Electrical Abbreviations
Electrical abbreviations are used throughout several industries, including automotive, construction, electricity wiring, electronic device repair and manufacturing, and telephony. They are used for various circuits, conduits, sizes, standardized tools, and more. Because electrical work involves significant cost and/or safety risks, understanding these abbreviations and acronyms is important for all involved.
Electrical Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviations and terms can vary depending on which particular field or context you are working within. Keep this in mind as you search for the full terms of abbreviations.
- A: Ampere
- AC: Alternating Current or Air Conditioning (depends upon context)
- AF: Audio Frequency
- ANSI: American National Standards Institute
- BEV: Billion Electron Volts
- BW: Bandwidth
- CBI: Complementary Binary
- CFL: Compact Florescent Light
- dB: Decibels
- DC: Direct Current
- e: Efficiency
- EMF: Electromagnetic Field
- EV: Electron Volt
- FDC: Flow Duration Curve
- FCEV: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle
- G: Conductance
- GFCI: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter
- H: Gross Head
- h: Net Head
- Hz: Hertz
- I: Current
- J: Joule
- kW: Kilowatt
- LF: Low Frequency
- LION: Lithium Ion
- MAD: Mean Annual Discharge
- MW: Megawatt
- OCV: Open Circuit Voltage
- POV: Peak Operating Voltage
- Q: Charge
- R: Resistance
- RF: Radio Frequency
- SW: Short Wave
- V: Voltage/Volt
- VA: Volt Ampere
- VOM: Volt OhmMeter
This list of abbreviations is by no means considered comprehensive, however. For more information regarding electrical abbreviations, visit the following websites:
- A Primer on Electrical Units, Abbreviations, and Symbols
- CanREN Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
- University of Washington College of Engineering's Electrical Engineering Acronyms
- Global Energy Network Institute's Glossary
- Electrical Vehicles Abbreviations & Acronyms
For information regarding electrical symbols, see Technical Data Electrical Symbols and Abbreviations in Accordance with American Standards National Institute.
To learn more about electricity terms and definitions, visit the Specialty section of yourDictionary.com. Resources for topics like electronics, automobiles, and engineering may provide further information for an electrical topic. Additionally, the articles Electrician Dictionary and Electrical Engineering Dictionary in the Library section may also have helpful resources listed regarding particular electrical issues.