Basic Electrical Symbols and Their Meanings (2023)

FAQs

What are the basic symbols of electrical? ›

What are Some Basic Electrical Symbols? There are five commonly used symbols in Electrical – Switch, Wire, Contactor, Motor, Transformer. These symbols can be used in any electrical drawings. Switches are used for ON/OFF any control circuit.

Electrical symbols are a graphical representation of basic electrical and electronic devices or components. These Symbols are used in circuit and electrical diagrams to recognize a component. It is also called a schematic symbol. Each component has typical functionality according to its operational characteristics.

Electrical circuit diagram symbols

Electrical symbols are the most commonly used symbols in circuit diagramming. Amplifiers (denoted by triangle shapes) increase the output signal in your circuit. Capacitors (parallel lines) store energy in your system, while resistors (zigzag lines) reduce current flow.

Like voltage, current can be AC or DC. Because the unit for current is ampères, or amps, the symbol for it is A. “A” with a wavy line over it = AC current. “A” with two lines, one dotted and one solid, over it = DC current.

Voltage measured in volts, symbolized by the letters "E" or "V". Current measured in amps, symbolized by the letter "I".

The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI).

The electrical schematics are read from left to right or from top to bottom. This is important to get right, as the signal direction indicates the flow of current in the circuit. It is then easy for a user to understand when there is a change in the course of the circuit.

The database includes around 1750 circuit symbols overall. ANSI standard Y32: This standard for electronic component symbols is the American one and is also known as IEEE Std 315. This IEEE standard for circuit symbols has various release dates.

What does Z mean on a circuit board? ›

Impedance (Z), in electrical devices, refers to the amount of opposition faced by direct or alternating current when it passes through a conductor component, circuit or system.

Alternatively, under IEEE 1621, this symbol simply means "power". IEC 60417-5010, the power on-off symbol (line within a circle), is used on buttons that switch a device between on and fully off states.

The ampere, symbol A, is the SI unit of electric current.

One “V” symbol is for AC voltage. The other “V” symbol is for DC voltage. The AC voltage symbol will be a “V” with a “∿” over the V. The DC voltage symbol will be a “V” with a solid and dashed line over the V.

Ø (or minuscule: ø) is a letter used in the Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Southern Sámi languages. It is mostly used as a representation of mid front rounded vowels, such as [ø] ( listen) and [œ] ( listen), except for Southern Sámi where it is used as an [oe] diphthong.

When you plug things into the outlet in your house, you don't get DC. Household outlets are AC - Alternating Current. This current has a frequency of 60 Hz and would look something like this (if you plotted current as a function of time).

Volts, amps, ohms, and watts are therefore the four fundamental units of electricity.

In direct current, the voltage is always constant, and the electricity flows in a certain direction. In contrast, in alternating current, the voltage periodically changes from positive to negative and from negative to positive, and the direction of the current also periodically changes accordingly.

The answer becomes clearer when we look at the three roles wiring must fulfill: hot, neutral, and ground. These three components work in tandem to distribute power throughout your home, as well as help maintain electrical safety.

What are the three 3 types of wires? ›

The three types of wires used in household circuits are Earth wire, Live wire, and Neutral wire.

Electrical safety basics

Don't work with exposed conductors carrying 50 volts or more. Make sure electrical equipment is properly connected, grounded and in good working order. Extension cords may not be used as permanent wiring and should be removed after temporary use for an activity or event.

OSHA 1910.303 requires employers to mark electrical equipment with descriptive markings, including the equipment's voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings as necessary. This information, along with training requirements will protect workers from injuries, even death.

The symbol for charge is q or Q. The MKS unit of charge is the coulomb (C).

Batteries and electronic devices like TVs, computers and DVD players use DC electricity - once an AC current enters a device, it's converted to DC. A typical battery supplies around 1.5 volts of DC.

A single cell or other power source is represented by a long and a short parallel line. A collection of cells or battery is represented by a collection of long and short parallel lines.

They are wiring, schematic, and pictorial diagrams.

The first step in troubleshooting is to find the source of the problem. The hopscotch method is a great way to find the component that is malfunctioning. With the hopscotch method, you follow the flow of electricity in a circuit. At each component, you will take a voltage measurement with your multimeter.

Unlike the battery, a capacitor is a circuit component that temporarily stores electrical energy through distributing charged particles on (generally two) plates to create a potential difference. A capacitor can take a shorter time than a battery to charge up and it can release all the energy very quickly.

What are the 5 main circuits? ›

There are 5 Main Types of Electric Circuit – Close Circuit, Open Circuit, Short Circuit, Series Circuit and Parallel Circuit.

DC Voltage Symbol

The Unicode character-U+2393 “⎓” is used for the DC applications. Sometimes, it is also symbolled as a straight line.

For example, the letter R is a reference prefix for the resistors of an assembly, C for capacitors, K for relays.

F: fuse. GDT: gas discharge tube. IC: integrated circuit. J: wire link.

The quality factor Q for the circuit is the electric energy stored in the circuit divided by the energy dissipated in one period. The Q of a circuit is an important quantity in certain applications, as in the case of electromagnetic waveguides and radio-frequency cavities where…

The numbers on your breaker are there to tell you much power they let through the circuit before it trips. Electricians measure that power in amps. So, a breaker labeled with a 15 will let 15 amps through but will shut the circuit off if it senses 16 amps. Your breakers work like this as a safety measure.

Motor. A motor, shown as a circle with the letter M inside it, changes electricity into movement.

The value of a resistor is measured in ohms and represented by the Greek letter capital omega (Ω). The resistance value is specified in ohms, the standard symbol is “R” or Ω.

What is the symbol for 3 phase? ›

Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

A diamond-shaped symbol is used for dependent sources, just as a reminder that it's a dependent source. Circuit analysis is performed just as with independent sources. Here, the voltage V provided by the dependent source (right) is proportional to the voltage drop over Element X.

The word is often abbreviated using the Greek letter "phi" and is written as a zero with a slash mark through it. The most important class of load is the electric motor. An induction motor has a simple design, inherently high starting torque, and high efficiency.

An electronic symbol is a pictogram used to represent various electrical and electronic devices or functions, such as wires, batteries, resistors, and transistors, in a schematic diagram of an electrical or electronic circuit.

Electricity is the flow of electrons from one place to another. Electrons can flow through any material, but does so more easily in some than in others. How easily it flows is called resistance. The resistance of a material is measured in Ohms.

The SI comprises a coherent system of units of measurement starting with seven base units, which are the second (symbol s, the unit of time), metre (m, length), kilogram (kg, mass), ampere (A, electric current), kelvin (K, thermodynamic temperature), mole (mol, amount of substance), and candela (cd, luminous intensity) ...

The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).

There are five commonly used symbols in Electrical – Switch, Wire, Contactor, Motor, Transformer. These symbols can be used in any electrical drawings.

What is voltage vs current? ›

Voltage, also called electromotive force, is simply the energy per unit charge. In other words, voltage is the difference in electric potential between two points. Current is just the rate of flow of electric charge.

We've organized these principles into three basic rules: Rule 1 – Electricity will always want to flow from a higher voltage to a lower voltage. Rule 2 – Electricity always has work that needs to be done. Rule 3 – Electricity always needs a path to travel.