The National Electrical Code (NEC) mandates ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) for receptacles installed in dwelling unit locations, including bathrooms, garages, porches, pool areas, and clothes dryers. GFCI protects people from shock, while AFCI protects against fires caused by electrical arcing. AFCI protection safeguards against property damage and injury caused by arcs in electrical wiring, while GFCI minimizes the risk of electric shock.
GFCI is required for all outdoor receptacles, with exceptions made for snow-melting or deicing equipment powered by an AFCI. AFCI protection is not required for outlets located outside or in garages or bathroom areas. However, outdoor outlets are not required to have AFCI protection.
A ground fault interrupter (GFCI) protects people from shock, while an arc fault interrupter (AFCI) protects people from fires that could result from electrical arcing. While AFCIs are mandatory, not all outdoor locations require GFCI-protection. Soffit receptacles are exempt, but GFCI is required for all receptacles in garages, basements, crawl spaces, outdoors, laundry areas, kitchen countertops, bathrooms, and anywhere.
Almost every branch circuit for outlets is required to be on an AFCI breaker, except for bathrooms and kitchens. Unfinished areas, garages, bathrooms, and anything outside do not require arch faults. Local AHJ regulations may vary on when to implement AFCI or GFCI protection.
📹 AFCI vs GFCI: What’s The Difference and Why You Should Care
Breaking down the difference in protection between AFCI, GFCI, Standard Breakers, CAFCI and Arc Fault Circuit Breakers, and …
Do all outside receptacles need to be GFCI protected?
The National Electrical Code mandates that all outdoor outlets be GFCI outlets, which automatically trip and turn off when there’s a current leakage or short circuit, preventing fires and accidental shocks. Before installing an outdoor outlet, determine the desired exterior wall and locate an interior outlet on that wall. If an indoor outlet is unavailable, use an outdoor outlet opposite the outdoor outlet to ensure proper operation. Building codes prohibit tapping power from kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, or outlets dedicated to large appliances.
If an indoor outlet is unavailable, run cable from another power source, such as another outdoor outlet or a basement junction box. If using another outdoor outlet, house connecting cables in a 1/2-inch metal conduit. Turn off the power at the circuit breaker and use a voltage tester to ensure proper operation. Place a sign on the circuit breaker to warn others of electrical work in progress. Unscrew and remove the wall plate on the indoor outlet, remove the outlet receptacle, and disconnect the wires from the outlet. Ensure the electrical box is large enough to hold additional wires to prevent fire hazards. If the box already has too many wires, replace it with a larger, plastic remodeling box.
Where is AFCI protection not required?
The requirement for arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI) for 15- and 20-ampere circuits, which took effect on January 1, 2014, pertains exclusively to new and replacement circuits and outlets. It is not necessary to retrofit existing circuits, which were installed prior to January 1, 2014, with AFCI protection. The transition to AFCI protection is only required for new and replacement circuits/outlets.
Does a fridge need AFCI?
Fridges in other living spaces, like basements, require AFCI protection, while GFCIs monitor current coming and going. If a change in current between four to six milliamps occurs, it may indicate a potentially hazardous situation. If there is a difference in what’s going out and what’s coming back, it could be going through someone’s body. GFCI protectors are needed both inside and outside the home, with common locations including kitchens, bathrooms, and basements.
Do kitchen counter receptacles need to be AFCI?
AFCI’s are commonly found in homes, but some receptacles are exempt from protection, such as kitchen fridges, kitchen counter receptacles, receptacles one meter from the sink, fixed islands, peninsula receptacles, and a dedicated sump pump. However, fridges in other living spaces, like basements, need AFCI protection. GFCI’s monitor current coming and going, and detecting a change in current between four to six milliamps can indicate potential hazards.
Do outdoor lighting circuits need to be GFCI protected?
Section 210. 8 of the National Electric Code mandates that all outdoor receptacles must be protected by Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI). However, this doesn’t apply to exterior light fixtures. Outdoor receptacles, including 15-amp and 20-amp, 120-volt receptacles, require GFCI. GFCI is an electrical safety device designed to protect people from electrical shock and reduce the risk of electrical fires caused by ground faults.
Ground faults occur when electrical current escapes from the intended path, such as a short circuit or flowing through an unintended conductor like water or a person’s body. GFCI is generally required for different outdoor lighting scenarios, but it’s essential to understand the specific requirements for different outdoor lighting scenarios.
What is the difference between GFCI and AFCI for outdoor?
AFCI and GFCI circuit breakers detect dangerous electrical arcing faults, preventing electric fires and protecting people from fatal electric shocks. AFCI protection should be installed at the electrical panel in easily accessible locations, such as family rooms, kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, libraries, parlors, bedrooms, dens, recreation rooms, sunrooms, closets, laundry areas, and hallways, while GFCI protection should be installed in areas with a certain electric current to ground.
Do outdoor receptacles need to be arc fault protected?
The text outlines the requirements for AFCI protection in various areas of dwelling units, including kitchens, family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, laundry areas, dormitory units, guest rooms, and guest suites of hotels and motels. It also states that branch circuit extensions or modifications in these areas must be AFCI protected. AFCI protection is not required for outlets located outside or in garages or bathrooms.
What is the NEC code for exterior outlets?
Outdoor receptacles must be protected by ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI) systems, with exceptions for snow-melting or deicing equipment. These protections can be provided by GFCI receptacles or circuit breakers. Homes should have at least one outdoor receptacle at the front and rear of the house, accessible from the ground and no more than 6 1/2 feet above grade. Attached decks and balconies with interior access should have a receptacle no more than 6 1/2 feet above the deck or balcony walking surface.
Receptacles in damp locations must be weather-resistant and have a weatherproof cover, while those exposed to weather must be weather-resistant and have a weatherproof “in-use” cover. A permanent swimming pool must have an electrical receptacle no closer than 6 feet and no further than 20 feet from the closest edge of the pool, with GFCI protection. Receptacles used to power pump systems on pools and spas must be no closer than 10 feet from the inside walls of a permanent pool, spa, or hot tub if not-GFCI protected, and no closer than 6 feet from the inside walls if GFCI protected.
