Electricity plays a crucial role in our modern lives, powering everything from heating water and cooking meals to providing entertainment and keeping us connected. It’s an essential part of daily living. To protect your home and family, arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are installed to enhance electrical safety and prevent potential hazards.
What Are Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters?
Before we jump into what an AFCI is, let’s first start by describing what an arc fault is. An arc fault can happen as a result of damaged, stressed, or overheated wiring. This is a very dangerous electrical issue where there’s intermittent contact that results in an electrical spark.
For example, there may be old, corroded wiring in a home that’s rubbing up against a nail in the wall. This direct metal-to-metal contact between the nail and the wiring can cause an arc fault to occur. Arc faults are one of the leading causes of house fires in the nation. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that about 50% of house fires could be avoided if AFCIs were properly installed.
AFCIs work somewhat similarly to a circuit breaker or electrical panel. They’ll monitor the circuit for any dangerous arcing. If arcing is detected, the AFCI will open the circuit by tripping its internal contacts. This will kill energy from flowing through the circuit and prevent any further arcing from happening. AFCIs will significantly reduce your home’s risk of experiencing an electrical fire.
The Types of AFCIs
There are two main styles of AFCIs that your home can have. These are breakers and receptacles. Traditionally, AFCI breakers were available in a branch or feeder setup. This caused the AFCI to trip if it detected a parallel arc between the neutral and hot conductors. This type of AFCI was phased out around 2008 and replaced with the combination type AFCI breaker.
This is the modern-day standard for homes that provide enhanced protection by detecting faults at lower levels. It’s important to note that if your home was built before 2008, it may still have an outdated AFCI setup. Another option is the AFCI receptacle, which is responsible for protecting electrical items beyond the individual branch circuit. This includes things like your appliances and any devices plugged into the receptacle.
Both AFCI breakers and receptacles are designed to effectively detect both series and parallel arcing. Series arcing occurs when an arc forms between two or more points within the same phase. Parallel arcing, on the other hand, happens when an arc forms between the hot and neutral conductor or between the hot and ground conductor. These devices play a vital role in identifying and addressing electrical hazards before they become serious issues.
Circuit Breakers vs. AFCI Breakers
Most people are familiar with the fact that circuit breakers will trip when an overload or short circuit is detected. While this can be very helpful, traditional circuit breakers won’t respond to arcing. This is where the AFCI breakers come into play. They operate like normal breakers with the exception of tripping when notable arcing is detected.
Normal vs. Unwanted Arcing Conditions
Electrical arcing can be classified as either normal or unwanted, depending on the particular situation. Normal arcing can occur when you unplug an electrical item. It isn’t uncommon to see a small spark jump from the outlet as the cord is unplugged. It’s very imperative that an AFCI breaker doesn’t trip during normal arcing as you would likely have to reset your circuit breaker every time you unplug an electronic device.
Fortunately, modern-day AFCI breakers are strategically designed to detect the difference between normal and unwanted arcing conditions. They will only trip when unwanted conditions are present. These AFCI breakers give you the ability to minimize your risk against electrical ignition due to arcing, overloading, and short circuits.
The Limitations of AFCI Breakers
While AFCI breakers can be exceedingly helpful when it comes to preventing electrical fires, they can’t completely eliminate your risk of experiencing one. When an initial arc happens, that spark can create ignition. While the AFCI breaker will certainly trip when it detects that unwanted arcing is occurring, it can’t stop that initial arcing from happening. In the rare case that the initial spark created by the first arcing ignites a material, like wood or something similar, an electrical fire can happen.
Older Homes and AFCIs
The 1999 Edition of the National Electrical Code specifies that AFCI breakers and outlets be installed in all bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and so forth in all new construction homes. This standard helps to boost the overall safety of homeowners. However, if you have an older home that was built before this time, you likely don’t have this necessary protective device.
It can be highly beneficial to consider upgrading to AFCI circuit breakers if you have an older home. These older homes tend to be more susceptible to electrical arcing due to deteriorated, corroded, and DIY wiring. Installing AFCIs can help to provide you with an added layer of protection against an electrical fire.
It’s vitally important that you have a professional local electrician do the installation of AFCIs in your home. This will ensure the installation is done according to local and national electrical standards. AFCI breakers can easily be installed to replace existing circuit breakers in homes that have breaker boxes. However, if you have a fuse box in your older home, your options are limited. You can either use receptacle AFCIs or opt for upgrading to a new panel box, complete with AFCI circuit breakers.
Lifespan and Maintenance
The overall lifespan of your AFCI breaker will vary depending on numerous factors, such as its brand, amount of use, and so forth. However, the average lifespan of an AFCI breaker is between 15 and 20 years. Over its lifetime, AFCI circuit breakers should be tested every month.
There is a test button located directly on the face of the breaker. Be sure to push the button and wait to see how the breaker responds. If the breaker doesn’t trip when testing it, then it’s defective and will need to be replaced swiftly. Continuing to use a defective breaker can leave your home more susceptible to an electrical fire.
AFCIs vs. GFCIs
When talking about specialized circuit breakers and receptacles, it isn’t uncommon to get AFCIs confused with GFCIs. The reality is that they provide two different forms of protection. As you likely know by now, AFCIs are responsible for protecting against electrical fires by detecting unwanted arcing.
GFCIs are known formally as ground fault circuit interrupters. These devices are responsible for preventing severe and even fatal electrical shocks. While GFCIs can certainly detect arcing faults to ground, they can’t detect across-the-line arcing. For this reason, most modern-day homes use both AFCI and GFCI combination breakers for optimal household safety.
Expert AFCI Installation Service
AJ Danboise Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical offers expert AFCI installation service to the Farmington Hills, MI community. In addition to being a top local electrician, we can also assist with all your plumbing, heating, and air conditioning needs. Simply give our office a call today to schedule your next service consultation with one of our skillful electricians.
