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Glossary Of Terms
Contents
Technical Abbreviations
- SP
- Single Pole
- DP
- Double Pole
- TP
- Triple Pole
- 4P, 5P, 6P etc.
- Four, Five or Six Pole etc.
- SP+N
- Single Pole plus Neutral
- DP+N
- Double Pole plus Neutral
- TP+N
- Triple Pole plus Neutral
- SP+SN
- Single Pole plus Switched Neutral
- DP+SN
- Double Pole plus Switched Neutral
- TP+SN
- Triple Pole plus Switched Neutral
- 4P+SN, 5P+SN, 6P+SN etc.
- Four, Five or Six Pole plus Switched Neutral etc.
- DP+E
- Double Pole plus Earth
- TP+E
- Triple Pole plus Earth
- SP+PE
- Single Pole plus Protected Earth
- DP+PE
- Double Pole plus Protected Earth
- TP+PE
- Triple Pole plus Protected Earth
- 4P+PE, 5P+PE, 6P+PE etc.
- Four, Five or Six Pole etc. plus Protected Earth
- DP+N+E
- Double Pole plus Neutral & Earth
- TP+N+E
- Triple Pole plus Neutral & Earth
- SPST
- Single Pole Single Throw
- SPDT
- Single Pole Double Throw
- DPST
- Double Pole Single Throw
- DPDT
- Double Pole Double Throw
- SPCO
- Single Pole Change-Over
- DPCO
- Double Pole Change-Over
- NO or N/O
- Contacts — Normally Open
- NC or N/C
- Contacts — Normally Closed
- CO or C/O
- Contacts — Change-Over
- EB or E/B
- Contacts — Early Break
- EM or E/M
- Contacts — Early Make
- LB or L/B
- Contacts — Late Break
- LM or L/M
- Contacts — Late Make
- SA or S/A
- Contacts — Snap Action
- DIP
- Dual In-line Package
- F
- Female
- M
- Male
- GND or Gnd.
- Ground
- E
- Earth
- PE
- Protected Earth
- N+E
- Neutral plus Earth
- I/P or IP
- Input
- O/P or OP
- Output
- I/O or IO
- Input/Output
- AI
- Analogue Input
- DI
- Discrete Input
- AO
- Analogue Output
- RO
- Relay Output
- TO
- Transistor Output
- ELCB
- Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker
- GFCI
- Ground Fault Current Interrupter
- MCB
- Miniature Circuit Breaker
- MCCB
- Moulded Case Circuit Breaker
- MPCB
- Motor Protective Circuit Breaker
- RCBO
- Residual Current Breaker with Overload
- RCCB
- Residual Current Circuit Breaker
- RCD
- Residual Current Device
- 1G
- Single Gang
- 2G
- Twin Gang
- 3G
- Triple Gang
- 4G, 5G, 6G etc.
- Four, Five, Six Gang etc.
- PLC
- Programmable Logic Controller
- VSD
- Variable Speed Drive
- HMI
- Human Machine Interface
- DOL
- Direct-On-Line
- CMC
- Combination Motor Controller
- PSU
- Power Supply Unit
- PAT
- Portable Appliance Tester
- BTN or Btn.
- Button
- E-Off
- Emergency Off
- E-Stop
- Emergency Stop
- TTR or T-T-R
- Turn-To-Release
- Spr-Ret
- Spring-Return
- I
- Current
- V
- Voltage
- R
- Resistance
- Z
- Impedance
- C
- Capacitance
- AC
- Alternating Current
- DC
- Direct Current
- Ie
- Operational Current
- Ith
- Thermal Current
- Iu
- Uninterrupted Current
- Ic
- Breaking Current
- IL
- Load Current
- LC
- Low Consumption
- Ue
- Operational Voltage
- Ui
- Insulation Voltage
- Uimp
- Impulse Withstand Voltage
- Uc
- Supply Voltage
- HV
- High Voltage
- LV
- Low Voltage
- ELV
- Extra Low Voltage
- vpc
- Volts per Cell
- HBC
- High Breaking Capacity
- HRC
- High Rupturing Capacity
- e.m.f.