Rules for outdoor lighting are primarily about using fixtures rated for use in damp or wet locations. Light fixtures in wet/exposed areas must be listed for wet locations, while fixtures in damp areas must be listed for damp locations. Surface-mounted electrical boxes must be raintight/weatherproof, and low-voltage lighting systems must be listed by an approved testing agency. Switches controlling pool or spa lights or pumps must be located at least 5 feet from the outside walls of the pool or spa unless separated by a wall.
Do outdoor breakers need to be GFCI?
Eaton offers code-compliant electrical safety devices, including Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI) and Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter cable assemblies, receptacles, and portable GFCI kits, to create safer living spaces and protect against electrical shock. GFCI breakers and receptacles provide superior safety and electric shock protection in areas where electricity may come into contact with water, such as kitchen countertops, bathrooms, swimming pools, hot tubs, and outdoor receptacles.
AFCI receptacles monitor electrical circuits for dangerous arcing conditions and quickly trip to stop the flow of electricity, preventing the electrical system from being an ignition source of a fire. Eaton now offers a system combination-type AFCI, consisting of a UL 489 circuit breaker and an AFCI or Dual Function (AF/GF) Outlet Branch-Circuit receptacle, providing complete AFCI protection within the home.
Do outdoor receptacles need to be arc-fault protected?
The text outlines the requirements for AFCI protection in various areas of dwelling units, including kitchens, family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, laundry areas, dormitory units, guest rooms, and guest suites of hotels and motels. It also states that branch circuit extensions or modifications in these areas must be AFCI protected. AFCI protection is not required for outlets located outside or in garages or bathrooms.
Should bathrooms be GFCI or AFCI?
Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) are essential safety devices that detect and shut down the flow of electricity when it is out of balance, preventing burns, electric shocks, and electrocution. They are particularly useful in areas where water and electricity could meet, such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and garages. Similarly, arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are crucial in preventing electric fires, which can spread quickly due to damaged or decaying wires. AFCIs sense electricity leakage and shut off electricity before overheating occurs. Both GFCIs and AFCIs should be installed by a qualified electrician to ensure a safer home environment.
📹 Where and Why Do We Need AFCI Protection?
Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters are relatively newer technology. And at the pace the electrical industry is changing and adapting, …
GFCI’s work by passing the hot and neutral through a coil. As long as the inbound and outbound currents are the same, no voltage will be generated in the coil. If there is a difference, a voltage will be generated and picked up by the circuitry. AFCI’s work by detecting high frequency noise on the circuit generated by the arcing. This is why they trip when using brushed motors. I’m sure our old school slot cars would have played havoc with them.
When we took over the 30 year old house we live in,I was amazed by how it passed code,15amp Gfci on a 20amp breaker,non functional, and the other in my garage as well as not functional 2 story house 1989 build.Just recently changed my last fixture in the hall closet,and no suprise ground wasn’t connected plastered in place lol.Eventually we will have whole house rewired and replumbed.Good explanation article.
Removed the town mandated AFCI breaker on our refrigerator after two nuisance trips. Lost hundreds of $$$ in food as we were out of town in both events. AFCI breakers were mandated after a kitchen remodel. We had NO electrical problems for 23 years before the remodel. Also removed the AFCI breaker for the 110 volt line that powers the igniters for the gas burners on our stove for the nuisance tripping issue. The oven would loose its flame w/o warning.
Good info. From the consumer side, it is good to know what could cause “trips”. I had a 20amp circuit installed and run to my outdoor shed. There’s a 20AMP GFCI that serves the building. I recently started using a 12k BTU which keeps tripping the plug. It pulls 7-10amps when running at it’s max cooling. I’ve never seen it go over 1000 watts (I have a monitor on the plug/line). I’ve read where you shouldn’t plug a portable A/C into a GFCi circuit. I’m installing a new box with one plug (w/o GFCI) just for the A/C since it’s got it’s own built in GFCI, and use the other outlet (GFCI) for the rest of the shed (lights, battery chargers etc). The line feeding this is on a 20amp breaker at my MAIN power box FWIW. This has been running me crazy but your article gives me some insight. Regards
I hope AFCI has gotten better in the past 5-6 years. They are widely known for the “nuisance tripping”. And for no apparent reason. My niece home has them and two of them kept tripping. After expensive service calls, they are replaced, and one of the breakers replaced twice. The replacements seemed to rectify the problems, finally. A lot of wasted money to correct the defective breakers.
Aside from cost an issue particularly with GFCI & AFCI circuit breakers is the amount of extra space they take up in a panel. One of these typically takes up the space of 2 normal breakers. The receptacles also take up much more space in a box which can be a problem when there are multiple wire connectors for branch circuits in there. I’ve installed several circuit breakers to keep up with code requirements. Also have a couple GFCI receptacles. No problems with the GFCI breaker but had an AFCI breaker fail. Can’t confirm why but I don’t think it was due to circuit overload & suspect the breaker itself was faulty, nearly caused a fire. I smelled burning, went to investigate & found the breaker scorched at the neutral connection. I disconnected the other AFCI breaker & hooked the circuits back up with standard breakers. No longer trust AFCI circuit breakers after that episode.
I had a GFCI outlet that would trip when I had a space heater on it and too much connected to the same circuit it was on but not on gfci’s. The breaker would never flip just the GFCI outlet would flip. I suppose with the space heater pulling a good amount of power a long way and two other outlets pulling power a good distance must of eventually caused the load on the GFCI outlet to become unbalanced.
Hello, thank you for the informative article. I have a quick question: Given that many garage fires in Canada are caused by car block heater malfunctions, would it be more effective to use a GFCI or AFCI outlet for a block heater? Additionally, can an AFCI outlet be installed outside the garage, provided it is placed in a weather-protected enclosure? Thank you.
Comment about GFCI outlets and circuit breakers. I have installed several GFCI circuit breakers in outside standard “weather resistant” circuit breaker boxes. The GFCI circuit breakers are expensive, do cover all of the outlets and lights on that circuit. What I have found is that the GFCI circuit breakers can be sensitive to the weather conditions outside of the structure that they are placed in. Replacing the GFCI circuit breaker with a GFCI outlet in the first position after the breaker will provide the same outlet protection while still being sheltered from the elements.
