winnie
Senior Member
- Location
- Springfield, MA, USA
- Occupation
- Electric motor research
You make a good point, and I would not want to end up mandating low prices.
I was suggesting that the code requirement be predicated on the safety equipment being available at a reasonable price.
Say, for example, that you come up with a next generation AFCI that is not only reliable, but will detect faults, identify their location, and call the electrician and report the unsafe condition.
Instead of mandating this technology as soon as it works, the code would say 'this new fancy donkey breaker will be mandated as soon as it is available in distribution at a price less then X'. If manufacturers can't get the price down, then it isn't mandated to use the thing. If one manufacturer can sell it for <X but the others all have to sell it at 1.5X, then it would still be mandated (because it is available for an acceptable price) but customers could still chose the more expensive version if the quality is worth it to them.
Today you can buy standard 5-15R receptacles for $0.49 or $15. The availability of cheap versions doesn't eliminate the higher quality expensive version.
-Jon
I was suggesting that the code requirement be predicated on the safety equipment being available at a reasonable price.
Say, for example, that you come up with a next generation AFCI that is not only reliable, but will detect faults, identify their location, and call the electrician and report the unsafe condition.
Instead of mandating this technology as soon as it works, the code would say 'this new fancy donkey breaker will be mandated as soon as it is available in distribution at a price less then X'. If manufacturers can't get the price down, then it isn't mandated to use the thing. If one manufacturer can sell it for <X but the others all have to sell it at 1.5X, then it would still be mandated (because it is available for an acceptable price) but customers could still chose the more expensive version if the quality is worth it to them.
Today you can buy standard 5-15R receptacles for $0.49 or $15. The availability of cheap versions doesn't eliminate the higher quality expensive version.
-Jon
