Pumping Solutions Inc. offers this guide and glossary to common industrial electrical symbols to help you correctly identify components and spot potential hazards. Bookmark this page as a handy reference for future electrical projects. Safety first! 

Contact Pumping Solutions

Need help with your pump or replacement parts? We always have customer service standing by. Contact Us today.

Also, check out:

Electrical Symbols for Metering Electrical Symbols for Selectors

Industrial Electrical Symbols for Transformers


Also, check out:

Electrical Symbols for Metering Electrical Symbols for Selectors


Partial Glossary For Electrical Symbols

Resistor: Resistors restrict the flow of current. Used with a capacitor in a timing circuit.

Ground: Connection to the actual ground or other “grounding” structure. Used to provide electrical shock protection and for zero potential reference.

Capacitor: Stores electric charge. Can be used to filter or block DC signals while passing AC signals. Used with a resistor in a timing circuit.

Battery: Generates constant voltage and supplies electrical energy.

Fuse: Sacrificial overcurrent protection device. This symbol represents low power/low voltage fuses.

Inductor: Coil of wire that generates a magnetic field when electrical current is passed through it. Passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in the resulting magnetic field. Can also be used as a transducer to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy.

Iron Core Inductor: Same as above, but with an iron core beneath the coiled wire.

Circuit Breaker: Automatically operated electrical switch that protects electrical circuits from damage caused by short circuits or overloads.

Voltmeter: Very high resistance device used to measure electrical voltage. Must be connected in parallel.

Ammeter: Zero resistance device used to measure electrical current. Must be connected serially.

Wattmeter: Device used to measure electric power.

Bell: Electric bell, makes a single tone or repeated ringing sound when activated.

Buzzer: Similar to an electric bell, an electric buzzer makes a constant buzz when activated.

 

SPST (Single-Pole, Single-Throw): A simple switch with one input and one output. Switch will be either closed or completely disconnected. Requires only two terminals. Ideal for on/off switching.

SPDT (Single-Pole, Double-Throw): A switch utilizing three terminals: one common pin, two pins vying for connection to the common (only one can be connected at a time). Ideal for selecting between two power sources or swapping inputs. Can be made into an SPST switch by simply leaving one of the throw pins unconnected.

DPST (Double-Pole, Single-Throw): Essentially a doubled SPST. A switch with two inputs and two outputs; each input corresponds to one of the outputs. DPST switches provide versatility, as they can accept two inputs and drive two different outputs to the same circuit.

DPDT (Double-Pole, Double-Throw): Essentially two SPDT switches, controlling two different circuits, and always switched on together from a single actuator. Require six terminals.

NO (Normally Open): The “normal” state for a switch is its nonactuated position. Depending on its construction, a switch’s normal state can produce an open circuit or a short circuit. When open until actuated, a switch is a normally open (NO) switch; when activated, a NO switch closes the circuit.

NC (Normally Closed): Essentially the “opposite” of an NO switch. A switch that creates a short circuit when not actuated. Normally closed (NC) switches create a short circuit when actuated.

©2024 Pumping Solutions, Inc. - 1906 S. Quaker Ridge Place Ontario, CA 91761
Back to top