Quick electric cooktop wiring question

pdp76

My new cooktop has a 3 wire hookup, my house has 4 wires. The manual for the cooktop says to connect its red and black to the two hot wires in the wall, the ground to the bare copper wire in the wall, and to just cap off the neutral (0V) wire in the wall.

My question is, does it matter which hot wire in the wall the red from the cooktop connects to and which hot wire in the wall the black from the cooktop connects to? FYI, I measured both hot wires from the wall, each has 120V with opposite polarity, thus adding up to 240V. Thanks in advance!

Jim Port

Black or red are interchangeable to the leads from the appliance.

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Answers based on the National Electrical Code. Local amendments may apply. Check with your local building officials.