“designed to protect against a ground fault from occurring”. Bad use of English. There are two grammatically correct English statements which can replace this erroneous statement. 1. designed to prevent a ground fault from occurring 2. designed to protect against a ground fault. The problem is that people may interpret your remark as number 1. And a GFCI doesn’t prevent the ground fault from occurring. It simply mitigates the impact of it when it does occur. What you should have said is written in number 2. ‘designed to protect against a ground fault”. The addition of “from occurring” was wrong. You have to be careful with the use of language when your goal is to educate people. Yes it is being pedantic but it matters.
All these descriptions are all well and good but you missed the most important part! The National Electrical Code (NEC) and the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) have made GFCI and AFCI MANDITORY FOR ALL CIRCUITS! I recently changed out the entire electrical system in my house. Much of it was aluminum wire with cloth covering into ungrounded metal boxes without retaining clamps! I had to replace everything from the meter to the last outlet box! The fire inspector showed me in the code book the distances apart, the power limitations, and the protection required. Needless to say, the job QUADRUPLED in cost!
I had an arcing issue with an outlet in my basement. The hot wire was found to be loose and had carboned up over the years. If it was not for my dog alerting me, (He kept staring and sniffing the outlet) I probably would have had a fire for sure. I could see the glow when I took the outlet cover off! So I would say an AFTI would have worked there. BTW, that dog got a nice juicy steak for his meal. George B
With all of the very good electronic stud/electric detectors now available for fairly cheap – really the huge problems with the AFCI are avoidable. AFCI’s do not work that well – they go off routinely from normal motor arcing; from various fully correctly functioning appliances or tools. The vast majority of Fires caused from ‘arcing’ is from small brads or nails etc. used to hang pictures or some such up on a wall. Where the person putting the item up on the wall – inadvertently slightly compromises the electrical romex behind the wall with just a very small ‘prick’ of metal – which is just very slightly arcing sometimes. And eventually heats up enough and drys up enough – that it starts a fire.
Arc faults can also be usefull if your electrician was a moron and put all your plugs in the middle of your walls ( useing the 6/12 rule) because the cords will get bent over hard at the plug that will over time mess up the cords. Or if he was sloppy pulling the wire inthe walls during rough in and there all kinds of twists and kinks.
Thank you for this. I think I’m going to use this article to demonstrate the purposes of these devices. I’m currently working on a retrofit where I plan to replace a lot of receptacles with dual-function units, and replacing some light switches with these newly invented AFCI light switches. Extremely handy for old homes!
My new house has AFCI breakers with GFCI receptacles in garage, kitchen and bathrooms. The electrician we hired to hook us to the grid told us that’s a costly breakers box but worth it. 30 plus years working as a plant operator at a power plant you get to know breakers well. By the way well done article.
Your point about them being required in new boxes put me at ease about why it was so hard to find a combo AFCI/GFCI receptacle today. Sounds like new house doesn’t need AFCI because it’s already present at the breaker, old house doesn’t “need” it because it’s not needed for code. The only people still shopping for them are overly cautious DIYers and special projects. But I needed a GFCI for the wet areas, and decided to splurge for one for a dedicated microwave line. I’ll be happy to have spent the extra $9 total to reduce my fire risk by at least that much. Luckily, while they didn’t really upgrade my breaker, they did re-run most of the Romex. So at least I’m not looking at fabric in this 100 year old house.
Thanks for the nuggets of difference on using the “combination” in lieu of basic AFCI for more robust arc protection. I was trying to figure it why I’d spend more money on what appeared to both be dual function GFCI/AFCI. Now I know if it doesn’t have C/AFCI you’re missing out on that additional point of protection in the circuit algorithm.
Our power distribution standards are obsolete, and it’s time to upgrade to genuinely safe systems, i.e. smart integrated systems that provide protection for all forms of fault, and communicate the information required to isolate the location of the fault for remedial action. This means standardized, intelligent, solid state components, both centralized and peripheral. This can actually allow for greater simplicity in circuit design, thereby saving on copper, since circuits don’t have to be arbitrarily bundled. With peripheral protection at the outlet or switch level, the entire building could be a single circuit, with faulting endpoints self-isolating in a failsafe manner. Individual appliances can also provide redundant protection for more precise diagnostics. This requires standardized integrated circuits for various power ranges. If they are standardized and mandatory under code, they will become much less expensive than they are currently. Any additional up-front cost will be more than compensated for by lower insurance premiums, which will also provide incentives for retro-fitting.
Personally I would rather keep the breaker box as basic and clean as possible, this is not the place I want anything exotic. While the cost doing it at the outlets might be higher it also gives you the option to just protect the most vulnerable spots like the kitchen, bathrooms where GFI is required now in my area. When it comes to the breaker box I am a firm follower of the KISS principal.
If i ever get to have a house, I will get an professional electrician to replace every single line with ( either ) 3 / 12 gauge armor wire Or conduit line . Per room Kitchen 4 breakers, according to what would be there . Outdoor same thing And to avoid overload, an 15 amps breaker per line, unless a 20 amps is required at some points . Electricity, Gas and Water pipes lines . ( SAFETY FIRST ALL THE TIME )
I live in an 80 year old house with two wire, #16 post and tube wiring with 20 amp standard breakers. No GFI or other nonsense. No problems. Testing the breakers with a 25 amp load, they all pop immediately on the most distant wall sockets. I think there are some shenanigans going on with the statistics of house fire causes. Unknown cause: ELECTRICAL!
I installed AFCI breakers on all my old circuits. However, I had to remove one and go back to the original breaker on the furnace motor circuit. Too many nuisance trips. There is an issue with GFCI breakers. I have one circuit that supplies an outdoor outlet. When the contractor remodeled the master bathroom, he tied it into that circuit. Now, if the outdoor outlet trips, it affects the bathroom outlet too.
Thanks for the excellent article. I was hoping that you would spend a little more time on ‘nuisance trips’. Major appliances like microwaves and refrigerators can have higher current draw at startup and cause the AFCI receptacles to nuisance-trip – or so I have been told. I have been bothered by nuisance trips in my microwave circuit, and have been meaning to get around to taking out that receptacle and replacing it with a standard one. BTW, I was told by the building inspector to do this if it became a nuisance. Since the microwave is on a dedicated circuit and the microwave’s chassis is grounded, I don’t see any risk in doing so. Comments?
