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The science of AFCIs is proprietary and they are not all the same but
they look at current, detecting short duration spikes

I'm confused now. Do the AFCI's use RF at all to detect arcing conditions?
I've been trying to find some descriptions or patents that detail how they
work without much success. One interesting site I found:

http://electronicdesign.com/electrom...rk-controversy

said that one user, who thought his AFCI was "nuisance tripping" discovered
that it was actually tripping because of a dangerous condition in his
bathroom.

"I read all the available information on the Web running into all manner
of grousing, but I also saw an article explaining what the breaker is and
what it does. Encouraged, I started looking for the culprit. On and off it
took me two weeks to separate the circuits to discover that an improperly
installed GFCI socket in the bathroom (on the bedroom socket circuit)
compressed the hot wire against the grounded socket box," he said.
"Old Romex insulation fractured, crumbled, and allowed arcing to the box. I
do not know how long this condition lasted, but now it is fixed," he added.
"In six months, neither of the two breakers disconnected. I am a convert and
I would encourage retrofitting AFCI breakers, especially in older
installations."

Maybe it IS time to switch to AFCIs!

--

Bobby G.