Fan controls and AFCI

[Mike03a3]

I recently asked if anyone had encountered a problem using electronic fan controllers for ceiling mounted fans with AFCI breakers, since I have a breaker that trips anytime you try to use the fan.

The question was promptly deleted by the moderators since they deemed that I (an electrical engineer) was seeking inappropriate DIY help.

I wasn't, and am not, seeking DIY installation advice.

In any event, I thought the people on the board might be interested in the reply I received from the manufacturer of the fan control.

Mike,
It seems that you are not the first to have these troubles with the AFCI breakers. Originally the NEC code simply called for receptacles to be on AFCI breakers and this did not affect the fan controls. Now however all bedroom circuits require AFCI breakers including those with fans and fan controls. This affects all 3 speed fan controls, not just ours. In fact the AFCI breaker manufacturers have until 2007 to develop breakers that are not tripped by fan controls. Unfortunately this does not help you or us for today's applications but there is hope for the future. So in the mean time hopefully you can get buy with a toggle switch. Although there have been some reports of simply pulling the fan chain causing the breaker to trip as well. One suggestion that the engineer made was to try another AFCI breaker. One from another manufacturer or maybe even a different one from the same manufacturer may trip less or not at all. I know that they are not cheap but maybe it's worth it, maybe not. Sorry I don't have a better answer for you but I hope at least I helped you to understand the issues a little better.
Thanks
****
Tech Support

Mike

 

[charlie b]

Re: Fan controls and AFCI

Originally posted by Mike03a3:The question was promptly deleted by the moderators since they deemed that I (an electrical engineer) was seeking inappropriate DIY help.

I wasn't, and am not, seeking DIY installation advice.

Just so we all get the whole story, the original post included the following statements:

Originally posted by Mike03a3: As part of a residential remodel I rewired a bedroom by removing all the existing (ancient) wiring and replacing it.

and

Originally posted by Mike03a3:To accomodate (sic) the office equipment I pulled a new 20 amp run from a CH120AF AFCI to the room.

The Moderators are going to interpret those statements as having been made by a person doing electrical installation work in his or her own home. If that person's profile does not state that he or she is an electrician, then the Forum rules prohibit us from giving any "how-to" information. I interpret "DIY" to mean both "Do It Yourself" and "(already) Did It Yourself."

The rules also state that posts of this nature will be removed without notice. As a courtesy, most of the Moderators will send a Private Message (PM) to the Original Poster (OP), informing that person of the action that we have taken. The PM will generally offer the OP an opportunity to tell us if we have misinterpreted the situation. On more than one occasion, I have returned a thread to the active area, and have posted an apology to the OP for the delay and the inconvenience.

If the OP does not have the PM feature enabled, however, then we cannot do the courtesy of informing him or her why the thread was deleted or what must be done before we can return it to the active area. That was the case for this thread. The original thread is located in the "Relocation Forum," and is therefore only accessible to the Moderators. As I have no reason to do otherwise, I will leave it there.

Now that that has been clarified, I wish to thank Mike03a3 for giving us the update.

Since this thread does not appear to be asking for advice on how to deal with the problem, I will leave it open.

Charles E. Beck, P.E.
Forum Moderator