Arc fault breakers

[Sterling]

They trip on things they shouldn't and that's the honest answer and most of us have had the conversation with a homeowner who's frustrated because their AFCI is nuisance, tripping on a vacuum cleaner or a light dimmer. But the technology has gotten meaningfully better in the second generation breakers and the protection they offer against hidden wiring faults, the kind inside walls that start fires before anything else trips is real. The issue is usually a combination of an older device on the circuit creating unwanted signals and frankly sometimes the breaker itself is just too sensitive. My approach is to not immediately assume the breaker is bad when it trips but look at what's on the circuit.

What's your experience with them folks?

 

[Arthur]

That’s a fair breakdown. The nuisance trips are real but so is the value when they actually catch arcing in aging wiring. In practice it often comes down to mixed loads on a circuit and older electronics confusing the detection logic.

 

[PGB1]

I've a brother who is a battalion chief for the city fire department. He is also an electrician. After ground fault devices were out for a couple of decades, he commented about the reduction in medical runs for electrical shock.

I asked him once what the thought about arc fault circuit protection. He said words to the effect of "The more arc fault protection in use, the more sleep for my guys and me.".

Of course none of this worked when smoke detectors were required. Even way back when I was on the police department it was noticeable how many wired ones were taken down and how many battery ones had the batteries removed. At least it's more difficult to bypass an arc fault device.

I guess arc fault can be looked at a source of service call for those of you who do residential work.

Paul