afci in pre school?

[GlennG]

In a pre school are all recepticles required to be afci protected? I have 2 countertop circuits that are fed from AFCI breakers and have GFCI protection also. I know in a dwelling that those GFCI recepticles wouldnt need AFCI protection, but is that the same in a pre school? Are all recepticles required to have AFCI protection?

They are having trouble with breaker tripping when loads are applied, so if possible i would like to remove the AFCI breaker and replace with a regular breaker. It is the countertop in the breakroom kitchen.

Also the other interesting thing i noticed is that all teh recepticle circuits seem to be afci protected, however there is a mix of both combination type and regular afci breakers. Any reasoning associated with this mix?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

The only requirements I know for AFCI is in dwelling units. Now if they are tripping when a load is applied then it tells me something may be amiss on the circuit. Cutler hammer will be coming out with diagnostic afci breakers.

 

[K8MHZ]

I would never recommend replacing an AFCI with a regular breaker on the basis of it tripping, unless it was with another AFCI.

If the breaker trips with different or all loads due to a fault, that fault is likely to be a series fault and in the wiring. Most likely a bad connection, but many times it can be from a partially severed conductor in the wall somewhere. Finding such a fault is tricky, and sometimes dangerous as loading up the circuit for testing could cause a fire in the wall, but the possibility of a fault should not be ignored.

 

[sgunsel]

How big are the loads? Two or more major appliance on the same circuit could do it. Coffee pots (hopefully not for the kids), microwaves, toasters, and toaster ovens can all pull a few amps. I have two laser printers in my office, and turning them on at the same time will trip a 20 amp breaker, even though they normally co-exist with quite a few other loads.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I would agree that it's not required if it's actually a pre-school and not just a day care in someones house.

This could be a little like the bedroom/office argument.