AFCI needed?

[Trouyano]

Hello, installing new circuit in basement.
Basement is semi finished ( tile floor,drywall ceiling only)
Is this living space?
Added light circuit , and utility room receptacles circuit.
Do these circuits need to be afci?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

IMO, no afci is required however you never know what the ahj is thinking. I probably would install one if I thought the place would be finished at some point.

 

[Ponchik]

IMO, no afci is required however you never know what the ahj is thinking. I probably would install one if I thought the place would be finished at some point.

Agree.

But it is only $50 more on the installation. Might as well put one in to satisfy the AHJ (just in case they require it) and also to satisfy the future conversion. On a second thought your installation sounds finished to me.

 

[al hildenbrand]

Basement is semi finished ( tile floor,drywall ceiling only). Is this living space?
Added light circuit , and utility room receptacles circuit.

If this kind of "area" gets AFCI, then be prepared to place receptacles about its perimeter in compliance with 210.52(A)(1).

To me, it sounds like unfinished space, if the basement exterior walls are undressed concrete block. With the addition of the "utility room" circuit, IMO, the whole basement becomes a "utility room".

 

[Ponchik]

what is the meaning of finished anyway?

I know homes that have concrete block walls, sheetrock walls, walls finished with plywood.

I guess finished is what AHJ interprets it to be?

 

[Gac66610]

If this kind of "area" gets AFCI, then be prepared to place receptacles about its perimeter in compliance with 210.52(A)(1).

To me, it sounds like unfinished space, if the basement exterior walls are undressed concrete block. With the addition of the "utility room" circuit, IMO, the whole basement becomes a "utility room".

i agree, but disagree on the unfinished room

around here, if the floor is finished then its a finished room
what type of room, utility or living space is the question

 

[jaylectricity]

Nice floor under you, nice ceiling over you. Living space.

 

[jaylectricity]

I'm doing a kitchen remodel right now. It's awesome how all the new circuits pass through a finished basement full of kids and none of the wires need to be protected by an AFCI.

 

[al hildenbrand]

Nice floor under you, nice ceiling over you. Living space.

The Kitchen and the Bath have a nice floor and a nice ceiling, BUT, they are not living space.

If there is nothing, as the OP states, that is wired for in the basement except for Utility, then it is not a space defined in 210.12's cookbook list.

I think "finished", with the several meanings pointed at in this thread, is a red herring.

 

[al hildenbrand]

. . . the new circuits pass through a finished basement full of kids and none of the wires need to be protected by an AFCI.

Similarly, the kids play in the yard, and none of the outlets present "need" AFCI.

And the kids play at the garage, bouncing balls on the drive and throwing them at the garage, yet, again, there is no required AFCI.

 

[K8MHZ]

Unfinished means not intended as habitable and limited to storage areas, work areas and the like.

The NEC does not define habitable, but Webster defines it as, 'capable of being lived in'.

So, the matter of concrete walls and floors is not the issue.

 

[al hildenbrand]

Hello, installing new circuit in basement.
Basement is semi finished ( tile floor,drywall ceiling only)
Is this living space?
Added light circuit , and utility room receptacles circuit.
Do these circuits need to be afci?

Opinions aside . . . especially about "living" or "habitable" space . . . returning to the OP question, what NEC citation shows that the new circuits must get AFCI protection?

I don't see "light circuit" listed in 210.12, nor do I find "utility room".

IMO, AFCI not required.

However, if Trouyano will explain, is the existing area with the tile floor and drywall ceiling empty of other electrical outlets, or is it already wired as some kind of space like "family", "den" or "recreation" or similar rooms or areas? Trouyano's answer may change my opinion.

 

[jxofaltrds]

Hello, installing new circuit in basement.
Basement is semi finished ( tile floor,drywall ceiling only)
Is this living space?
Added light circuit , and utility room receptacles circuit.
Do these circuits need to be afci?

Do you think that 210.12(B) applies? If not do not install AFCIs. If so install them.
It all boils down to if the AHJ thinks that "or similar rooms or areas" applies.