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Electrical Wiring

What is Arc fault circuit protection and is it required by code?

14 years ago

This statement was on a home inspection report I was asked about.

Arc fault circuit protection is not installed, for the circuits which serve the

living areas, dining areas, gameroom, study, media room, gameroom, and

hallways.

What does it do and why is it required for the rooms mentioned above?

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Comments (8)

joed
14 years ago
It protects against arcing wires. It is required in those areas under the 2008 NEC. If this is new construction it should be there. IF this is old house it is not required to be added unless major alterations are being made in those rooms.
texasredhead
14 years ago
Standard circuit breakers will trip if the circuit is overloaded. However, if there is arching in a fixture that could lead to a fire, the standard breaker does not sense an overload. an arch fault breaker will. By code, arc fault breakers are required in bedrooms with the idea that an arch fault breaker would trip while you are sleeping. Unless local codes prevail, the home inspector is basically assuming the whole home should be protected by arc fault breakers. These breakers are expensive and NEC code does not presently require that the entire home be protected.
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The gfci function is actually pretty easy to create. Both conductors are passed through a single toroid pickup coil. If the currents are equal the toroid has no induced voltage (the magnetic fields cancel) and nothing happens. If the fields do NOT cancel a triac is used to open the circuit. The sensitivity is as simple as how many turns on the toroid the sense winding has. More turns, more sensitive (less current imbalance). AFCI devices look for the high frequency noise generated by an arc. It will be at a multiple of 60 Hz, so filtering is not that hard. You need to consider that an arc generates electrical noise form the frequency of the voltage to light (the arc itself). The noise twice a cycle as the arc starts and stops with the 60 Hz voltage. Sense the noise, turn off the circuit. AFCI devices are not required to be as sensitive to current imbalances GFCI devices. Arcs do not trip a CB since the current does not exceed the CB rating. An arc from a break in the hot line is going to the hot line. TThe load on the circuit limits the currents, but the arc produces very high temperatures. A fault is when the hot shorts to the neutral (or ground) and the current exceeds the CB rating. Breakers for residential use are thermal-magnetic. The thermal is from heating of a section of conductor in the CB. This allows brief overloads to pass without tripping the CB (like 'slo-blo fuses). A motor starting or heating elemt turning on are allowed to operate since the current falls quickly and fails to trip the thermal overload. The magnetic occurs for 200%+ current and results in a very fast operation. The higher the current the more magnetic force is generated and the faster the breaker opens. At very high overloads the breaker opens in just a few milliseconds. People are not very good conductors. You are very unlikely to ever pull enough current through your body to trip the breaker.
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Sorry but I have to disagree with TerribleTom and I may be talking out of school and he/she may be correct in terms of what a licensed electrician does in terms of insurance etc but licensed or not, I would imagine if they do something that is not up to code, it doesn't matter if the sparky is licensed or not, I wouldn't think. Show me a single example of a court ruling in favor of an insurance company because the insurance contract states that any fire resulting from something not up to code is not covered. If you can find one, I'll reconsider my position. But you won't find one. Why? Because mortgage lenders wouldn't accept it as valid coverage to protect their interests. Insurance companies may try to wriggle out of paying in some cases and play some games now and then, but the underlying principle is whether or not the covered parties (typically the homeowner and the mortgagee or trustee) were negligent. Even in cases where insurance companies have attempted to put explicit language in insurance contracts shifting the burden to the insured to maintain everything in up-to-code status, they've lost good-faith insurance lawsuits right and left. It's not the kind of conditions that courts are inclined to enforce via adhesion. Period. [As a side note, pjb999, I said nothing in my comment about licensure status of the electrician. Please re-read carefully. You invented that part.] For the most part, a homeowner needs only to act as a reasonably prudent person to keep coverage in effect. Hiring an electrican (even if, unbeknownst to the homeowner, the electrician is not, in fact, licensed) is still reasonable behavior, as is following the advice of someone reasonably believed to be qualified and knowledgeable. I've heard insurance scare stuff for years. Give me true examples. Give me the case law. I really want to see it. As for the Katrina stuff, well force majeure (acts of God) is another issue altogether. But, again, even in the context of a Katrina victim, show me a case or even a documented annecdotal example where a claim was denied solely on the basis of wiring not being up to code. Go for it. As for the safety part of your comment, please refer to my first comment in this thread: While it may be tempting to blame a circuit breaker when it trips, most of the time breakers are correctly doing the job they were intended to perform--to keep you and your house safe from fire. On that, we agree.
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Thank you Bruce. I'm not sure on 2 panels for replacement but I posted the photos from the home inspection report when we purchased the home. Agree 100% with you and I appreciate your comments. Stating the obvious...my GC is a clown, unprofessional and his lack of detail is beyond mind-boggling. But all of the comments on here have been so helpful and given me ammunition for a clear and concise description of what work is getting done and needs to be done. FYI, visited the house today and saw that his subs had ripped off the covered porch bc there was "rot" but with no explanation, approval from us or estimates for repair vs. replacement. And the front door was left wide open for the 2nd time. We live 40 miles away (renting) until the home is done so it is hard for me to be there every day at all hours. Hence, why we hired a top-notch, reputable builder (and top rated on Houzz). But we must have the C-team on our gut-renovation.
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... with the AFCI since it is required now One slight correction to that statement. It's a requirement in the latest version of the NEC. Not all locales have adopted the latest version. So it's possible that it isn't required where ever the OP is located and the fact that the electrician is saying NOT to use them, indicates that it isn't required there. They are probably still using the older version of the NEC where AFCI is only required in bedrooms. Otherwise what he is proposing wouldn't pass inspection. That said, you can always choose to do more than the minimum that the NEC mandates, so use AFCIs if you want.
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brickeyee
14 years ago
Old work is grandfathered under the NEC.

Some localities require upgrades, but absent a local rule anything more than about 4 years old may not have ANY arc fault breakers.

The 2008 NEC increased the number of areas in a house requiring arc fault protection, but work that was compliant when finished and inspected is grandfathered absent a local rule to the contrary.

Sounds like an inspector trying to find something to squawk to justify his fee.
Ron Natalie
14 years ago
In the NEC 2005, only the 15 and 20 amp 120 volt branch circuits serving bedroom outlets (and in the code "outlet" refers to both receptacles and lighting) needed to be AFCI protected. NEC 2008 extended that to the "living space" as indicated in that list of rooms you provided. You're obviously in a NEC 2008 jurisidiction.
hexus
14 years ago
" NEC code does not presently require that the entire home be protected."

wrong.

the 2008 NEC requires arc faults in basically the entire house living areas for 15/20 amp circuits and not just bedrooms. Previously it was just required in bedrooms however under the 2008 code they are required in all living areas (some exceptions of course). It is possible that the original poster does not fall under the 2008 code, however there is a better chance that they are in which case arc faults would be required in the areas they listed (not including grandfathered in cases).

I'm surprised at your post texasredhead since that was probably the biggest issue/change with the 2008 code change.
Ron Natalie
14 years ago
That and the TR receptacles. I just dodged our jurisdiction's adoption of 2008 on those two issues with my house.
texasredhead
14 years ago
I think Brickeyee covered the grandfather clause very well.
dim4fun
14 years ago
It's pretty common for real estate home inspection reports to mention anything not up to current code. Some also then state that when the structure was built or remodled the code was not or may not have been in effect.

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