Keep in mind that with 128.45 million households in the USA (2020 Census) 35,000 fires means that there is a .027% chance of having a fire. Of which something like half (17,500) may be prevented with AFCI/CFCI protection, about .013% chance of having an AFCI/CFCI preventable fire. This could be broken down further to work out your particular risk. Which is not to say this is not a good idea for protection. I thought your article was good and clear and thanks for making it but I did feel that the number of households is relevant. Thanks for the article.
I see some Electricians/ Handyman not Find GFCI Faults from Neutral touching Ground. Someone Mentioned Hooking Power to Load Side to Keep GFCI from Tripping. Few times I Found wired like that, they wouldn’t Reset or work. Will have to try next time wiring one. I Rewire a 1903 House in Pinellas County, All 120 Volt Breakers had to be GFCI, AFCI or AFCI/GFCI combined. 42 Breaker @ $65 is over $2700. Luckily, AHU, Compressor, and Range didn’t need. Water Heater was gas. Still needed Protection. Am Totally against Refrigerators and Freezers have Protection more than a Breaker. If made to do, I like to add a Power Loss Relay. And be notified a Poer loss to those recepticals. Food is too Valuable/ Important. Stratmando
If you put AFCI in your house you will regret it. When our house was rewired completely we put some of these in….First we couldn’t figure out why our garage door opener was always on battery power, AFCI. Second we couldn’t figure out why our bathroom fan would stop working, AFCI. We found anything that draws a heavy load the AFCI would click off every single time. We got rid of the and every thing is fine, then we found out that all electricians in Utah were pulling them out everywhere.
Afci are a PAIN if you use a power tool, or an older style vacuum/shop vac, or older hair dryer, and anything with an AC motor. And to reset the breaker, is a massive pain. If it trips right after set, then, you have to unplug all devices on the circuit, turn on, then start putting everthing back in (it won’t retrip, unless you have an issue).
As an engineer, I found this article really good on one point many miss, and poor on others. I was waiting to hear it claim a GFCI senses current to ground, and impressed that it spelled out difference between hot and neutral, while avoiding that common error. That of course is what enables a GFCI to be useful with 2 wire appliances common in kitchens and baths. How it does that could be compared to an Amprobe type meter, and why it reads near zero if looped over a power cord, versus a single conductor. Anyone familiar with CMRR in microphone and similar cables, or differential amplifiers in instrumentation, plus with basic physics of current and magnetism, could of course picture a deeper level of detail. Also think UTP and STP in telecom and data networking cables. AFCI’s may detect some of the described faults, but their Code legislative justification is most certainly NOT for the basic building safety violations this article suggests. The solution to that is blacklilst the incompetent jerks pretending to be those electricians. Bedroom locations for AFCI’s assume they’re locations where old dried out and tiny SPT wire to lamps or small appliances with failure modes from broken insulation at pinch and bend points starts fires, as well as use of undersize extension cords, or crap receptacles (eg, Chinese outlet strips rated 15 amps with heaters, that catch fire as they age just slightly). Those cables may arc when failing, without a ground fault, and with far less current than a normal breaker trip.
Here in Canada any plugs in bedrooms require afci because American code requires them. We are not smart enough to re-write the plug spacing rule to get away from “the middle of walls” . cause where do you put beds, desks etc (anything big)… the centre of walls . So you end up with a plug behind your headboard not on each side of the bed and then cord damatge. stand in a room and imagine where crap is going and space accordinly.
I am an engineer and I live in Brazil. Here GFCI’s do exist for a long time, but they were not mandatory. Only recently they became mandatory by law enforcement. Nonetheless, it is still quite rare to see them even in new houses or buildings. People in general do not understand why GFCI’s are necessary, people tend to think they are superfluous things, expensive and not necessary. And here they are not built in the power outlets. They are always of the ‘circuit breaker’ type. Here NEMA style breakers were mainly used in the past, new installations are moving towards DIN style rail mounted breakers.
The N.E.C.’s primary function is to support the people in the organization and little else! An example on the subject of this vlog; between 1965 and 2006 (41 years) there were 351 cases of electrocution (about 9 annually) and not all from an outlet source?? Every three years the NFPA publishes the NEC along with smaller books explaining the ambiguities in the code book?? They are over priced to maintain the status quo. The changes during that period amount to a few dozen pages. Why isn’t the Code published in a loose-leaf form where in all you would have to do is replace a few dozen pages for one tenth the cost?? Status quo again?? The give away is they’ve been feeding you the changes slowly over the years to substantiate the need for a new code every three years. I guarantee they’ll never run out!!
Is would appear that AFCI is used to protect from bad / poor wiring during installation. There should not be any arcing between wiring if it was installed correctly per NEC. Also, you mentioned nusiance faults on breakers can happen if the device was not made to FCC standards. The Federal Commications Commission (FCC) deals primarily with RF spectrum when it comes to spectrum allocations in communications etc but what does the FCC have to do with electrical wiring?!!
I’m very sensitive to fire prevention. My close family came home one weekend night, and found the apartment building they lived in on fire. No one was hurt, but the apartment and all its contents were gone. Same for several other apartment. Fire dept was on scene and fire was already under control when they came home. Investigation concluded that fire was due to old/faulty wiring. Building had good insurance. The trauma of such a destruction and upheaval struck me hard. Been very thoughtful about fire prevention and fire suppression since. Photoelectric smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, turning off breakers when I leave the house etc etc. Thanks for the info!
gfi are annoying but worth it for safety in wet locations afci is just ridiculous and I replace them with regular 20 cent receptacles in dry locations whenever I find them in my home. If it’s an GFI AFCI combo I just replace it with a GFI. i get safely and get GFI but I don’t got time to reset breakers every time I plug in something with a brushed motor. I’ve been in houses that STILL used bare wire wrapped around and stretch between coke bottles in attics . I’ve lived in homes that had two conductor wiring hooked to three-hole receptacles with a bootstrap ground and they are still standing, afci is expensive overkill.
