Backed-up loads panels

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JoeNorm

Senior Member
Location
WA
We have been doing a number of battery backup systems in conjunction with the PV System.

Usually this involves installing a new panel and moving circuits into a "backed up loads panel"

My question is about updating breakers in this case. Should we be updating everything that needs Arc-fault this time?

Panel is often right next to main panel and the circuit does not change, just gets moved to new panel.

It seems like the right thing to do is update them, but this can be an extra $1000 in breakers easy.

Any thoughts on this?

thanks
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
My approach is to leave it on an AFCI only if it was already on one, unless the AHJ makes me do otherwise.

A lot of other people in my area are not installing AFCIs. If you read some threads on this site about AFCIs you might understand why.
 

JoeNorm

Senior Member
Location
WA
My approach is to leave it on an AFCI only if it was already on one, unless the AHJ makes me do otherwise.

A lot of other people in my area are not installing AFCIs. If you read some threads on this site about AFCIs you might understand why.


AFCI's in general or just in this situation?

How can you get around them? Code basically requires them everywhere, am I missing something?
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
AFCI's in general or just in this situation?

How can you get around them? Code basically requires them everywhere, am I missing something?

I think that under some interpretations you are not modifying or extending the circuit by replacing the panel at the source end or by relocating to a new, adjacent panel. At any rate, a lot of AHJs around here don't enforce those requirements or enforce them loosely, at least for modifications to existing buildings. Make of that what you will. I haven't done a ton of these yet but so far I've not been asked for AFCIs.
 
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