why is the neutal wire on the right and live on the left? what is the reason for maintainig standard

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i knw tht we can switch the wires ,ie, live in neutral n neutral in live, our applications wont know the difference.
then what is the reason for maintaing a standard? n why have they selected this standard? why couldn't they keep the live on the right and neutral on the left? wht is the significance of maintaing this particular standard?

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@hozefa,

Firstly if there are only two wires neither of them are a "neutral".
Secondly what so-called "standard" do you refer to?
Thirdly I have no idea what you mean by" knw tht we can switch the wires".
Fourthly your post is so jumbled as to render the balance of it incomprehensible.

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It's only a convention, like driving on the right side of the street.

If there's no other cars on the street, you can also drive on the left side.

However, it can be dangerous.

If your electrical installation is properly done, according to the standards, you don't need to think about it : the neutral is on the left and the live wire is on the right.

1 Reply

@Francis,

You also do not know what you are talking about, see my reference to the "neutral", let alone your claim of orientation "convention".

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@Chumly,

should i be standing in this bucket of water if i'm going to touch a live wire?

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Many years ago, we needed at my work place, a 220-volt drop and for some reason it was never done even after asking for it repeatedly for some time.

I when unwisely took matters into my own hands and using two nearby 110 circuits with the correct phase relationship product the needed 220 outlet.

This work fine for a year or more until the company electrician when working with one of two 110 circuits involved received a shock even after cutting the power to that circuit.

The connection to the other 110 circuit of course kept the branch alive as they was interconnected in order to product the 220 outlet.

That risk never enter my mind for some reason!

1 Reply

@djjd62,

No you will not get shocked as long as you are only touching one "Low Voltage" (750 V and under as per the Canadian Electrical Code) conductor at a time referenced as a potential to ground, plus the bucket itself and any other part of your body has no connection to ground.

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@BillRM,

There is no such thing as the "correct phase relationship" in domestic residential as it's single phase. Also in North America the system voltages for domestic residential are different than in Europe.

The presence / absence of an identified conductor and/or grounded conductor is also different than in Europe as is the frequency.

In North America for example the system voltages and frequency for domestic residential are 120 / 240 60 Hertz with no voltage higher than 120 Vrms (170 Vp) nominal to ground.

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can everyone pls explain me all this without using technical jargon.....
n srry i frgt to mention i was talkin about indian standards....

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@Chumly,

Quote:

There is no such thing as the "correct phase relationship" in domestic residential as it's single phase. Also in North America the system voltages for domestic residential are different than in Europe.

Sorry you do not know what you are talking about.

Let see first we are talking about a business here not a resident that have all three phases coming into it.

Not all 110 circuits would be link to a single phase in such a building as that would cause an unbalance load, something you do not wish to happen.

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Chumly wrote:

You also do not know what you are talking about, see my reference to the "neutral", let alone your claim of orientation "convention".

If such pretenses were not so lame, I would continue this conversation.

Sometimes I wonder how ego stories can lead to this kind of assertions.

Just let me tell you that for almost fifteen years I used to teach "electricity and electronic teachers".

Many of them achieved good positions, if they were not tempted to utter nonsense as you do..

But maybe your training was not exactly fruitful..

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@hozefa,

Quote:

then what is the reason for maintaing a standard? n why have they selected this standard? why couldn't they keep the live on the right and neutral on the left? wht is the significance of maintaing this particular standard?

At least one reason. When you plug a lamp into a receptacle/plug outlet the aluminum screw shell of the lightbulb socket, the part that is relatively easy to come in contact with, is not hot. By maintaining this polarity/standard, only the small contact at the bottom of a light socket, where the bulb is screwed into, is hot.

1 Reply

@Francis,

Yes and I am a full-time Instructor of the four year Electrical Apprentice Program at Western Canada’s premier technical institute plus I have been a full time working Journeyman Electrician since the early 1980’s and have taken many upgrading courses in addition to serving a four year apprenticeship with all the requisite schooling.

If you wish to engage in the logical fallacy of argument by authority and the logical fallacy of ad homonym, this will be vaguely amusing at best.

Given your so-called “almost fifteen years of electricity and electronic teachers" you should have no trouble refuting my claims (assuming of course you disagree with them). However you provide no such refutation only cliché logical fallacies.

Given your so-called “almost fifteen years of electricity and electronic teachers" you should have no trouble answering the following both of which are part of a (not too difficult) quiz I wrote for my Second Year classes:

Explain under what circumstances the PIV of the diode in a half-wave rectifier circuit needs to be double the VDCpeak of the load and explain under said circumstances what this circuit is the basis of.

In a resonant LC circuit, how much as a percent of the initial values, will the new values of XL and Xc change by, if the supply frequency increases by 20%? Show your work please and yes it's easily doable without using math-specific fonts.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Nope in AC there is no given polarity, not only that you refer to a system that has a grounded conductor which may not always be the case.

1 Reply

Hi Francis,
Assuming you make such a claim (and I must assume you do given you say my posts are "utter nonsense" explain how you can call one of the wires in a two wire power distribution circuit a "neutral". Where precisely do you claim the unbalanced load current (if any) would incur? Rolling Eyes

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I fail to understand why a couple of tin cans, connected with a mile of cotton twine, cannot conduct phone signals.

1 Reply

@Chumly,

Quote:

Nope in AC there is no given polarity, not only that you refer to a system that has a grounded conductor which may not always be the case.

Quote:

Polarization of Plug Receptacles

You will notice that the receptacle has a brass terminal screw and a chrome plated terminal screw. Be sure to connect the black or sometimes the red wire to the brass terminal screw and the white neutral conductor connects to the chrome plated terminal screw.

Polarized type receptacles must be used for all plug outlets except clock outlets.

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@edgarblythe,

Quote:

I fail to understand why a couple of tin cans, connected with a mile of cotton twine, cannot conduct phone signals.

Ya gotta hook it up to the phone line too, Silly. Wink

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@Chumly,

Chumly wrote:

Firstly if there are only two wires neither of them are a "neutral".
Secondly what so-called "standard" do you refer to?
Thirdly I have no idea what you mean by" knw tht we can switch the wires".
Fourthly your post is so jumbled as to render the balance of it incomprehensible.

In normal simple wiring the white wire (neutral) should be connected to the silver coloured screw or terminal and the black wire (hot) to the bronze terminal screw.

Why do you dispute at least two posters use of the term neutral?

What do you call these wires?

1 Reply

@Chumly,

Chumly wrote:

If you wish to engage in the logical fallacy of argument by authority and the logical fallacy of ad homonym, this will be vaguely amusing at best.

Why does this have to be part of almost every post you make? I saw no such thing from the poster who replied to you.

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why is the neutal wire on the right and live on the left? what is the reason for maintainig standard

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