Wiring A 240 Volt Circuit

Service cable is large insulated stranded copper cable usually refers to single 4 wire and up.

Wiring a 240 volt circuit. A 240 volt 3 wire receptacle has three prongs two hot and one ground to accept a 3 prong plug. 1 a black wire which is often known as the hot wire which carries the current in to the fixture. A typical 240 volt 30 amp circuit includes a double pole circuit breaker which has two terminals for the two hot wires. 3 a white wire called the neutral which completes the electrical circuit for the 120 volt accessories only.

Basic wire sizing guide for us 120 and 240 volts. It is actually two 120 volt circuits which share the neutral or common wire. This breaker takes power from both of the main bus bars. The circuit wiring and the circuit breaker must be identified at the electrical panel.

Each bus bar measured to ground will provide 120 volts so both bus bars will provide 240 volts. The wires usually are black or red but one may be white if it is labeled as hot with a black or red stripe near each end. Run the cabling from your 240v circuit to the location of your breaker box. That is why some 240 volt circuits have four wires.

To wire a 240 volt circuit you must have a double pole circuit breaker. The ground wires for a 240 volt circuit the ground wire is the most important wire in any home electrical wiring circuit. Use a 4 strand cable of a gauge designed to operate with the power rating of your breaker. The 240 volt circuit breaker of the circuit is turned off and the circuit wiring is removed from the circuit breaker.

Install the breaker as per the manufacturer s instructions. 2 another hot wire which is red which also carries current in to the fixture. The ground wire should be bonded with all other ground wires and bonded to any metal junction box or enclosure. A 240 volt circuit is comprised of two hot wires a common neutral wire and a ground wire.

American wire gauge awg the lower the number the larger the wire guage. A 15 amp breaker requires at least number 14 gauge wire while a 20 amp breaker requires at least number 12 gauge wire. It takes two 120 volt circuits and a ground wire to form a 240 volt circuit. Learn how to test your 240 volt circuit to help you diagnose problems with your electrical circuit.

If you measure the voltage between either hot wire and the common wire you will get 110 to 120 volts.