Good article. Risk management is something we, as modern humans, haven’t really needed to do on such a vast and large scale for a long time. I’m happy to see more awareness of the need to be “aware” of the risks we face in our modern world. However I think we need to use caution when approaching the concept of “make the world 100% safe for everyone.” Life has risk and is the cost benefit ratio for said risk(s) worthwhile? I don’t know but it’s worth discussing.
Once got in an argument with an electrician who came to do an estimate at my mothers house. He kept interrupting and correcting me whenever I said GFCI. “you mean GFI, ground fault interrupt”. I let it go. But after he left my mom and I turned to each other. “yeah, he’s not getting the job”. I’ve been building electronics since I was 10 years old. My favorite place to hang out when I was a kid was Radio Shack, back when it was more than batteries and cell phones. My mom was confident I knew what I was talking about, and this electrician was possibly not so great. Besides, nobody wants to work with a rude contractor. We found a better guy through a neighbor who runs a construction business.
My sister has combo GFCI/AFCI breakers in her 2017 Atlanta house. One kept false-tripping. Moved its position in the breaker box and the problem followed the breaker. Others in the subdivision had the same problem and clued her in to the generic problem. We called the manufacturer (forgot) and they mailed 10 new breakers free, as a stealth recall. Hope the new design works better. My house has older Zinsco breakers with no GFCI option so I have those as outlets some places (kitchen, bath, outside).
YUP it’s long overdue that everyone MUST install AFCI in non wet & GFIC in wet areas… this is NOT just about YOU- it’s about the whole neighborhood… just look at the wildfires in Co & Ca recently… one house going up in flames threatens many lives other than the home owners… so long past due that everyone got on board with this safety upgrade to residential electrical systems!
I didn’t even know they made an individual AFCI receptacle. Just put all the damned fans on the lighting circuit. Then you can put the whole plug circuit on one AFCI breaker. And if the clients breaker trips, try an “AFCI/GFCI combo breaker” which are usually less sensitive and usually work as a magic bullet to the problem.
I just got power back after losing it for 3 days due to hurricane berly. Problem is that my bedrooms and its lights don’t have power. I went to circuit breaker panel and tripped the 3 breakers, but to no avail. The three breakers show AFCI. Is it ok to replace those 3 breakers with regular breakers since the cost of AFCI breakers are 10x more at Home Depot. Thx.
I’ve never seen an afci recepticle. Nice for renovation instead of a $150 afci breaker that you need to buy 10 of. But only seen afci breakers because no one cares for afci and not required by code for existing, only new. Gfci is required within (I think) 12″ of a water outlet or wet locations. I.e. kitchen sink, bath sink, outside outlet, yard lights (120v ac that is), etc… My house built in 2019 has almost all afci as required by NEC and now NEC 22 requires even more afci. Soon all interior will be afci. My baths and kitchens and outdoors have afci with gfci breaker.
All inductive appliances should also be required to not produce extreme inductive kicks that trip GFCIs because it’s a real possibility to introduce hazards in a quest to eliminate false positives by introducing false negatives that reduce safety to compensate for lazy, cheap designs of said appliances. Also, inductive appliances should be required to correct power factor up to a minimum of 90% for efficient use of energy. PS: When I was a kid, a double-stacked wire on a terminal of a receptacle fell off by repeated thermal expansion and started a fire in the wall of my bedroom. It self-extinguished because of other building codes but it kept going for about a minute until it tripped the conventional breaker. Higher-resistance or intermittent shorts that don’t exceed the breaker’s amperage rating can still start fires. Perhaps AFCI would’ve stopped it sooner had it existed.
I know how GFI works, or compare the current coming and leaving, if there is a milliamp leakage, it will cut off the power. AFI? I have a hard time to seeing Arc by 110V. Shouldn’t parallel arc trip the circuit breaker? Anyway, it is good to have these to protect the wiring (and house fire). Here is a cheap solution, or NO electricity to anywhere?
Un-Certified DIYers performing their own work poorly has allowed me enough “extra income” to retire EARLY from the trades. You’re at least trying to “inform” the public. …but I’ve seen enough dangerous DIY installations to last me until I take my “dirt nap”. Just pay a competent professional, folks…it’s a LOT safer in the long run. There’s a good reason why there’s certification exams and mandatory (at MY recent company) code update courses. Just sayin’.🤔
At 0:48 you state ” …. at any type of variance between these 2 values…. ” Your 2 described values are Line & Neutral. Now, the word variance is normally considered differential. That is important for transformer protection. This is because the input & output current difference measurement can be considered an internal fault & should trip above a predetermined value. While there is a current limit that Will cause a trip on every household receptacle (based on the overcurrent circuit breaker rating), you are speaking of localized fast acting current tripping. These are All based on Overcurrent designs.
My outdoor GFI plug will snap off whenever I try to operate my compound miter saw. It works fine with other plugs… even other GFI plugs. (I guess the sudden surge of power is too much?) Do I have the wrong type of outdoor GFI plug? Maybe it’s AFCI? How can I tell? Maybe it’s defective and TOO sensitive… is that possible?
My brand new house has AFCI breakers. Out clothes drier trips it constantly. I disconnected the second ground wire in the back of the drier to prevent this but can I just replace the Arc Fault breaker with a normal GFCI breaker and reconnect that wire in the drier? If not, what am I SUPPOSED to do to remain in code?
Video was 6 months ago. I have a older house and had to have a new breaker box installed because I couldn’t get anymore breakers in the box. The electrician installed AFCI breakers because he stated that when they built the house and if they crossed wires in a plug or several plugs it would keep tripping the GFCI. Is that correct?? Since I’m not a electrician I would like to know. Thanks. 03-14-2023
I’m all for this technology and what it has to offer. However I have to say, the AFCI needs vast improvements. Nuisance trips are imminent. They are not fool proof. Too many people losing freezers full of food over these things. Improve the technology and we will use them. Until then, they’re only used on inspection day and everyone knows it. So the mandate is futile. Another thing, if you’re going to mandate such devices on all lights and plugs, then lower the stinkin’ price. $50 is unreasonable for a 15 or 20 amp breaker.
