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Usually yes, sometimes no. For instance:
The neutral in a single-phase, 120V (in the US) branch circuit, such as one feeding receptacles, does.
The neutral in a 120/240V circuit feeding a 240V appliance does not.
The neutral in a 480Y feeder feeding a balanced load does not.
A neutral is there because of the possibility that current flow could occur. For instance, in a US household, with 120/240V service, if you plugged in 5 100 watt lamps on one side of the line, and another 5 100 watt lamps on the other hot leg, there would be no neutral current in the service cable feeding the house. The loads are said to be 'balanced'. The 500 watts of power flowing into the first hot leg goes through the first set of lamps, then the second set, then out the other hot wire. Neutral current still flows in the individual branch circuits, of course.
Now, if you moved one of the lamps to the other side, 600 watts would be coming into that side, but only 400 would be going back out the other hot wire, so 200 watts would flow through the neutral.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoA neutral wire sometimes carries current. If the neutral is used as a return current path, neutral current Amps is equal to the Phase Amps when there is no leakage of current.
In other situations, the neutral carries no current because the phase loads are balanced.
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Is the neutral conductor of a two wire single phase circuit considered a current carrying conductor?
Sure. In a two-wire circuit, both wires carry equal currents.
Why not hook ground to neutral since they are hooked on same spot in breaker box why not in outlet box.?
The "hot" wire and the neutral wire both carry current (the same amount, in fact) when a load is connected to complete the circuit. The ground wire never carries current except when a fault-to-ground situation occurs. Yes, neutral and ground wires should both be at ground potential, but NO they should not be connected at the outlet.
What is the aluminum wire equivalent to?
In the electrical trade aluminum wire is equivalent to copper wire as it is also used to carry current. To carry the same current as copper wire aluminum wire is up sized to meet the same ampacity.
What is difference between nutral and earth wire?
A neutral wire provides a return path for the hot lead while an earth or "ground" wire is provided as a safety function only that is not normally intended to carry current except for the purpose of operator protection.
What part of a circuit is the wire cable or switch?
Wire is the transition material used to carry the electric current; the switch is the controller of that current.
Why neutral wire does not carry current in closed ac circuit?
The neutral wire does carry current in a closed AC circuit. Clamp a clamp on amp meter around the neutral wire directly after the circuit load and it will read the same current as is on the "hot" wire.
Does neutral wire carry voltage in a closed circuit?
The ground wire should carry no current at all, it is there in case of a short circuit to carry the (short circuit) current back to the breaker panel to trip the breaker. The neutral will carry the unbalanced load current between the 240 volt legs. e.g. L1 and N (neutral) 120 volts the load draws 8 amps. L2 and N (same neutral) 120 volts the load draws 12 amps. The difference between the two amperages is what the neutral will carry 12 - 8 = 4 amps.
What devices get a neutral wire?
All devices use two wire, the live and the neutral. These carry the current used by the device. Most devices also have an earth wire for safety, which carries no current until a fault occurs and then the fault current in the earth wire might save someone from being electrocuted.
Does earthing wire carry current?
The earthing wire does not normally carry current.
Why is the neutral wire thinner in overhead 3-phase AC transmission line?
A smaller neutral wire in a three phase system can be used because it does not carry the full line current. It carries the unbalanced current of all three leg loads. This is one reason that three phase loads on a distribution panel should be equalized as much as possible to reduce the current on the neutral.
Does thin wire carry more current than thick wire?
No. The larger wire can carry more current.
What is the blue wire for in a three pin plug?
In the UK Brown is the live, blue is the neutral and green/yellow is the earth. The live and neutral are the two wires that normally carry the current.
Is the neutral conductor of a two wire single phase circuit considered a current carrying conductor?
Sure. In a two-wire circuit, both wires carry equal currents.
What happens if you wire a ground and neutral wire together in an outlet box?
If there is a GFCI in the circuit it will stop working correctly. They compare ground current to neutral current to detect a fault. It makes ground current equal to neutral current which is a fault condition.
Why do gfcis trip?
GFCI's trip on an un balance between the current on the "hot" wire and the current on the neutral wire
What will happen without a neutral wire?
Current needs a return path to earth to flow. The neutral carries this flow. Therefore, no neutral and no current flow.
What is the reading ground to neutral?
Ideally ground and neutral should be at the same potential, but as there is current in the neutral wire and no current (normally) in the ground wire there can be a difference. I have personally measured over 25 VAC on the neutral relative to ground in some systems.
