Leviton Arc-Fault tripping on LED lighting.

M

makesends

New User
Location
Oregon
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Electrical/Electronics Tech
In my last job, almost all the lighting the customer wanted is LED, so I ran most of the house lighting on two 15amp lighting circuits. They also wanted the Leviton breaker panel (which, otherwise, I do too). The problem is that though neither breaker is overloaded (RMS current), at some point both breakers trip according to the number of fixtures/ amount of load on Arc-Fault only. It usually happens on starting, for example, undercabinet lights. The inspector says I must have arc fault protection even on the lighting circuit over living areas, even though they have no receptacles involved.

My question is, would a choke/reactor on the line solve the problem, or is there some other suggestion you might have? I'm guessing the breaker is reading the accumulation of switching mode power supplies in the fixtures as arcing. These people also have two bedrooms they will be using as offices (therefore, Arc Fault breakers on the related receptacles. I'm dreading what those computers and servers will do.
 
First look at 210.12(A)
Then go to Art 100. 'outlet'.
That will explain your inspector's opinion. He is correct.

What do the analytics of your breakers indicate?
LED can have a very high startup current that you will not catch with a typical meter.
My suggestion would be more circuits.
 
Do the lighting circuits have dimmers? Sometimes they can contribute to AFCI tripping issues.

I came across a video where a blank face AFCI was used instead of an AFCI breaker because it was apparently less susceptible to tripping on certain loads:

 
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