What does a neutral do?
In: 150
A neutral wire is just basically a reference point. There is potential energy in one side of the line but if there is no connection, like through a light bulb, the energy has no path to flow through. A neutral provides that path to ground. A neutral line can be called a ground and not in certain situations and the application, but that’s another conversation.
It’s why, and don’t try at home, you can hold the hot leg of a power outlet if you’re insulated from the floor properly and be completely fine. There is no path to ground for the electricity to flow.
Now this is mostly for home voltages. There are Distribution line systems that can have setups without neutrals. They’re considered Delta configurations and only have 3 hot wires, but the most common you’ll see is Wye configuration with 3 hot and a neutral. Delta uses the Phase to Phase measurement to determine voltages.
Latest Answers