEC 2020
I don't recall ever seeing an expected 415 voltage reading on my tester in my 30+ years ... 480 sure ..
It's a big Industry, one can't know and do it all I suppose ..
how is that 240/415 range derived, similar to 120/208 I suppose.
Fred B
Senior Member
- Location
- Upstate, NY
- Occupation
- Electrician
Don't recall any specified color coding other than the highleg of a delta that is precribed to be orange in color.
Tulsa Electrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Tulsa
- Occupation
- Electrician
Is this an industry practice.
If so I will add this to my chart for the application.
As I do not do a lot of that work would you share more details on application from trans, feeder to branch.
This way. Prepared when I run across it. Maybe even through some side articals related.
Thank you
ron
Senior Member
- Location
- New York, 40.7514,-73.9925
As was pointed out, 210.5 directs you to identify the phases, but doesn't tell you how to.
You may be directed contractually, as I typically do in a specification, but not from the NEC
You may be directed contractually, as I typically do in a specification, but not from the NEC
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
In large data centers, the racks and racks full of computers, called “blade servers” (last I was directly involved) each have a power supply and they use 240V input fir the power supplies in order to keep current down. So they design the local in house distribution system as 415Y240V so that they get 240V L-N for each individual power supply, coming from a 3 phase feeder to each rack into a distribution block feeding single pole branch breskers. This way they deliver the lowest current per rack and lowest cost distribution, even though it means a (comparatively) oddball voltage here (it is fairly standard elsewhere in the world).
Sounds a bit British!
David Castor
Senior Member
- Location
- Washington, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
After 50 years, one of the few absolutes I've found (at least in the US), there are no consistent standards when it comes to colors - wires, lights, pushbuttons, etc). Never trust a color code. Even when a facility had a color code for phasing and/or voltage, it was never consistently followed.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Yes, except here it will 60Hz. But the power supplies don’t care.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Lol, I used to say “at least green is always ground”, but a few weeks ago I saw a 3phase machine from China come in with green as a phase color… that’s not going to age well here I don’t think.
Yes I know. And now it is 400V/230V here.
synchro
Senior Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Occupation
- EE
Apparently green in used as a phase color in China, and it was also formerly used that way in Russia:
https://www.electricaltechnology.or...Codes-NEC-IEC-Single-Phase-Three-Phase-AC.png
Tulsa Electrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Tulsa
- Occupation
- Electrician
Thank you for the link.
Thanks are for adding information.
I do have a question.
For these would the netural be counted as a CCC impacting feeder conductor sizing.
Thanks are for adding information.
I do have a question.
For these would the netural be counted as a CCC impacting feeder conductor sizing.
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
Should be the same as 208Y/120 no?
-Hal
-Hal
Tulsa Electrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Tulsa
- Occupation
- Electrician
Kinda ask a bad question.
Let's try this.
If it used a 120/208 three phase.
The netural would or could be sized on based on 250.102 for all the 208v single phase loads. No line to netural loads I would say the netural in this case would not count as a CCC if one was installed on the feeder.
Now with the 415/240 system it's all netural loads 240 line to netural and would require a full size netural. Then I would count the netural on the Fedder as a CCC.
Carultch
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
For UK the residential conductors are brown, blue, and yellow/green. And just 230V and neutral.
It used to red, black, and yellow/green which was much more sensible but the EU screwed that up..................
I preferred the UK's old code of Red/Yellow/Blue convention for 240/415V, and for any of the neighboring voltages that are common in the rest of Europe (220/380V, & 230/400V). It's unfortunate that is no longer the standard.
Man of the foreign color codes that are the current standard, would not meet code in the USA, since the IEC standard uses gray as a phase conductor and blue as the neutral. If there were foreign color schemes that at least complied with the standard of white/gray for neutral, and green for protective Earth, and then I would follow them. Gray and white make the most sense to me as a neutral, since that's the closest to how the plastic starts before you add pigments. And ground makes sense to me, just like a landscaper would describe it: "it's either green or bare".
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