I can see the usefulness of CAFCI. Don’t see the advantage to AFCI. If there is a short from hot to neutral your breaker should trip. Of course that is if you have good quality breakers like square d or cutler hammer. The culprit for electrical fires is more commonly where a CAFCI would help. I do not believe those numbers for house fires. If the fire marshal can’t find any cause of the fire, he can always find a melted wire.
The fire study almost sounds like the one presented by the Plumbers Union calling for the inclusion of sprinklers in new construction. They only add $8k to the price of a 1800 sq/ft house. (not including servicing) If people stopped running extension cords under carpets, a large percentage of fires could be prevented. Some for factory built gang receptacle cords.
I hate GFCI breakers. They trigger way too easily. Here’s why: The output of a GFCI from a breaker or the output from a master to a slave outlet – that wire can act as an antenna. If lightning strikes in the Western Hemisphere it triggers. Nuisance tripping. My rules: No GFCI breakers ever. And for GFCI slave outlets, only one per master and it must be within 8 feet of the master. You should be able to see the master from the slave. Farther away than that and you’re creating an antenna. And my final rule. Don’t ever put a refrigerator or freezer on a GFCI. Lightning strikes in Argentina and your GFCI trips and all your food gets ruined. And your appliance is also ruined.
It should be noted that the GFCI breaker predates the availability of GFCI receptacles by several years. My parents house has a GFCI breaker in the outdoor outlets and the powder room receptacles. The master and main bathroom has those transformer limited electric razor only outlets. Homes built just a few years later simply put a GFCI receptacle in the powder room and have the outdoor outlets in series with that GFCI receptacle.
I just want to point out that “nuisance trips” from AFCIs are almost always because you are using a device that does not have the level of power line filtering that it’s really supposed to have built in. You can usually fix this fairly easily by just adding an extra power line filter to the power cord for the device. You do not need to (and should not) get rid of the AFCI breaker. Just fix the bad device instead. It’s not actually that hard.
My hot tub has a gfci breaker in my panel. Once or twice a year it trips for no known reason. Every time I reset it or if I’ve had the tub shut down to drain and refill I have to set the breaker and watch it trip out within 15 seconds or so then reset it again about 4 times before it finally stays on. Rarely will it stay on with the first engagement. It doesn’t trip immediately it’s always within 15-30 seconds and sometimes it’ll stay set after doing it 2 times, sometimes 6 times it all varies. Seems to have something to do with the start up sequence of the hot tub but once it stays on it’s good for months. It’s not underrated either it’s a 50amp gfci breaker for a hot tub that calls for 30 amp. Have tried new breakers too and it’s always the same thing. No known issue just finicky. Any thoughts??
Maybe you could explain more why each breaker is required under current code? I first heard of AFCI breakers a few years ago when replacing my main panel. This house was built in 1978 and, at the time, panels didn’t have a master breaker. 150A feeds were allowed for “Arkansas” homes (energy efficient) instead of the standard 250A for other homes and the combo worried me. I was required to install AFCI in bedroom circuits. I’ve heard 2 reasons. 1. Kids might plug something into an outlet. 2. Outlets that are used a lot will break sooner. In either case, you don’t want a fire in a sleeping space.
If you have circuits with a shared neutral (typically a three wire situation with a black, red and white wire on two single pole120v breakers or one double pole breaker), the labeling on a dual function breaker specifically warns that this may cause nusance tripping and to not use a DF in this situation. I am currently remodeling a house that was built in 1951 that has two prong outlets without an equipment ground wire. I want to upgrade the outlets to three prong outlets and by code can either add a ground wire or add GFCI protection. Otherwise, I need to replace the two prong outlets with the same thing. The bottom line is that I can only use GFCI breakers on these circuits and these are currently more expensive than dual function breakers because of code changes that require their use in most locations. Perhaps the author is aware of a dual function receptacle that will work with shared neutrals.
Ground fault interrupters will also protect you from electronic devices that may have one of their “power” leads grounded to the chassis, either intentional or due to wiring issue. This was fairly common in the ’70s though the ’80s. If you are not grounded, you wouldn’t know it existed. But if you are grounded, you will be the return path of the electricity. ACs, Heaters, Refrigerators, TVs, Toasters all were notorious for wiring the return to the chassis and did not have a true ground. If you ever where at grandma’s house and touch the toaster or fridge and then touched the metal of the sink and got a mild shock, that was because you became part of the electrical circuit. If you were properly grounded it would go from a mild shock to a serious hazard.
Just wanted to let you know that I have to inform you that while perusal the article that you appear to have a slightly darker (on the brown shade) trip off the nose. I can imagine that you know what they say about this, probably make up could help . Could you confirm for yourself as you edit your articles .Thanks .
Here in Germany the GFCI is mandatory for all new electrical installations for the whole house. I have installed them to protect my whole house, and I think everyone should at least have them (Although the voltage in the US is only half as high). But we have different panels than you guys do, so we can install one GFCI (with no breaker inside) for multiple breakers, so the cost really isnt that high over here. I havent given much thought about AFCIs, but it might be a good decision to get them as well, although they can cause problems with the nuisance tripping and they are more expensive than GFCIs over here.
Should a GFCi receptacle be warm to the touch? Without anything plugged into it, it is warm to the touch and concerns me that it may be bad and headed for trouble. I replaced it about 10/12 yrs. ago. It has repeatedly tripped when a hair dryer is used, even on low setting. Lately it is tripping without anything plugged directly into it and I can’t find what is making it trip. Does it sound as if just needs repalacing? I hope I did not derail your postings. 🙂
GFCI outlets have a finite lifetime. My home is 12 years old. Over the last few years I have had to replace almost half the GFCI outlets as they start to trip for no apparent reason. This is a pain in the ass and people should be aware of this characteristic. Fortunately I am an EE and can do the replacement myself but calling out an electrician every time a GFCI outlet starts to pop off randomly can get very expensive. If you have a 10+ year old home and your GFCI outlets start failing have your electrician replace them all. A lot cheaper than one at a time.
This man would have a heart attack if he saw some of the electrical wiring in some foreign countries. I walked up a metal stairway to second floor restaurant in Nepal and noticed a 220 wire taped to the metal hand railing all the way up. My home in Thailand is supplied with single phase two wires— two unidentified round holes in all the sockets in the house. Arguments about ground wires with certified Thailand electricians are lots of fun.
