Heres something to discuss! ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS The AFCI (the circuit breaker with the yellow label) is an older generation AFCI circuit breaker. The current (as of 2013) devices are referred to as combination type and usually appear with a green label. An Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) is a circuit breaker designed to prevent fires by detecting an unintended electrical arc and disconnecting the power before the arc starts a fire. An AFCI must distinguish between a harmless arc that occurs incidental to normal operation of switches, plugs and brushed motors and an undesirable arc that can occur, for example, in a lamp cord that has a broken conductor in the cord. Arc faults in a home are one of the leading causes for electrical wiring fires. Each year in the United States, over 40,000 fires are attributed to home electrical wiring. These fires result in over 350 deaths and over 1,400 injuries each year. Conventional circuit breakers only respond to overloads and short circuits; so they do not protect against arcing conditions that produce erratic, and often reduced current. An AFCI is selective so that normal arcs do not cause it to trip. The AFCI circuitry continuously monitors the current and discriminates between normal and unwanted arcing conditions. Once an unwanted arcing condition is detected, the AFCI opens its internal contacts, thus de-energizing the circuit and reducing the potential for a fire to occur. An AFCI should not trip during normal arcing conditions, which can occur when a switch is opened or a plug is pulled from a receptacle. AFCIs resemble a GFCI/RCD (Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupt/Residual-Current Device) breaker in that they both have a test button although each has a different function. GFCIs and RCDs are designed to protect against electrical shock of a person, while AFCIs are primarily designed to protect against electrical fires caused by arcing. Some outlets must be protected by both a GFCI and an AFCI, such as an outlet near a wet bar in a family room. Though I have not seen but a couple of times, AFCIs in panels, they appear not to be implimented in this area in new construction and especially older homes. Reason most likely is, that new wiring, installed professionally, reduces the chances of arching, since wiring is properly ran and fused. Just so more info I wanted to expound on. If you have more questions about this electrical device, contact your local professional electrical contractor, for will be able to shed more light and recommendations if you are building or even re-wiring an older property. Hope this shed some light and thanks for reading this!
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:42:53 +0000
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