Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

I guess this post really dates me, and ceretainly does
make me feel old.

Have just heard about the relatively new type of circuit breakers
termed
"arc fault circuit breakers".
Have reads up a bit on them, but still have several questions,
please:

I live in a 25 year old house in Mass., that has the conventional
type of
circuit breakers installed.

a. Should I replace all, or just the ones going to e.g., the bedroom

outlets with this new type ?

"Should" you? I dunno. The bedrooms would be your first consideration
since that's what's specifically addressed in the new code. Then, you
might consider the circuits that you have reason to fear arcs on but
that, for whatever reason, you don't want to fix any other way. For
example, old knob-and-tube wiring, or wiring done by the previous hack
that owned the house, or maybe aluminum-wired circuits.

Why ?

I believe the thinking is that arcs in bedrooms cost a disproportionate
number of lives because they lead to smouldering fires from which the
smoke kills the sleepers before it sets off the smoke alarms. That
bedrooms are full of smoulderable fabrics may also be a factor.

b. What about the GFCI ground-fault breakers that I have installed
for my
few outlets in the garrage, and on the porch ?

Garage and outdoor outlets definitely need to stay on gfci's because
they offer protection for wet areas, where current leaking through you
to wet earth is a danger. GFCI's are also the outlet of choice on
ungrounded circuits, if running a ground is un-doable.

There are no combination devices that anyone's heard of yet so for each
circuit you need to choose afci *or* gfci breaker. You could put a gfci
outlet on a circuit protected by an afci-protected breaker. In fact I
have one; on an ungrounded circuit in a bedroom.

(AFCI protection needs to be at the breaker, not the outlet, because
the point of afci is to protect the connections of the wire to the
outlet and elsewhere in the circuit.)

What's best for this type of location; the GFCI, or the new
arc fault
type ? Why ?

Code and common sense require gfci protection for outlets in wet
locations. Perhaps a sink in the corner of a bedroom means that all
outlets in that room require both? That's a question for your
inspector. But there's no reason to think that a garage or outdoor
outlet would warrant afci's, as I understand it.

The inspector does not want to hear that you sleep in the garage.

c. Do they have any available that combine both features ?

As above, I don't think so, not yet.

If so, approx. cost ?

Round here, AFCI's and GFCI's push C$90 for my Siemens panel, compared
to $10 for normal breakers. You can take a look at homedepot.com as
easily as I can.

They might be unavailable for some older panels.

Is this a good approach?

Doing just the bedrooms in afci's would let you say that those rooms
were up to current code, which I'd say is a fine goal.

d. Anyone familiar with the building codes in Mass. and how it
relates to
this ?

Not me, sorry.

Nation-wide codes in Canada and the U.S. require afci's in "sleeping
areas" for new construction. Nothing in the nationwide codes require
upgrading older places. Some local codes try to do this, and some
insurance companies have opinions.

Not too sure what else to ask, but would like to learn about what
types to
use in a residence, where, pros and cons,
etc., if anyone has a few spare minutes would be most appreciative.

Basically you now know what I do: gfci's for wet areas, afci's for
bedrooms. The con's of both gfci and afci are the cost of nuisance
trips, so fridges and freezers, exit lighting, life-support equipment
etc are probably poor choices for either.

Having said that, my sump pump's on a gfci. The sight of a power cord
heading straight into a pool of water...

Chip C
Toronto