Home Improvement Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [afci]

Arc-fault circuit interrupter are safety switches, similar to GFCI, that are used to detect electrical arcing and shutoff power to prevent the risk of fire.

AFCI may be installed as a breaker within the breaker panel or as an outlet. Many electrical codes now require an AFCI circuit breaker to protect outlets in bedrooms.

See also

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Where should I NOT use a GFCI or AFCI?

There is a lot of information out there about the benefits of GFCI and AFCI and the places where they must or should be used. But are there any circumstances where you're better off without them? If I won a free box of dual-function GFCI/AFCI…
dlf
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Bosch Drawer Microwave causes ARC Faults

I have a brand new Bosch Microwave (model: hmd8451uc) installed as the only device on the entire circuit. Anytime I use the Microwave on this circuit, it triggers the breaker's ARC Fault. Breaker (Murray MP-GAT2 20AMP). I bought one of these guys…
Arian F
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Loss of power when I remove item from the outlet

I have this unusual electrical issue in our master bedroom. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. We have this $3 LED night light in our bedroom and when we take it out, the power/lights go out. Other things also trip it up (It…
Vipul Mistry
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Square D Homeline AFCI breakers trip for all appliances

I'm trying to install AFCI breakers on my kitchen SABCs (2x 20A circuits), in my Square D Homeline panel. Unfortunately, the breakers trip whenever I try to do anything useful on those circuits. I've spent hours going over all the wiring inside the…
peter
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What could be causing AFCI breaker and GFCI receptacle nuisance tripping?

I have a very unusual set of electrical issues that have proven difficult to troubleshoot. I live in a newly constructed house. Each bedroom has AFCI breakers. In the past 3 years living there, the AFCI breaker to my bedroom has tripped about a…
Omar Shahine
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Is it worth it to replace old style breakers with GFCI or AFCI breakers?

I have older wiring on my house (2-wire) BX. And while it's all in good condition, and I do check the outlets monthly to make certain it's still grounded, I'm wary of the BX sheathing as the ground. Is it worth it to replace the breakers with GFCI…
Spencer K
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Should I use a GFCI or AFCI circuit breaker with knob and tube wiring?

My American house was built in 1942, and much of the wiring is still knob-and-tube wiring (2-wire, no ground). Over the years new modern wiring has been added to the house, but we still have some KnT wiring for the ceiling lights, and a few branch…
Stefan Lasiewski
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What is an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter?

What is an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) and where should they be used?
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Can I put an AFCI receptacle on a branch circuit that shares a neutral with another branch circuit?

So, I have a Square D QO panel that had one of the original AFCI breakers go bad, and in the process of researching how to fix that, I learned a bit about this whole AFCI thing and how newer code requires it in virtually all living areas. After…
Kumba
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What should I do if my vacuum trips my AFCI device?

I have a vacuum that trips the AFCI device of the circuit that services my bedroom. The vacuum has some age on it, and there is some wear on the motor's commutator. This wear causes electrical arcing which, to the AFCI device, looks to be…
Edwin
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Why does my microwave trip my AFCI only when it's mostly empty?

I live in a recently redone home and I'm having a very odd electrical issue. My microwave is intermittently tripping a combination arc fault breaker only when it is mostly empty, e.g. one slice of pizza. When the microwave is fuller, it works…
Francis
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Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter vs AFCI

What is the key difference between a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter and an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter? The Acronyms AFCI/GFCI kind of tell us that they do, detect ground faults and arc faults, But I only have GFCI's on 5 different outlets…
hello moto
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AFCI breakers/protection and refrigerators - a bad idea?

The 2014 NEC requires AFCI protection for refrigerators. I've read that one shouldn't use GFCI protection for a refrigerator, but I know that AFCI breakers do include ground-fault protection (at a 30mA threshold, as opposed the 6mA threshold for…
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What should I do if the AFCI breaker neutral pigtail is too short?

I am wiring a house that I built, and code says I need an AFCI for the bedroom circuit. The panel that I will be installing this AFCI breaker in is a subpanel, so my ground/neutrals are on 2 separate buses on opposite sides of the breaker panel.…
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Do AFCI and GFCI protect against cheap equipment and bad wiring?

Generally I only buy electrical fixtures (lights, fans, etc.) from a reputable seller out of concern for fire risks, but if AFCI breakers and GFCI receptacles are installed, would that eliminate any potential for fires / dangerous issues if there…
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