Arch Faults

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What is the voltage and amperage of the circuit supplying the unit?

210.12 Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection.
(A) Dwelling Units. All 120-volt, single phase, 15- and
20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets installed in
dwelling unit family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms,
parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation
rooms, closets, hallways, or similar rooms or areas shall
be protected by a listed arc-fault circuit interrupter,
combination-type, installed to provide protection of the
branch circuit.
 
120v 20 amps...read the section but wondered if there was a "fixed equipment" type of exception but I don't see one.
 
Is this the "arch" you're talking about?
Sorry, just couldn't help myself:)

laketime said:
Do Cadet heaters installed in wall in a bedroom of a new house need to be on arch faults?
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laketime said:
sounds like I need them! but if i fed them
from 240v i wouldn't?
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You are correct Sir. Fortunately for us VA does not not enforce 210.12 from the 2008 NEC, only 2005 NEC. At least that's what I've been told from the jurisdictions we work in.
 
So what do you do when you are doing replacements under the 2012 or whatever the new code is.
 
Sierrasparky said:
So what do you do when you are doing replacements under the 2012 or whatever the new code is.
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Supposedly by 2014 there will be AFCI recep. Right now we don't add afci if we are just replacing devices. 2011 NEC states where the branch circuit wiring is extended, modified or replaced then the circuit must be afci protect. IMO, that does not mean afci is needed to replace a device. Now there are no 2 wire TR type receptacles so know the gfci or gfci with 3 prong recep. downstream is the only way to replace 2 wire devices.
 
Code specifies "outlets". Outlet is sometimes an ambiguous term. Our jurisdiction terms lights as outlets, haven't had the debate on fixed in place equipment. Probably required. I'll ask the question next time I have a consult with a local inspector.
 
jmellc said:
Code specifies "outlets". Outlet is sometimes an ambiguous term. Our jurisdiction terms lights as outlets, haven't had the debate on fixed in place equipment. Probably required. I'll ask the question next time I have a consult with a local inspector.
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Considering the fixed in place Cadet Baseboard heater, from the OP, the "outlet" is splice in the wiring compartment on one end, or the other, of the heater.

The wirenut connection of the branch circuit conductor to the heater's internal conductor is the "outlet". (Remember, the Article 100 Definition says: "A point on the wiring system . . . ") Saying it another way: The Cadet equipment conductors connect to the building branch circuit conductors at the Outlet.

If the heater is supplied by a 120 volt 15 or 20 amp branch circuit, and the heater is in the areas described in 210.12, then 210.12 applies to it and an AFCI OCPD must be installed.
 
al hildenbrand said:
Considering the fixed in place Cadet Baseboard heater, from the OP, the "outlet" is splice in the wiring compartment on one end, or the other, of the heater.

The wirenut connection of the branch circuit conductor to the heater's internal conductor is the "outlet". (Remember, the Article 100 Definition says: "A point on the wiring system . . . ") Saying it another way: The Cadet equipment conductors connect to the building branch circuit conductors at the Outlet.

If the heater is supplied by a 120 volt 15 or 20 amp branch circuit, and the heater is in the areas described in 210.12, then 210.12 applies to it and an AFCI OCPD must be installed.
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Then why does 210.12 use the term. 120-volt? Why not say any outlet regardless of the voltage?
 
kiddrock said:
Then why does 210.12 use the term. 120-volt? Why not say any outlet regardless of the voltage?
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Give them (the Code Making Panels, and the writers of Proposals) a few more code cycles and we'll probably go there. Initially, the new-fangled AFCI, that was slow to get to market, had a very limited area that it had to protect. The area of AFCI protection has been steadily expanding since 1999. First it was only "receptacle outlets" which are defined in Article 100. Then it was changed to "outlets", the general term, to include "lighting outlets", smoke detectors, etc.

If you think about it, a smoke detector is a piece of "utilization equipment" that is not mounted on a "lighting outlet", nor at a "receptacle outlet". A smoke detector is something with wire pigtails that is wirenutted to the branch circuit wiring at a junction box.

Change the junction box to a baseboard heater wiring compartment, and you have that same thing (in terms of the outlet}.
 
Maybe we place too much emphasis on vocabulary, but there it is.

An "outlet" is any place that uses electricity / supplies electricity to an appliance. Thus, all receptacles are outlets, but not all outlets are receptacles. A light is an outlet; a switch is not.

Likewise, there is no voltage limit on outlets. A steel mill might have a 14KV "outlet" that's also known as a blast furnace. The NEC often restricts its' requirements based upon voltage or amperage. Thus, your hot tub, water heater, and range need not be AFCI'd. I'm about to install a small 'point of use' water heater; at 20 amps of 240, that circuit need not be AFCI'd.
 
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