GFCI/AFCI energy consumption (phantom power)

[Flicker Index]

I noticed the face of GFCIs usually feel warm. AFCI "power consumption" per https://sandy.compas.siemens-info.c...ption-of-an-afcigfci-circuit-breaker_821.html as expressed here, with no reference to power factor is 12-15mA according to Siemens.

So I actually checked out the standby power of a current production Leviton GFCI and it was around a whole watt, not by mA but by true wattmeter.

Obviously it would use a considerable transient power when the solenoid is activated, but that's a lot of power sitting and doing nothing in the day and time when they're preaching about vampire power and every 15-20A circuits have to have a AFCI. Using 1W each, a house with 20 such devices (sum of all AFCI in panel plus GFCIs at receptacles), that's 175kWh/year. That would run 2/3rd of a fridge for a year.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Yep, all electronic devices are like that. The wall wart that you charge your phone with is wasting energy if it is left plugged in.... Transformers, computers, etc...

 

[romex jockey]

The original series were far warmer , and we were being told not to stack 'em......~RJ~

 

[Hv&Lv]

That’s a good argument against AFCI then. Shouldn’t cost like that if it isn’t doing anything

 

[hillbilly1]

The original series were far warmer , and we were being told not to stack 'em......~RJ~

We did an assisted living center when Arcfaults were first required, 42 circuit panels full of them. Almost too hot to touch the panel cover from the heat. Siemens paid us to replace them with a newer version.

 

[Flicker Index]

Yep, all electronic devices are like that. The wall wart that you charge your phone with is wasting energy if it is left plugged in.... Transformers, computers, etc...

Yep and you know what? wall warts and appliances have been the subject of regulatory crackdown. Older heavy core & coil wallwart consumes several watts with no load, but with modern AC adapters, I have to have a handful plugged in to even get a reliable reading on my wattmeter. I think that permanently installed supervision and control for a residential setting using 20 watts around the clock for the lifetime of the house is an abomination. A microwave that is older than the latest efficiency standards use more power keeping its clock and keypads lit up and ticking than it does actually microwaving food.

 

[Flicker Index]

I put two Leviton GFNT1 in parallel and together, they registered 2VA/2.0W at unity power factor.
Just for comparison, Eaton TR7755 USB outlet with built in 15.5W (5VDC 3.1A) power supply had phantom consumption below my ability to measure.
Hubbell specifies 50-100mW per USB outlet for their own version of USB outlet with the 3A version being 70mW. https://hubbellcdn.com/literature/WIRING_WLBTS008.pdf

Since I was unable to measure, going with each Leviton brand GFNT1 SmartlockPro GFCI receptacle consumes 131kWh per GFCI duplex in the assumed 15 year lifespan.

That means a single Leviton GFNT1 GFCI consumes as much as 14 Hubbell USB outlets, so relatively speaking GFCIs (or at least, the LEVITON GFCI is) are quite a power hog. I can't speak for other models, but I'm only naming things for which I have data available.

A difference compared to older version. The test button trips it remotely. That is, the button pushes a leakage current through and this triggers the solenoid which trips it. The test button trips it mechanically without activating the solenoid, but the reset button uses the solenoid to close the contacts. On the older version, the reset button mechanically reset the contacts without relying on the solenoid. Is this just Leviton or all GFCI? When did this change come about?

 

[synchro]

... A difference compared to older version. The test button trips it remotely. That is, the button pushes a leakage current through and this triggers the solenoid which trips it. The test button trips it mechanically without activating the solenoid, but the reset button uses the solenoid to close the contacts. On the older version, the reset button mechanically reset the contacts without relying on the solenoid. Is this just Leviton or all GFCI? When did this change come about?

Leviton filed several patent applications for this type of GFCI beginning on 8/24/1998. And so they couldn't have offered it for sale before this or the patents would have been invalidated.
I made the following post about this type of GFCI. The thread includes some additional discussion about it:

Equipment Ground on a GFCI

The issue with using something like a solenoid tester or the like is that it may verify the GFCI is basically functioning, but it does not confirm it has adequate sensitivity to ground fault leakage. For a lark I measured a resistance of 14.6kΩ from the line out hot to line in neutral on a Pass...

forums.mikeholt.com

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Wait until we start loading 80 circuit panels with these. Although I'm not sure if Siemens offers a 40/80 space panel.

 

[Flicker Index]

Maybe one day ,they'll build one with a fan in it like data cabinets.