An Electrician must know Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms to read a electrical drawings. No matter is construction or maintenance your industry is, you need to be learned electrical abbreviations and electrical symbols. If you don’t know you can’t work with SLD drawings. You can be a Electrician without knowing electrical abbreviations. but, you can’t be a good electrician without this.
In this post we have completely described the subject of electrical abbreviations and full full forms. So, guys don’t skip anything and let us know if we missed something in this post.
Do you know why are we using electrical abbreviations and full forms in electrical drawings? Designers uses short name (abbreviation) for the electrical components and equipment in electrical drawings that describes about components or equipment to electrician.
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Table of Contents
300 Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms
| 1 to 100 Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms |
|---|
| 1. AC – Alternating Current |
| 2. DC – Direct Current |
| 3. V – Volts |
| 4. A – Ampere |
| 5. M – Motor |
| 6. E – Earth |
| 7. A/C – Air Conditioner |
| 8. TP – Triple Pole |
| 9. DP – Double Pole |
| 10. LA – Light Arrester |
| 11. KA – Kilo Ampere |
| 12. LV – Low Volt |
| 13. HV – High Volt |
| 14. kV – Kilovolt |
| 15. MV – Megavolt |
| 16. HP – Horsepower |
| 17. HT – High Tension |
| 18. LT – Low Tension |
| 19. kVA – Kilovolt Ampere |
| 20. ISO – Isolator |
| 21. NVC – No Volt Coil |
| 22. OLR – Overload Relay |
| 23. OLP – Overload Protection |
| 24. SS – Salter Switch |
| 25. TS – ThermoSwitch |
| 26. TR – Transformer |
| 27. PT – Pressure Transmitter |
| 28. DPT – Differential Pressure Transmitter |
| 29. FT – Flow Transmitter |
| 30. LT – Level Transmitter |
| 31. PCC – Power Control Centre |
| 32. MCC – Motor Control Centre |
| 33. RCCB – Residual Current Circuit Breaker |
| 34. MPCB – Motor Protection Circuit Breaker |
| 35. MCB – Miniature Circuit Breaker |
| 36. MCCB – Molded case Circuit Breaker |
| 37. ACB – Air Circuit Breaker |
| 38. VCB – Vacuum Circuit Breaker |
| 39. OCB – Oil Circuit Breaker |
| 40. PLC – Programmable Logic Controller |
| 41. DCS – Distributed Control System |
| 42. HMI – Human Machine Interface |
| 43. RIO – Remote Input Output |
| 44. RTU – Remote Terminal Unit |
| 45. DOL – Direct Online |
| 46. EOCR – Electronic OverCurrent Relay |
| 47. ELCB – Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker |
| 48. HRC – High Rupture Capacity Fuse |
| 49. UPS – Uninterrupted Power Supply |
| 50. JB – Junction Box |
| 51. TB – Terminal Block |
| 52. LCS – Local Control Station |
| 53. CT – Current Transformer |
| 54. PT – Potential Transformer |
| 55. XLPE – Cross Linked Polyethylene |
| 56. SWA – Single Wire Armoured |
| 57. PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride |
| 58. PTFE – PolyTetraFluoroEthylene |
| 59. FRLS – Fire Resistance Low Smoke |
| 60. EPR – Ethylene Propylene Rubber |
| 61. HPMV – High Pressure Mercury Vapor Lamp |
| 62. HPSV – High Pressure Sodium Vapor Lamp |
| 63. SCIM – Squirrel Cage Induction Motor |
| 64. SRIM – Slip Ring Induction Motor |
| 65. OLTC – On Load Tap Changer |
| 66. NO – Normally Opened |
| 67. NC – Normally Closed |
| 68. RTD – Resistance Temperature Detector |
| 69. BS – British Standards |
| 70. RPM – Revolution Per Minute |
| 71. LDB – Lighting Distribution Board |
| 72. PDB – Power Distribution Board |
| 73. SLDB – Secondary Lighting Distribution Board |
| 74. EMLDB- Emergency Lighting Distribution Board |
| 75. MLDB – Main Lighting Distribution Board |
| 76. ACDB – Alternating Current Distribution Board |
| 77. MPDB – Main Power Distribution Board |
| 78. ACVS – Air Conditioning and Ventilation System |
| 79. ACSR – Aluminium Cable Steel Reinforced |
| 80. HART – Highway Addressable Remote Transducer |
| 81. PID – Proportional Integral and Derivative |
| 82. SCADA – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition |
| 83. VVVF – Variable Voltage Variable Frequency |
| 84. RCBO – Residual Current Circuit Breaker with Overcurrent Protection |
| 85. ACSR – Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced |
| 86. AH – Ampere Hour Capacity of Batteries |
| 87. AVR – Automatic Voltage Regulator |
| 88. AWA – Aluminium Wire Armour |
| 89. B – Electrical Susceptance |
| 90. BAR – Pressure in Atmosphere |
| 91. BIL – Breakdown Insulation Level |
| 92. BS – British Standard Institutions |
| 93. BTU – British Thermal Unit |
| 94. C – Electrical Capacitance |
| 95. CACA- Totally Enclosed Air Circuit, Air Cooled |
| 96. CACW- Totally Enclosed Air Circuit, Water Cooled |
| 97. CAD – Computer Aided Design |
| 98. CB – Circuit Breaker |
| 99. CBCU- Circuit Breaker Control Unit |
| 100. CCR – Central Control Room |
Circuit Breakers | Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms
We, electricians should have know full forms of MCB, MCCB, RCCB, RCBO, ELCB, OCB, VCB and ACB to read a electrical drawings such as Single Line Diagram (SLD), Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (PID). In the electrical full forms, we must know completely circuit breakers first. Because, in electrical engineers interviews recruiter asks questions about circuit breakers full forms.
