mdshunk said:
It is NOT because of the product. 99.99% of the time it will be an installation issue. The tripping AFCI is only the indicator of an issue, not the cause.
With the old AFCI's that was the case but the new combo AFCI's there is a little more to worry about.
The earlier AFCI only offered parallel arc fault protection ( should be easy enough to find with a megger ). If you do have a parallel arc it should still be easy to find.
New Combo AFCI's also offer series arc fault protection. The unintended flow of electricity over a gap within a single conductor. ( megger won't get you very far on that one).
What is an unintended gap? Anything from a loose wire nut to a loose receptacle to a lamp not seated properly. There are probably millions of these out there that no one is aware of because the technology didn't exist ( for the homeowner or average electrician ) to detect them. This gap may not even show up as a significant voltage drop. How many light sockets have you seen with slight arcing at the base? NO more of that, it's going to trip a breaker. Any old appliances or lamps owned by customers is going to be a real bastard to deal with ( when you get there they will be in a closet out of sight ).
I think these are going to be a little harder to find than the older problems. What will have to happen is all splices will need to be checked really close ( one even half loose wire nut will cause great problems ). Every fixture will have to be closely inspected to make sure it didn't come from the factory with defects in wiring.
Looking in my crystal ball I see the practice of back stabbing comming to an end. A loose back stab would show up as a series arc. Who knows soldering may make a come back before it's over. :grin: :grin:
I do agree with Scott's earlier prediction, we will make some money out of this but not by wiring houses ( that will be a loser ). Finding these problems is going to be where the money will be made.