My old landlord knew all the tricks of the trade and did everything the cheapest way, his way. I kept smelling what I thought was cigarette smoke in the house of a night. I don’t smoke. I finally tracked it down to a connection he or one of his “helpers” did coming out of the circuit breaker box. The twist connector had gotten so hot that it was melted on the wiring. He had twisted together aluminum wire to copper. This is something you do not do. Both expand and contract at different rates and the connection will come loose. He always did things the cheapest for him. He updated the living room with new drywall but put in no insulation in the ceiling making it really hard to heat.
You should emphasize what is and what is not being protected. ie a GFCI breaker would protect the circuit wiring and all fixtures on that circuit such as receptacles, lighting and light switches, etc. And a GFCI receptacle just protects whatever is plugged into it and nothing on the circuit preceding it.
You missed gfci blanks same as the plug except no receptacle plugs it is used in a box by the panel box it used for cost a receptacle and the blank GFI are under 20$a switch is close to or greater than 100.00 dollars usually used for outdoor plugs it keeps the GFCI and I was right an arc fault breaker dose not protect against shock the electrician put on in to protect against shock from an electric fireplace over a bathtub
Talk about Nuisance, once i moved a junction box, up to connecting the last wire, it trip the breaker, after several more tries i call my neighbor, a retired commercial master electrician, he trouble shoot the problem to no avail 😢 next day i try again, this time i disconnected all the items in the house, bingo! The problem was a multiple power chip outlet! 😮
AFCI’s do not detect sudden power they detect very very small arc. like the arcs you can visible see in a brushed motor.. which is why they cause nuisance faults or say a cord is partially loose, but it’s close enough for an arc to jump the gap, this small arc can maintain for a long time.. and start a fire.. which is why they are required on bedrooms
I have AFCI in my trailer, and want to share an experience with regard to nuisance trips. I learned that a battery charger, not connected to load has some sort of issue because when i plugged in, the AFCI tripped. A regular outlet on a circuit breaker does not, nor does a GFCI. I have two of these chargers, the second does not trip the AFCI. Leading me to think that a problem in the first one is likely the cause, so I disposed of it to be safe. Thanks for this article.
I have an old house that is mostly 2 wires. I have a workout room with many electronics plugged into outlets that are not grounded. My treadmill will give me a static shock (mild) if I touch the metal part. Will the GFCI plug work for me ? The breaker that runs the room is a 20 amp. I have a 110 current not a 220. Can I replace plugs in that room with a GFCI ?
should college focus on creationism or evolution in creationism is design perfectly and the other is keep on improvement in case air static and emf effect on round wire in security system or open plug can be hacked by camera like actuator or device of security door or electronics like building automation
Hi I invented the AFCI. I think your article is a good introduction for the general public. There are several things that are misunderstood, such as, a AFCI also has an embedded GFCI circuit. The GFCI trip detection is 100 to 300 milliamps of leakage current in an AFCI breaker; while a GFCI for electrical shock protection trips at 6 to 8 milliamps. This is confusing when trying to isolate the tripping issue; as most electricians are unaware that leakage currents can trip the AFCI. I am George Auther Spencer, 81 years old. I was issued my first AFCI patent in Aug 1990. I now live near Athens Texas and have invented a new wind turbine, three patents issued, that can produce 5X the power per acre of any wind turbine today; this includes GE’s 12 MW turbine… As crazy as this sounds; it can also out produce a nuclear power plant per acre in 45 mph wind speeds, with no upper wind speed cutoff… even in 100 mph winds. I now need to raise between $10M and $30M to complete the final phase and install a fully functional unit.
You have one of the best articles I have seen so far… no distracting music and jokes… so eloquent, structured, informative and detailed. And you left that annoying cliche like subscribe and comment nonsense for the end (take it out all together!! everyone says it.. if your website is awesome people will do it without you telling them to) Keep this kind of content up and you’ll b on your way to a million subscribers
The AFCI circuits are very difficult to evaluate. Several American companies have spent many years working on them. I would favor a brand that is well known in the CB field, not some no-name breaker. Nuisance tripping can be a big, big problem. Some critical appliances for no-trip testing : computer with switching mode power supply electric drill air compressor dimmable lights Using a standard light switch, switch 500W of incandescent lighting on/off rapidly. The breaker should think this an intermittent (series) arcing condition and trip.
AFCI can be a real pain in the butt. Many larger electric motors, older electric motors with carbon brushes typically have a little arcing between the brush and the spindle. This will set off the AFCI. So, if you are having construction/remodeling going on, the workers power tools will set them off real easy and after a couple times they burn out and must be replaced. If you have a large remodel project and you have AFCI, a large power chord from a non-AFCI circuit or have your electrician install standard breakers during construction and then install the AFCI for final inspection. (I don’t know if that’s legal or not, your electrician will know. We’ve had to do that on some jobs just to be productive.)
You state that a series arc fault is caused by a break in the HOT line. But that’s only partially true: it can be caused by a break in the NEUTRAL line as well. Both the HOT and NEUTRAL are part of the same “series” circuit. Also, you say that a parallel arc is caused by a short between the HOT and the NEUTRAL wire. It can also be caused by a short from the HOT wire to the GROUND wire, or a short to any other grounded conductor: an air conditioning duct, a metallic plumbing pipe, etc. Drywall screws and nails are often a source of shorts in home wiring.
I would add that the breaker is not there to protect humans from electrocution. There is an assumption that they do. When we plug in a flimsy extension cord, the ones you get at ANY store in North America, you can draw far more current than that gauge wire can safely carry, and the breaker for that circuit will be totally happy…. up to the amperage of the breaker on the circuit. Use 12 guage extension cords on 20 amp circuits and 14 gauge or 12 gauge on 15amp circuits. Our devices and their cords are often insufficient, unless they are fused based on their capacity. It is rare to find an extension cord with a fuse, EXCEPT for christmas lighting and accessories. IF I am wrong, spank me on the technicalities. I am basing this on a article on the Technology Connections website.