- MCB full form – Miniature Circuit Breaker
- MCCB full form – Moulded Case Circuit Breaker
- RCCB full form – Residual Current Circuit Breaker
- RCBO full form – Residual Current Circuit Breaker with Overload Protection
- ELCB full form – Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker
- OCB full form – Oil Circuit Breaker
- VCB full form – Vacuum Circuit Breaker
- ACB full form – Air Circuit Breaker
| 101 to 200 Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms |
|---|
| 101. CEGB – Central Electricity Generating Board (UK) |
| 102. CENELEC- European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation |
| 103. COR CU – Corrugated Copper |
| 104. CSA – Cross Sectional Area |
| 106. CSI – Current Source Inverter |
| 107. CSP – Chlorosulphonated Polyethylene |
| 108. CT – Current Transformer |
| 109. CU – Un-tinned Copper |
| 110. CUWB- Copper Wire Braid |
| 111. db (A) – Measurement Unit of Sounds Decibels |
| 112. DCS – Distributed Control System |
| 113. DE – Drive end of a shaft |
| 114. deg C – Thermal Temperature in Degrees Celsius |
| 115. deg F – Thermal Temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit |
| 116. deg K – Thermal Temperature in Degrees Kelvin |
| 117. DMS – Data Management System |
| 118. DMT – Definite Minimum Time |
| 119. DOL – Direct Online Starter (Induction Motor) |
| 120. DWR – Divided Winding Rotor Synchronous Generator |
| 121. ECHA – Equipment Certified for Hazardous Areas |
| 122. EEC – European Economic Community |
| 123. EEMVA- The Engineering Equipment and The Materials User Association |
| 124. EHV – Extra High Voltage |
| 125. EIEMA- The Electrical Installation Equipment Manufacture’s Association |
| 126. ELV – Extra Low Voltage (less than 50v) |
| 127. EMA – Ethylene Methyl Acrylate |
| 128. EMC – Electromagnetic Compatibility |
| 129. EMI – Electromagnetic Interference |
| 130. EMF – Electromotive Force |
| 131. EPDM – Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer |
| 132. EPR – Ethylene Propylene Rubber |
| 133. ERA – Electrical Research Association |
| 134. ERM – Electronic Restart Module |
| 135. ESD – Emergency Shutdown |
| 136. ESP – Electric Submersible Pump |
| 137. EX () – Certification Symbol for Hazardous Area Equipment |
| 138. EWS – Engineering Work Station |
| 139. PTL – Pin Type Cable Lug |
| 140. FBA – Factory Built Assemblies |
| 141. FCU – Feeder Control Unit |
| 142. F&G – Fire and Gas |
| 143. FEED – Front End Engineering and Design of a Project |
| 144. FREQ- Frequency (HZ) |
| 145. FAT – Factory Acceptance Testing |
| 146. CG – Cable Glands |
| 147. FLEX – Flexible used for Cables |
| 148. G – Electrical Conductance, or Grounding |
| 149. GCB – Gas Circuit Breaker |
| 150. GCP – Generator Control Panel |
| 151. GIS – Gas Insulated Switchgear or Substation |
| 152. GOR – Gas to Oil Ratio Oil Well Fluids |
| 153. GRP – Glass Reinforced Plastic |
| 154. GSWA- Galvanised Steel Wire Armour |
| 155. GSWB- Galvanised Steel Wire Braid |
| 156. GTG – Gas Turbine Generator |
| 157. GTO – Gate Turn Off Thyristor |
| 158. HCL – Hydrogen Chloride, Gas or Acid |
| 159. CT – Cable Tray |
| 160. HOFR- Heat and Oil Resisting, Flame Retardant |
| 161. HVAC- Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning |
| 162. HZ – Frequency in Cycles per Second, or Hertz |
| 163. TPS – Thermal Power Station |
| 164. IAC – Alternating Current |
| 165. IALA – International Association of Lighthouse Authorities |
| 166. ICI – Imperial Chemical Industries |
| 167. IDC – Direct Current |
| 168. IDMT – Inverse Definite Minimum Time |
| 169. IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission |
| 170. IEE – The Institution of Electrical Engineers of UK |
| 171. IEEE – The Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers of USA |
