Circuit Diagram

What is a Circuit Diagram?

A circuit diagram is a visual display of an electrical circuit using either basic images of parts or industry standard symbols. Symbol usage depends on the audience viewing the diagram. These two different types of circuit diagrams are called pictorial (using basic images) or schematic style (using industry standard symbols). A schematic style circuit diagram is used to give a visual representation of an electrical circuit to an electrician. The pictorial style circuit diagram would be used for a broader, less technical audience.

Purpose of Circuit Diagrams

Circuit diagrams are created as a blueprint of circuit design. Circuit diagram provides a graphical representation of the physical arrangement of all components in a circuit and the wire relationships between them. The technician creates a circuit diagram as a guideline for implementing circuit design or for communication.

Understanding circuit diagrams

A circuit diagram is a graphical visualization of electrical circuits. It provides a schematic illustration that shows the relationships between components in a circuit. The figure above shows a circuit diagram that provides you with ideas about how circuit diagram symbols look like.

Circuit Diagram Symbols

There are hundreds of different symbols that can be used in a circuit diagram. These include simple images of objects such as a battery or a resistor for a pictorial style circuit diagram, or industry-standard symbols for objects such as capacitors or inductors.With capacitance as shown below:

In conjunction with circuit diagram symbols, there are also a series of different types of line styles to connect objects. In the event lines cross, use line hops to show wire crossover. It is important to understand who will be viewing the circuit diagram to ensure use of the correct types of symbols.