You’re being overly optimistic about supply and demand on AFCI circuits. GFCI has been around a long time, and if anything their relative cost has gone up. On the subject of nuisance tripping, had a GFCI circuit that would trip every morning with a particular circular saw.. wasn’t my saw, so didn’t get to experiment as much as I’d have liked, but my best guess was it because the saw got heavy dew on it sitting unprotected in the bed of a truck each night. And thanks for the excellent explanation of AFCI, as I was not really up on them.
Sorry but you had a good article and then discredited yourself by spreading FUD and misinformation: Arc faults are a small percentage of ground faults. To say that half the fires could have been prevented by AFIs may be true but it begs the question of how many could have been prevented by only GFIs. I suspect almost all of them. I’m sure you know better so was it intentional? Additionally, did not mention a very important attribute of GFI receptacles: they protect the entire downstream circuit! Just as a GFI circuit breaker protects the entire circuit, a GFI receptacle installed as the first receptacle protects the entire circuit.
Let’s do a better job. GFCI, ground fault circuit interrupt, does exactly what it says it does…it interrupts the circuit ( a device operating via the outlet) because the ground pathway has been by passed…a literal fault in how current should flow in the event of a failure. They are less common than AFCI. I don’t know why you said the opposite. GFCI outlets are code for all wet areas. Why? Because they are wet. A wet environment…kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, pool area etc are wet. Normal operation can produce mist, condensation, spray, or even an exposed flow in the event of a leak. In these cases, it is possible that a thin film of water can bridge between the hot and neutral wires…and importantly…bypass the ground wire as the ground wire would normally be the preferential path of least resistance. This situation can place you in the path of the “flow of current”. As such you could die. The GFCI has embedded circuitry that continually measures the flow between hot and neutral. That path would include the device plugged into it. A bridge between hot and neutral that bypasses the device or shorts out the device would be seen as a sudden variation in current flow. The threshold for this shift is a small fraction of an Amp in a small fraction of a second. Both of these are required to protect you from electrocution. AFCI, Arc Fault Circuit Interrupt, is code (2020 NEC) for all new construction and rewiring projects. They will be the protection for every other circuit in the home.
I’d love to replace all the breakers in my panel with dual function GFCI/CAFCI breakers if the price ever comes down, but it sounds like the AFCI breakers need an override switch for when some electrically noisy device gets plugged in. Simply being unable to use any device without a perfectly clean power draw is unacceptable.
All these objects have added tremendous expense to the cost of the finished electric panel. What once was $150 completely, is now more than $750 and as much as $1100. But the real question is, “Do these improvements and costs really save lives or homes”? The answer is still out for me. I DO know for a fact that BECAUSE of these changes, there must be a design change in the electrical system itself. IF you find yourself living in snowy or bad weather areas, the main meter panel should be mounted on a pedestal next to the home with ONLY the house main breaker (with optional smaller breakers for exterior use) and an underground feed cable to the interior house panel with all the breakers. Reason? If your panel, like most, are now equipped with AFCI’s, each time you turn your vacuum or mixer on, the “Arc” in the switch with “Throw” your breaker and you must reset it to run the machine. Cn you see yourself running outside in 3 foot of snow each time you want to clean the carpet of back a cake? In reality, someone figured out a way to make the breakers “More Expensive”. So far that’s about it. If the older type breakers are soooo dangerous, then why is it we don’t see old home fires ALL OVER THE COUNTRY? Oh well. Lobbying is such a grand old practice.
It sounds like CAFCI might be a useful addition to an old home. I live in an 1882 farmhouse which, to the best of my knowledge, no longer has any knob and tube in it (though some old knobs remain in the basement as a reminder of past wiring). it does, however, have old insulated + cloth-wrapped wire.. where the old insulation has degraded to the point where it falls apart when disturbed. My policy up till now is.. 1) rewire circuits when I need to disturb wiring.. especially when I can do it without having to do significant additional damage to my lath and plaster walls.. and 2) don’t disturb old wiring unless there’s good reason to. OK,.. sometimes I get a little over-zealous and this one goes out the window.. as evidenced by my currently dead front room outlets. I just couldn’t abide the lazy work of having conduit pulled through my air returns though and I haven’t pulled new service up there yet (and it’s been a while now). Luckily, we live in an area that requires all wiring to be in conduit, so it’s generally possible to pull new wire to upgrade service without too much trouble.. except for where they chose to use armored flex as whips or where they chose to use the smallest pipe they needed to.. because why would anyone want to hang slightly larger conduit from the exposed floor joists in a basement to make your and future owner’s lives easier. OK.. come to think of it, retrofitting generally hasn’t been too easy. :-P. At least I don’t worry too much about picture hanging nails piercing in-wall power though.
That dual function breaker looks like it would be great in my house since it’s 75yrs old and I occasionally see or hear a spark on some of my light switches at night, eventually I’ll replace them all but money is tight right now and all my lights run through 1 breaker in the original 2 story section of the house, the 2 additions and garage all have newer wiring from the 70’s.
In 2020 we got a new to us home. We had the service upgraded to AFCI breakers. Within six months a tree in the yard was hit by lightning. That caused every breaker to trip. We had zero damage because of this. I would never go back to standard breakers again. It saved everything electrical in the home and we only had to get the tree removed.
Nice info, I was thinking of swapping out old GFCI breaker for an dual function breaker.. Is there any code compliance issue if you have a GFCI breaker but choose not to have a GFCI outlet also? The builder who did my house, was kind of an idiot, I noticed there is GFCI on both the outlet and the breaker on the same circuit.
Q: Since current is reduced when you plug things into an outlet that produces a load, and you mentioned that GCFI operates by detecting even the tiniest difference between the neutral and the hot wires (which is where the load occurs), then how does it differentiate between a load an a fault? Also, I do think GCFI + CAFI dual function outlets should be standard everywhere in all new home construction. It just makes sense. What doesn’t is the deliberately inflated price of these devices by manufacturers trying to profit off of consumer safety.
does this comes for 220 europe system >? i m in greece we have the round grounding italian style!!!! I wont make a permenant system for a warehouse because building is going to change sometime in the future and i m just going to use a portable powerstation … most of them doesnt have any great protection in europe..!!! so i wanted to ask if there s any possibility to give some safer portable electricity or if its needed a grounding for some tools i use or electric hand tools apliances!!!! any 220v recomendation is welcome, thanks