- Electro-motive Force
-
- EMC
Electro-magnetic Compatibility
- ESD
- Electrostatic Discharge
- ES
- Edison Screw Cap
- MES
- Miniature Edison Screw Cap
- SES
- Small Edison Screw Cap
- GES
- Giant Edison Screw Cap
- LES
- Lilliput Edison Screw Cap
- CES
- Candelabra Edison Screw Cap
- BC
- Bayonet Cap
- SBC
- Small Bayonet Cap
- SC
- Screw Cap
- CFL
- Compact Fluorescent Lamp
- GLS
- General Lighting Service (Incandescent)
- HID
- High Intensity Discharge
- HST or SON
- High Pressure Sodium
- LST or SOX
- Low Pressure Sodium
- MBI
- Mercury Halide Lamp
- CRI
- Colour Rendering Index
- CCT
- Correlated Colour Temperature
- PIR
- Passive Infra-Red
- LSF
- Low Smoke & Fume
- LSOH
- Low Smoke Zero Halogen
- FR
- Flame Retardant
- LCD
- Liquid Crystal Display
- RTC
- Real Time Clock
- SIM
- Software Interface Module
- RF
- Radio Frequency
- AM
- Amplitude Modulation
- FM
- Frequency Modulation
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation
- PCB
- Printed Circuit Board
- IC
- Integrated Circuit
- DSP
- Digital Signal Processing
- TTL
- Transistor-Transistor Logic
- SS
- Solid State
- PRT
- Platinum Resistance Thermometer
- T/C
- Thermocouple
- IP
- Ingress Protection
- AVC
- Active Vibration Control
- HSS
- High Speed Steel
- SWA
- Specialised Wiring Accessories
- SDS
- Special Direct System
- SWA
- Steel Wire Armoured
- AWG
- American Wire Gauge
- SWG
- Standard Wire Gauge
- TE
- Top Entry
- SE
- Side Entry
- ²
- Squared
- ³
- Cubed
Units of Measurement
Current
- A
- Amperes
- mA
- Milliamperes
- kA
- Kiloamperes
- µA
- Microamperes
Voltage
- V
- Volts
- µV
- Microvolts
- mV
- Millivolts
- kV
- Kilovolts
- MV
- Megavolts
Power
- W
- Watts
- mW
- Milliwatts
- kW
- Kilowatts
- MW
- Megawatts
- VA
- Volt Amps
Resistance/Impedance
- Ω
- Ohms
- mΩ
- Milliohms
- kΩ
- Kilo-ohms
- MΩ
- Megohms
Capacitance
- F
- Farad
- nF
- Nanofarad
- pF
- Picofarad
- µF
- Microfarad
Energy
- BTU or Btu
- British Thermal Unit
- kWh
- Kilowatt-Hour
- J
- Joule
- kJ
- Kilojoule
- MJ
- Megajoule
Inductance
- H
- Henry
Frequency
- Hz
- Hertz
- kHz
- Kilohertz
- MHz
- Megahertz
- GHz
- Gigahertz
Luminance
- lm
- Lumen
- Cd
- Candela
Temperature
- °C
- Celsius
- °F
- Fahrenheit
- K
- Kelvin
Pressure
- Pa
- Pascal
- kPa
- Kilopascal
- psi or lbf/in²
- Pound-force per Square Inch
- bar
- Bar
- inHg
- Inches of Mercury
- add a after unit (e.g. kPaa)
- Absolute Pressure
- add d after unit (e.g. kPad)
- Differential Pressure
- add g after unit (e.g. kPag)
- Gauge Pressure
Weight
- g
- Grams
- mg
- Milligrams
- kg
- Kilograms
Size & Angle
- ?
- Diameter
- °
- Degrees
Area
- mm²
- Square millimetres
- cm²
- Square centimetres
- m²
- Square metres
Volume
- ltr
- Litres
- ml
- Millilitres
- cm³
- Cubic Centimetres
- m³
- Cubic Metres
Air Flow
- m³/hr
- Cubic metres per hour
- ft³/min or CFM
- Cubic feet per minute
Distance
- mm
- Millimetres
- cm
- Centimetres
- m
- Metres
- km
- Kilometres
Time
- sec
- Second
- min
- Minute
- hr
- Hour
- d
- Day
- wk
- Week
- mth
- Month
- yr
- Year
General Abbreviations
- Abs.
- Absolute
- Act.
- Actuator/Actuated
- Adj.
- Adjustable
- Adv.
- Advanced
- Approx.
