AFCIs and Dormitories

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muhandas

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Folks, I need some help with my thinking. Consider the 2005 NEC. AFCIs are required for bedrooms in dwellings. Certain multistory student housing facilities consist of apartments, each of which has a living room, bedroom(s) and toilet facilities but no cooking facilities. Therefore, by the NEC definition these are not dwellings. Therefore, if I read the Code correctly, these bedrooms need not be protected by AFCIs. Is this correct? If yes, why are these types of housing facilities assumed to be less susceptible to arc faults, do arc faults occur only in kitchens? Shouldn't the students' bedrooms be equally protected? What am I missing here?
(I know that the 2008 NEC broadens the AFCI use requirement, but then again maybe not, considering the resistance that that requirement is running into.)
Many thanks for your input.
Heinz R.
 
muhandas said:
. . . but no cooking facilities. . . these are not dwellings <correct> . . . these bedrooms need not be protected by AFCIs <correct> . . . why less susceptible to arc faults <they are not>, do arc faults occur only in kitchens <no>? Shouldn't the students' bedrooms be equally protected <no, not in my opinion>? What am I missing here?
Click to expand...
Check out my post here. :)
 
Thanks, guys. Read your post, Charlie. Most enlightening. I knew that there were what I thought were minor glitches with AFCIs. I see now that there is a lot more that needs to be fixed before AFCIs find more universal applications, and even more false alarms.
Heinz R.
 
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