Insulating tape is the easiest and therefore the best way to hide live parts. Of course, many electricians now prefer to use heat-shrinkable tubes, but rarely in a master's bag you will not find several rolls of electrical tape. And modern, multi-colored electrical tape can be used for somewhat different purposes.
White insulating tape
This is the best way to mark the wire. It is enough to wrap it with electrical tape several times, and just bend it at the end to make it look like a tag. With the help of a black marker, all the necessary values can be applied to such a tag.
The advantages of this method:
- Low cost.
- Always at hand.
- Versatility.
White insulating tape is a fallback option, cable ties with special plastic tags are most often used now.
Black duct tape
An everyday option, when there is a lot of work, and there should be material at hand with which you can quickly and reliably "close" the bare sections of the wires. It is best to overpay a little and purchase a rag tape - it will close the live parts and protect them from mechanical damage.
Blue duct tape
The rules for the installation of electrical installations provide paragraph 1.1.29 in which the color indication and marking of each conductor is detailed. In critical situations, you can also refer to GOST R 50462 "Identification of conductors by colors or numbers".
Clause 1.1.29 states that the neutral working conductor must be marked "N" and be marked in blue or blue. This is why you need to use blue tape. It is enough to put a couple of tight turns on the end of such a wire, and it will already become clear what kind of conductor it is. This life hack is especially useful in junction boxes.
Red duct tape
To make it easier to remember: all aggressive colors are the designation of the phase wire. Therefore, in your daily work, it is best to use red electrical tape to mark the phase conductors. It is allowed to replace the red color with black, brown, purple, gray, pink, white, orange and turquoise. This is provided by paragraph 2.1.31 PUE.
Yellow-green duct tape
The classic color for identifying ground conductors or busbars, as well as neutral protective networks. Especially for this, a yellow-green insulating tape was invented, which can be applied both to live parts and over the insulation of wires.
Separately: yellow, green and red
3 insulating tapes of these colors are used in three-phase systems. And to confirm this, it is enough to look into paragraph 1.1.30: phase A bus should be yellow, phase B green, phase C red. If these colors are used in tires, then they can be used for wires.
Summing up
Electrical tape is a versatile consumable that is very convenient to work with. Different colors of the electrical tape allow you to mark the wiring in accordance with its functionality, in order to avoid mistakes during its further repair or alteration.