elecworks – Wire / Cable / Lens Colour Abbreviations according to IEC

By Miles Nicholson 

Wire / Cable cores / Lens colour abbreviations should be in accordance with IEC 60757 (identical to CENELEC-harmonized document HD 457).

The following table shows the IEC colour abbreviations:

IEC = International Electrotechnical Commission

For combining colours no separator is necessarily required e.g. an earth cable which is green and yellow could have a colour abbreviation of “GNYE”.IEC = International Electrotechnical Commission

For defining neutral cables where the blue is a light blue, then the abbreviation for light could be used i.e. “LBU”