- Approximately
- Auto.
- Automatic
- Aux.
- Auxiliary
- Combi.
- Combination
- Comb.
- Combined
- c/w
- Complete with
- Const.
- Constant
- Cyl.
- Cylinder
- Dk.
- Dark
- Det.
- Detachable
- Dev.
- Device
- Dia.
- Diameter
- Diff.
- Differential
- Enc.
- Enclosed
- Exp.
- Expanded/Expanding/Expandable
- Ext.
- External
- Flex.
- Flexible
- Fwd.
- Forward
- Freq.
- Frequency
- Gen.
- General
- Hvy.
- Heavy
- Horiz.
- Horizontal
- Illum.
- Illuminated
- Incl.
- Included/Including/Inclusive
- Ind.
- Indicator
- Ins.
- Insert
- Integ.
- Integral/Integrated
- Int.
- Internal
- Lge.
- Large
- Lat.
- Lateral
- Lt.
- Light
- Man.
- Manual
- Max.
- Maximum
- Mech.
- Mechanical
- Med.
- Medium
- Mini.
- Miniature
- Min.
- Minimum
- Mod.
- Modular
- Moment.
- Momentary
- Multi.
- Multifunction/Multi-function
- Neg.
- Negative
- Opt.
- Optional
- Posn.
- Position
- Pos.
- Positive
- Prot.
- Protected/Protective
- Rel.
- Release
- Rem.
- Remote
- Ret.
- Return
- Rev.
- Reverse/Reversing/Reversible
- Rnd.
- Round
- Sev.
- Severe
- Sml.
- Small
- Spr.
- Spring
- Sq.
- Square
- Std.
- Standard
- Sw.
- Switch
- Term.
- Terminal
- Trans.
- Transparent
- Transv.
- Transverse
- Univ.
- Universal
- Var.
- Variable
- Vert.
- Vertical
- /w
- With
- w/o
- Without
Symbols
- ± or +/−
- Plus or Minus
- =
- Equal To
- ≡
- Identical To
- ≠
- Not Equal To
- ≈
- Almost Equal To
- <
- Less Than
- >
- Greater Than
- ≤ or <=
- Less Than or Equal To
- ≥ or >=
- Greater Than or Equal To
- ∞
- Infinity
Colour / Finish / Material Abbreviations
Colours
- AMB
- Amber
- BK or BLK
- Black
- BR or BRN
- Brown
- DBR or DBRN
- Dark Brown
- RD or RED
- Red
- OR or ORG
- Orange
- YL or YLW
- Yellow
- MYL or MYLW
- Medium Yellow
- GN or GRN
- Green
- BL or BLU
- Blue
- VL or VLT
- Violet
- GY or GRY
- Grey
- WH or WHT
- White
- BG or BGE
- Beige
- DBG or DBGE
- Dark Beige
- B/W or BK/WH
- Black/White
- CLR
- Clear
Metals / Finishes
- Al
- Aluminium
- Al-Si
- Aluminium-Silicon
- Au
- Gold
- Ag
- Silver
- Cu-Ni
- Cupro-Nickel
- Cu-Sn
- Cupro-Tin
- GALV
- Galvanised
- SS
- Stainless Steel
- BSS
- Brushed Stainless Steel
- PSS
- Polished Stainless Steel
Manufacturer, Supplier & Brand Abbreviations
- Ashley
- Ashley & Rock
- BEL
- British Electric Lamps
- Dorman
- Dorman Smith
- Draka
- Draka UK
- GE
- General Electric
- Greenwood
- Greenwood Air Management
- Heatrae
- Heatrae-Sadia
- Intram
- Intram Barwell
- Marshall
- Marshall-Tuflex
- MCT
- MCT Brattberg
- MEM
- MEM 250, MEM 500 or MEM Online
- MK
- MK Electric
- Philips
- Philips Lighting
- Thorn
- Thorn Lighting
- Furse
- W J Furse
Acronyms
- CENELEC
- European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
- ECA
- Electrical Contractors Association
- ECUK
- Engineering Council UK
- IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
- IEEE
- Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers
- IEE
- Institution of Electrical Engineers
- IET
- Institution of Engineering Technology
- ISO
- International Organisation for Standardisation
- NICEIC
- National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting
Newey & Eyre and Neweys Online are brands of Rexel UK Limited, a
