AFCI Breakers in service upgrade in Massachusetts

[racerdave3]

Hi folks. I have 2 upcoming service upgrades and I have not done one in a couple of years. My question involves the installation of AFCI breakers. I know in the past, when the AFCI requirements were less than now, back to the point of when it was just required for residential bedrooms, that a service upgrade was exempt from having to install them. So my question today is, with the latest requirements in AFCI standards where basically the entire house now needs to be AFCI protected, does this carry over into a service upgrade as well? I live in Massachusetts so we of course have adopted the 2014 NEC. Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mopowr steve]

Hi folks. I have 2 upcoming service upgrades and I have not done one in a couple of years. My question involves the installation of AFCI breakers. I know in the past, when the AFCI requirements were less than now, back to the point of when it was just required for residential bedrooms, that a service upgrade was exempt from having to install them. So my question today is, with the latest requirements in AFCI standards where basically the entire house now needs to be AFCI protected, does this carry over into a service upgrade as well? I live in Massachusetts so we of course have adopted the 2014 NEC. Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Still is not required unless you modify or extend the branch circuit by more than 6'

 

[al hildenbrand]

Read 2014 NEC 210.12(B) Exception

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Hi folks. I have 2 upcoming service upgrades and I have not done one in a couple of years. My question involves the installation of AFCI breakers. I know in the past, when the AFCI requirements were less than now, back to the point of when it was just required for residential bedrooms, that a service upgrade was exempt from having to install them. So my question today is, with the latest requirements in AFCI standards where basically the entire house now needs to be AFCI protected, does this carry over into a service upgrade as well? I live in Massachusetts so we of course have adopted the 2014 NEC. Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If you don't have an amendment- I don't think you do- then it is not required unless you extend the circuit more than 6' and it does not include any additional outlets or devices. Al's article says basically what I stated

 

[Little Bill]

Since the OP is from Mass., Iwire has posted their amendment on things like this. I think "rule 3" or something like that. Whatever the number, AFCI not required on service upgrades. I don't know of anywhere that requires it unless you're adding a circuit or extending a circuit to the point of adding receptacles.

 

[racerdave3]

Thanks everyone for your replies. That is pretty much what I was thinking but wanted to be 100% sure before giving a price then finding out I would be eating the difference with AFCI breakers. I think that they end up going this route because there are just too many variables when dealing with older existing circuits and the potential problems an AFCI breaker would encounter. On top of that, if the home is wired with a multi wire branch circuit that is sharing a neutral, there would be no way at all to provide AFCI protection to that circuit(s) via a breaker.

 

[al hildenbrand]

. . .if the home is wired with a multi wire branch circuit that is sharing a neutral, there would be no way at all to provide AFCI protection to that circuit(s) via a breaker.

Take a look at the GE single pole combination AFCI breakers. This GE PDF shows how to hook up a pair of single pole AFCIs to a multiwire branch circuit. GE introduced this version of their AFCI about three years ago, and, in my experience, it works. Note the field installed handle tie. Also, note the recommendation to examine the breaker to verify that it is a "MOD 3".

The single most important thing that allows the GE AFCI to do this is that its internal circuitry doesn't have a ground fault sensing component that, in other breakers, would trip if the neutral and load currents don't match. In the PDF diagram, above, you'll see that one of the AFCI breakers doesn't even have a load neutral connected to it.

 

[ritelec]

Take a look at the GE single pole combination AFCI breakers. This GE PDF shows how to hook up a pair of single pole AFCIs to a multiwire branch circuit. GE introduced this version of their AFCI about three years ago, and, in my experience, it works.

Thank you for sending this link, it's going to be good to run 3 wire circuits again.
And I can use these in sq.d, cutler, siemens panels right?

 

[Sierrasparky]

Thank you for sending this link, it's going to be good to run 3 wire circuits again.
And I can use these in sq.d, cutler, siemens panels right?

No, I do not think they are listed. Siemens and Murray make a 2 pole version however.