A review of existing NEC installation rules and a look at significant changes to the 2011 Code
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I found it very interesting that the NEC will require the AFCI protection in older homes that it will do very little if anything to protect the dwelling or the occupants. This leads to two questions:
1) What is the purpose?
2) Will the devices be required to be installed upon the sale of the dwelling or will insurance coverage be any good if the home is not sold but catches fire (both installed or not installed)?
When AFCIs were first introduced into the NEC, the substantiation for their inclusion was based largely on electrical fires in older homes. However, the Code began by protecting new and future wiring systems but didn’t address the older ones that contained many of the fires discussed in the AFCI arguments. The 2011 NEC expands the AFCI requirements to older homes. Because older homes often don’t contain an EGC, installation of an AFCI circuit breaker does little in the way of protecting the branch circuits. The receptacle-type AFCIs also provide a significantly lower level of protection, but they will be required nonetheless.
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