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Neutral conductor: what it means for the Texas exam

Bonding Jumper editorial teamSources checked 3 min read

A neutral conductor is the conductor connected to the neutral point of a system, the center tap of a single-phase transformer or the center of a wye. In most buildings it is also the grounded conductor, connected to earth at the service and marked white or gray. Unlike the equipment ground, it carries current every day.

Two diagrams: a center-tapped single-phase transformer with lines L1 and L2 and a neutral from the center, showing 15 amperes and 10 amperes on the lines and 5 amperes on the neutral; and a wye with three equal phase currents and zero on the neutral
The neutral carries the difference, not the sum.
Use this diagram

Neutral vs grounded conductor

The NEC uses two terms that usually describe the same wire. The grounded conductor is any conductor intentionally connected to earth. The neutral is a conductor connected to the system's neutral point. In a 120/240-volt or a 208Y/120-volt system, the grounded conductor is the neutral. In a corner-grounded delta, one phase is grounded, and that grounded conductor is not a neutral. Article 200 covers how grounded conductors are identified: white or gray, or white stripes on another color, with special rules for larger sizes.

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How much current it carries

Single-phase 120/240. On a multiwire branch circuit, the two hot conductors are 180 degrees apart, so their currents on the shared neutral subtract. A worked example with invented numbers: 15 amperes on one line and 10 on the other leaves 5 amperes on the neutral. If the loads are equal, the neutral carries nothing.

Three-phase wye. With balanced loads, the three phase currents cancel on the neutral and it carries nothing. With unbalanced loads it carries the vector difference: for 20, 15 and 10 amperes, the neutral current is the square root of (400 + 225 + 100 minus 300 minus 150 minus 200), the square root of 75, or about 8.7 amperes.

Nonlinear loads. Computers, LED drivers and other electronic loads draw current in pulses that create harmonics. Some harmonics add on the neutral instead of cancelling, so a neutral can carry more than any phase. The NEC counts the neutral as a current-carrying conductor for ampacity adjustment in that case.

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Every answer comes with a full explanation.

One bond only

The neutral is bonded to the equipment grounding system once, at the service by the main bonding jumper, or at a separately derived system. Downstream it stays isolated. A neutral bonded in a subpanel puts normal current on metal parts.

Common mix-ups

  • Calling the neutral a ground. It is grounded at one point but carries load current.
  • Sharing a neutral without a common disconnect. A multiwire branch circuit needs its hot conductors opened together so nobody works on a live shared neutral.
  • Assuming a balanced neutral is always light. Harmonics change that. See wye vs delta for where a neutral exists at all.

On the Texas journeyman exam

Neutral current and identification sit in definitions and theory, branch circuits and feeders, together 25 scored items across both portions under the PSI bulletin. Practise finding neutral current on a multiwire circuit or a feeder.

Practice it

The Calculations portion guide shows how these problems are set. Every term in this set is in the electrical terms glossary.

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Not affiliated with or endorsed by TDLR, PSI or NFPA. NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of NFPA.

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Facts checked 26 October 2026 against the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.

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