Crown Home Inspections Blog

AFCI stands for Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter. More on those in a minute.

You’re probably familiar with GFI (or GFCI) outlets. They’re the ones that have the little buttons in the middle of an outlet that say “Test” and “Reset”. These outlets protect you from grounding problems with the wiring in your house. Since the mid-1980’s, these outlets have become increasingly popular – and required – in our homes. Outlets that are located within 3 feet of a water source (such as a sink or faucet) are now required to be GFCI-type outlets. They’re also required for outlets in kitchens, bathrooms, unfinished basements/crawlspaces, garages and on the exterior of our homes. If you have a pool, they’re required around the pool as well.

Since 2003, the International Residential Code has begun requiring AFCI breakers in new homes. These breakers are required the circuits that run through the bedrooms. Rather than having a test/reset button the outlet, the test button is on the breaker itself, so you’ll need to go the main electrical panel to see if you have them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that approximately 40,000 occur in homes annually due to home electrical wiring. From those, approximately 350 deaths and 1400 injuries occur. Arcing faults are one of the major causes of these fires.

Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters protect against arcing faults from damaged wiring and cords. Common causes of damaged wiring include poorly installed outlets and switches, furniture pushed up against plugs in an outlet, cords caught in doors or under furniture, animals chewing on wires, nails driven in walls when hanging pictures, etc. The list goes on.

Beginning with the 2011 version of the International Residential code, new homes will be required to have these types of breakers for every circuit in the home.

Of note – many of the early AFCI breakers have been recalled because they didn’t work as intended. The recalled breakers can easily be identified by the blue buttons. Newer AFCI breakers now have green labels and yellow buttons. If you see a blue button on an AFCI breaker, call an electrician – it needs to be replaced.

Recalled AFCI Breaker

Crown Home Inspections offers Home Inspections across the greater Kansas City area. Other services offered include termite inspections, radon measurements, infrared surveys and more. Visit www.crownhomeinspections.com or call us at 866-427-6962 for more information.