Originally posted by paul:
Originally posted by jeff43222:
Originally posted by paul:
Code says any new outlets in a bedroom must be AFCI-protected
Where?
NEC 210.12(B), 2002 and 2005 editions.
I don't see the word any in 210.12(B). I see the word all. It also doesn't say outlets must be AFCI. It says all branch circuits supplying outlets.
I'm not sure "any" vs "all" makes a difference in meaning. Both usages result in the same thing. And any (all) outlets that are AFCI-protected will necessarily get such protection from a circuit breaker that protects the entire circuit, so the result is also the same. Hair splitting over word usage is all well and good, but not if it doesn't make any difference.
Now you've got a Square D panel and a multi-wire homerun. 90.4 3rd paragraph:
This Code may require new products, constructions, or materials that may not yet be available at the time the CODE is adopted. (Sq D 2-pole arc fault breakers). In such an event, the AHJ may permit the use of products, constructions, or materials that comply with the most recent previous edition of this Code adopted by the jurisdiction.
I think the key word is "require." I have yet to see anything in the code that mandates using a Sq.D two-pole arc-fault breaker. My reading of 90.4 makes me think that an AHJ waiver can be obtained only if it's
impossible to meet code, not just very inconvenient. In this case, if there were no arc-fault breakers available on the market, a waiver would be feasible.
So, as in the first part of 90.4, call the inspector and ask for a waiver on the AFCI. We're talking about a common sense here. No inspector is going to make you tear apart sheetrock in order to run one HR for a ceiling fan. Especially when 99.9% of the houses out there DO NOT have AFCI protection in the bedrooms.
No way would they give a waiver for something like this. Yes, I have an existing multiwire circuit in a panel far away from the new outlet. Yes, a standard AFCI breaker won't work on the circuit. Yes, Sq.D doesn't make a two-pole breaker. Does that mean it's impossible to meet the code? Nope. It's just a hassle.
Al suggested installing a small subpanel for the multiwire circuit next to the main panel and using a two-pole breaker from a manufacturer that makes them. Yeah, it's a pain to have to go to all this trouble for a ceiling fan, and yeah, it costs more money, but it sounds to me like a solution that would make this installation code-compliant. Ergo, no waiver would be granted.
And Al's right about inspectors requiring drywall to be ripped open. He and I work in the same area, and he is well versed in how the inspectors around here do things.
