GOOD TO KNOW

Different Types of Electrical Wires and 14/2 vs 14/3 Wire

There are many different types of electrical wire. Some wire is meant to be installed underground, some wire is meant to be installed in commercial settings, and then there is wire used in residential settings. This is the type of wire we will focus on in this video. Specifically romex wire, and the difference between 14/2 and 14/3 wire. If you buy 14/2 wire, you will have a black wire, a white wire, and a bare copper wire in the sheathing.

The black wire is called the hot wire, its what carries the current to your electrical device. The white wire is the neutral wire, this is used to carry the current back to the panel, completing the electrical circuit. The bare copper wire is the ground wire. This wire is installed to protect you against shock. If you buy 14/3 wire, then you will have a black wire, red wire, white wire, and a bare copper wire in the sheathing. This red wire is used is many different ways. If you are installing three way switches, you will need to run 14/3 wire because you need traveler wires to make three way switches work.

You may also use 14/3 if you are installing multibranch circuits. The black wire is used on phase A, the red on phase B, and the neutral wire is shared. If you are hooking up a 240v circuit the red wire is used to carry one of the legs of power to the appliance. Installing a hardwired interconnecting smoke detector system is another example where you would run 14/3 wire. The red wire in this case acts as a communication wire. So if one smoke alarm went off, they would all know to go off.