AFCI for smoke detectors

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pscobb

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Southeast Florida
Palm Beach County requires smoke detectors to be protected by AFCI circuit breaker. Smoke detectors should not be required to be AFCI protected. Especially if they are Co/smoke combinatiions. If AFCI breaker fails and battery back-up also fails; where is your protection?????
 
Re: AFCI for smoke detectors

pscobb

Welcome to the forum.

The subject you bring up is a hotly debated one.

As it stands in the 2002 or 2005 NEC if a smoke or CO detector is located in a bedroom it must be AFCI protected.

I have heard some areas have amended that rule.

Personally I feel it is much worry about nothing.

If the breaker opens and the battery back up is dead you will have no protection.

That is two things that have to happen, do not forget that with or with out AC power low batteries cause a chirping that will cause the residents to either change the battery or disconnect the unit. We can not protect people from their own stupidity.
 
Re: AFCI for smoke detectors

The alarm will start a nuisance beep when the battery is low.

Edited to add:
Boy that Iwire is fast!

[ September 30, 2005, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: jwelectric ]
 
Re: AFCI for smoke detectors

Originally posted by jwelectric:
Edited to add:
Boy that Iwire is fast!
Click to expand...
Ryan beat me. :cool:

I think he was also ringing my phone today, I will have to get back to him. :cool:
 
Re: AFCI for smoke detectors

Originally posted by ryan_618:
I think he was also ringing my phone today, I will have to get back to him. :( LOL :( , I could not take a call then, I wanted to pass it through to voice mail and goofed up.

I am sorry. :eek:
Click to expand...
 
Re: AFCI for smoke detectors

You know that the conductors that feed the smokes are just as likely to arc fault as any other and if it does and it kicks off the breaker like its supposed to you (by theory) would not need the detector because the fault is no longer powered so as to not cause a fire!
Also I've heard that the NFPA is pushing for ALL circuits in residences to be arc fault protected. and that brings up the subject of panels not having enough room for these breakers.
You also forgot to mention that 90% of the time the batteries in the smokes go dead at about 2:00am :D
 
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