Why Is a Neutral Line Required?

Many home electrical wiring projects can seem simple enough to tackle by following the directions or diagram on the back of a switch, outlet, or plug.neutral line required However, there is danger lurking in those wires that can kill you if you aren’t careful. In this article we will discuss why a neutral line is required and what it does to keep you safe.

Most power reaches our homes and factories from high voltage lines spread across the states on gigantic pylons that are connected to transformers to step down the current to a safer level.neutral line required From there the electricity reaches our circuits and devices by passing through the hot and neutral wires that connect our equipment to the power grid and then from there to us. The neutral wire in an electrical circuit is the white one that looks a little like a telephone cable.

A neutral wire is required because there must be a return path for the current to travel in.neutral line required Without it, the current would simply continue on its way through the device and never be able to make it back to the power source. The neutral wire carries the current that is not used by the device and acts as a backup in case the phase lines go bad.

The neutral wire is also required because current drawn by certain types of non-linear loads, including fluorescent and HID lighting and electronic equipment with switching power supplies, may contain harmonics. These harmonic currents can cause the current in the shared neutral conductor to be triple that of the phase conductors in some cases. A larger and heavier neutral conductor is required to be able to carry these higher currents.

Another reason the neutral wire is required is because it is connected to an earth ground, which will divert any unstable or excess currents to prevent injury and fires. Many people confuse the ground wire with the neutral, but they serve very different purposes.

Some power systems do not use a neutral wire because they can provide the same functionality with the phase lines alone. However, this is not safe or advisable as there must be a return path for the energy to travel through in the event of a fault in the phase wires.

Additionally, if the neutral was not connected to the ground, any stray electrons could travel from the device back through the line and potentially out into the surrounding environment. This is a significant safety concern and the grounding of the neutral is a requirement for all residential electrical systems.

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