Is there any discussion on what different AFCI breaker "Generations" actually mean

[rszimm]

I just bought a new set of Eaton AFCI breakers and noticed that the side has a sticker that says "Gen 6.0 S". The old ones up till now were all Gen 5.3. I still have some Gen 5.1 breakers in my truck. Does Eaton publish anything like "release notes" on what the different generations actually mean?

 

[retirede]

Not that I’ve been able to find. They probably can’t have release notes without revealing the secrets in their “snake oil.”

Eaton have referred to their AFCI breakers as “Next Generation” since at least 2013, for what that’s worth.

The primary noticeable changes have been related to diagnostics - making it easier to tell the nature of the trip.

 

[ppsh]

I believe the gen 5.3 ones were the first to have the diagnostic LED and removed the 30ma or 45ma GFCI from the afci only units.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

A lot of the releases are to correct nuisance tripping issues with various appliances. ...that is modifying the breaker firmware to know what the normal arc signature of the various appliances are and not treating those as an arcing fault.