| 172. I/O – Input or Output Signals or Quantity |
| 173. IMO – International Maritime Organisation |
| 174. IMCS – Integrated Motor Control System |
| 175. IMS – Information Management System |
| 176. INST – Instantaneous Quantity |
| 177. INT – Intermittent Quantity |
| 178. IP – Institute of Petroleum |
| 179. IR – Insulation Resistance |
| 180. IS – Intrinsically Safe Signal, Circuit or Equipment |
| 181. IS/IN – Ratio of Starting Current to Running Current |
| 182. ISO – International Standards Organisation |
| 183. J – Energy Joules or Newton-Metres |
| 184. J – Current Density, Amps/mm2 |
| 185. kA – Kilo Ampere |
| 186. KEMA – Short Circuit Testing Authority in the Netherland |
| 187. kg – Kilogram |
| 188. km – Length in Kilometres |
| 189. kph – Kilometres per Hour |
| 190. I/O – Input or Output Signals or Quantity |
| 191. kV – Kilovolts |
| 192. kVA – Kilovolt Amperes |
| 193. kVAr – Reactive Kilovolt Amperes |
| 194. kW – Kilowatts |
| 195. L – Electrical Inductance in Henries |
| 196. L – Line or Local Control Operation |
| 197. LAN – Local Area Network |
| 198. LBS – Weight of a Substance in Pounds |
| 199. LDS – Low Density Foam |
| 200. LED – Light Emitting Diode |
Basic Electrical Terms and Full Forms
Electrical abbreviations of basic electrical terms are V, A, P, E, N, C, R, AC, DC, LT, HT, ELV, LV, MV, HV and EHV. Volt, ampere, power, earth, neutral, capacitor, resistor, alternating current, direct current, low voltage, high voltage, extra low voltage, low voltage, mega voltage, high voltage and extra high voltage are electrical full forms of the above electrical abbreviations.
| 201 to 300 Electrical Abbreviations and Full Forms |
|---|
| 201. LEL – Lower Explosive Limit |
| 202. LF – Low Frequency |
| 203. LHS – Left Hand Side |
| 204. LMS – Load Management System |
| 205. LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas |
| 206. LOC – Local Operation |
| 207. LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
| 208. LSS – Load Shedding System |
| 209. LSF – Low Smoke and Fumes, Applied to Cables and Wires |
| 210. LSLH – Low Smoke and Halogen |
| 211. LEL – Lower Explosive Limit |
| 212. LSR – Load Sharing System |
| 213. LV – Low Voltage |
| 214. L1, L2, L3, N – Notation For Line and Neutral Voltages and Currents |
| 215. LUX – Level of Illumination |
| 216. LEL – Lower Explosive Limit |
| 217. m – Length or Dimension in Metres, or Month |
| 218. mA – Current in milliamperes |
| 219. M – Manual operation |
| 220. mBAR – millBar |
| 221. MB – High Pressure Mercury, without Phosphor Coating |
| 222. MBF – High Pressure Mercury, with Phosphor Coating |
| 223. MBFR – High Pressure Mercury, with Phosphor Coating Internal Reflector |
| 224. MBI – High Pressure Discharge with Metallic Halides |
| 225. MBIF – High Pressure Discharge with Metallic Halides, with Phosphor Coating |
| 226. MBR – Double ended Linear Arc Tube |
| 227. MBTF – Combination of MBF Lamp and a Filament Lamp |
| 228. MCC – Motor Control Centre |
| 229. MCF – Switch-start Lamp, also used for Tabular Fluorescent Lamps in General |
| 230. MCFE – Startless Lamp, Coated with Silicone |
| 231. MCFA – Startless Lamp, with Earth Strip, mainly used in cold environments. |
| 232. MBIF – High Pressure Discharge with Metallic Halides, with Phosphor Coating |
| 233. MCR – Maximum Continuous Rating |
| 234. MCU – Motor Control Unit |
| 235. MHO – Unit of Electrical Admittance |
| 236. MIC – Maximum Ignition Current |
| 237. MICC – Mineral Insulated Calendar Cable |
| 238. MIMIC- Mimic Display Panel |
| 239. MMF – Magnetomotive Force |
| 240. MMSCF – Million Standard Cubic Feet of a Cubic |
| 241. MT – Mica Glass Tape |
| 242. MTTR – Mean Time to Repair |
| 243. MV – Medium Voltage |
| 244. mV – Voltage in milliVolts |
