Arc Circuit Protection

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In recent years a new type of breaker has been on the market, and that is an arc protected circuit breaker, I suspect if not already that an outlet will be developed that incorporates arc protection, however an arc protected circuit breaker will give protection to an entire circuit not just part of it. In recent years a lot of electrical codes are now requiring arc protection for circuit that serve bedrooms, and the requirements may eventually be expanded. Arcing generates heat - sparks from arcing can ignite materials near an outlet, cause damage to an outlet. Electrical arcing is never a good thing, and can cause fires.

An AFCI is just a added piece of mind protection device that hopefully will stop a fire or tragedy, but is not a substitute to fixing poor wiring, damaged outlets, improper use of extension cords and so on, fix the problem, never reply on technology to save you.

They are also suppose to be able to detect what is a normal arcing condition caused by switching on a light or plugging in a cord into an outlet, and only trigger the breaker when not normal arcing and / or short conditions are detected.

Unless your jurisdiction requires it, I would not recommend using it on such items as a freezer, fridge, furnace, sump pump, these all have motors in them and these items could cause great damage to goods or property if they where to false trigger the arc breaker.

Bellow is some videos that I found posted on 'you tube' regarding the installation of an arc fault circuit interrupter....