| 245. MVA – Megavolt Amperes |
| 246. MVAr – Reactive Megavolt Amperes |
| 247. MW – Megawatts |
| 248. NACE – National Association of Corrosion Engineers (USA) |
| 249. NBR – Nitrile Butadiene Rubber |
| 250. NC-N/C – Normally Closed Switching Device |
| 251. NDE – Non Drive End of a Shaft |
| 252. MCFE – Startless Lamp, Coated with Silicone |
| 253. NEMA – The National Electrical Manufacturers Association |
| 254. NEC – National Electrical Code (USA) |
| 255. NER – Neutral Earth Resistor |
| 256. NFPA – National Fire Protection Association |
| 257. Ni – Nickel Metal |
| 258. NO-N/O- Normally Open Switching Device |
| 259. NPT – National Pipe Threads (USA) |
| 260. NS – used to describe a type of Variable Speed AC Motor |
| 261. NTS – Not to Scale |
| 262. OC-O/C- Overcurrent or Open Circuit |
| 263. OF-O/F- Over Frequency |
| 264. OFAF – Forced Circulation of Internal Liquid, Forced Heat Exchange to Air |
| 265. OFAN – Forced Circulation of Internal Liquid, Natural Heat to Air |
| 266. OHL – Over Headline |
| 267. OHMS – Unit of Electrical Resistance or Impedance |
| 268. OIM – Offshore Installation Manager |
| 269. OL-O/L – OverLoad |
| 270. ONAF – Naturally Circulated Internal Liquid, Forced Heat Exchange to Air |
| 271. ONAN – Naturally Circulated Internal Liquid, Natural Heat to Air |
| 272. OSHA – Occupational Health and Safety Administration (USA) |
| 273. OV-O/V- OverVoltage |
| 274. P – W – Power or Watts |
| 275. PCC – Point of Common Connection |
| 276. PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride |
| 277. PVDF – Polyvinylidene Fluoride |
| 278. PTP-PET- Polyethylene Terephthalate |
| 279. PWM – Pulse Width Modulation |
| 280. QA – Quality Assurance |
| 281. QC – Quality Control |
| 282. R – Electrical Resistance |
| 283. RAM – Random Access Memory |
| 284. RCU – Remote Control Unit |
| 285. RHS – Right Hand Side |
| 286. RMS – Root Mean Square |
| 287. ROM – Read Only Memory |
| 288. RTU – Remote Transmitter Unit |
| 289. SF6 – Sulphur Hexafluoride |
| 290. STG – Steam turbine Generator |
| 291. SWA – Steel Wire Armour |
| 292. SWBD – Switch Board |
| 293. SWGR – SwitchGear |
| 294. TDRM – Time Delayed Restart Relay |
| 295. TG – Turbo Generator, Gas or Steam |
| 296. TCP – Gas Turbine Control Panel |
| 297. TPRL – Total Plant Running Load |
| 298. UPS – Uninterrupted Power Supply Unit |
| 299. UV – Under Voltage |
| 300. TNEB – Tamil Nau Electric Board |
Important Electrical Full Forms
- UPS full form – Uninterrupted Power Supply
- SP full form – Single Pole
- DP full form – Double Pole
- TP full form – Triple Pole
ACB full form 
MCB full form 
RCBO full form 
DP full form 
UPS full form 
SP full form 
VCB full form 
ELCB full form 
OCB full form 
Electrical abbreviations and full forms
Final Word
Hope you learned about electrical abbreviations and full forms. Incase of any doubt please comment below. Please follow our website for future updates. Thank you for visiting our website – ElectricianWorld.Net.
Thanks a lot bro… Please update this 300 electrical full forms in pdf file. So I can easily read. I need it for the attending interview.
Please update the chart properly. It doesn’t show clearly.. please update electrical abbreviations and full forms article
Very useful 300 electrical abbreviations and full forms – thanks for your efforts well done – Bravo! :O)
Soon We will prepare and upload in this electrical abbreviations article as pdf format. Thanks for your comment!
Sorry for the inconvenience. We updated the article. So, You can read it properly now. Check it out Mr.Selvin
Rating of acb minimum and maximum ….
Difference between acb and vcb
Thanks ☺️
Thanks you
Only 298… You used LEL Lower Explosive Limit three times 201, 211, & 216.
All full form in study table pdf piliz