Siemens Plug on Neutral AFCI

Dennis Alwon

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
I have never used them but I understand the load neutral gets connected to the panel neutral and the plug in breaker gets the neutral connection from a small neutral bar when the breaker is snapped in place.

Does anyone know how this can work being that the load neutral does not go thru the breaker. There is only one terminal on the breaker and that is for the load power conductor.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I have never used them but I understand the load neutral gets connected to the panel neutral and the plug in breaker gets the neutral connection from a small neutral bar when the breaker is snapped in place.

Does anyone know how this can work being that the load neutral does not go thru the breaker. There is only one terminal on the breaker and that is for the load power conductor.
Click to expand...
The first paragraph implies that Siemens is an AFCI type that doesn't use any GF sensing in its algorithm. So it doesn't need to see the neutral conductor. Very convenient for MWBCs, just use two single pole AFCIs with a handle-tie.

Square D, last I checked, does still require the load neutral conductor to land on the breaker, so its AFCI breakers have a load neutral terminal, whether they are plug-on or pigtail type. MWBCs are only possible if they make a double pole AFCI breaker.

Cheers, Wayne
 
I believe plug-on-neutral breakers do have load-neutral terminals, like GFCIs without pigtails.

The panels will also accept wire neutrals and regular breakers; the neutral busses have terminals.
 
LarryFine said:
I believe plug-on-neutral breakers do have load-neutral terminals, like GFCIs without pigtails.

The panels will also accept wire neutrals and regular breakers; the neutral busses have terminals.
Click to expand...
Siemens PoN AF breakers do not have load neutral terminals. Only the AF/GF breakers do.
 
Now the question is why doesn't the afci need a load neutral if it doesn't have a gfci in with the afci. The arc fault picks up on parallel arcs so how does it do that.
 
Seems like it’s monitors the sign wave on the phase conductor and the neutral just a reference point.
Any distortion would happen on the phase first.correct?
 
GE was the first to remove the ground fault sensing from their AFCIs. All of the original branch circuit/feeder type AFCIs had GFP because that was the only way they could pass all of the tests required by UL 1699. After the combination type AFCIs were required and came on to the market, a number of manufacturers found ways to pass all of the required tests without needing a ground fault sensor. GE was first, than I think one of the Eaton lines and then Siemens. Not sure if SquareD has done this or not.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
GE was the first to remove the ground fault sensing from their AFCIs. All of the original branch circuit/feeder type AFCIs had GFP because that was the only way they could pass all of the tests required by UL 1699. After the combination type AFCIs were required and came on to the market, a number of manufacturers found ways to pass all of the required tests without needing a ground fault sensor. GE was first, than I think one of the Eaton lines and then Siemens. Not sure if SquareD has done this or not.
Click to expand...

Well the Square D breakers still require a load neutral so it seems like they are still using the GFP. Maybe that's why the Square D breakers are so big compared to others

Rob G - Seattle
 
I installed some Siemens AFCI PON for the first time earlier this year. I had the neutral held together with the hot when I roughed in the panel. When I was doing the trim, I was looking for the neutral terminal on the breaker. I didn't know they had changed the breakers. After I figured it out, I like it.
I did find out that there was no GFP in them so that's why they don't need the neutral.
 
Little Bill said:
I installed some Siemens AFCI PON for the first time earlier this year. I had the neutral held together with the hot when I roughed in the panel. When I was doing the trim, I was looking for the neutral terminal on the breaker. I didn't know they had changed the breakers. After I figured it out, I like it.
I did find out that there was no GFP in them so that's why they don't need the neutral.
Click to expand...
Siemens also make dp afci that will work on a multiwire branch circuit . As Don stated ge was the first to remove the gfp and to wire the make a dp afci- well not exactly. Instead of a dp afci they used 2- sp afci breakers and use it on a multiwire branch circuit . One of the sp doesn't need a neutral on the load.

1723841287878.png
 
Dennis Alwon said:
The Siemens plug on neutral afci breaker has one terminal and that is for the load power
Click to expand...
I did a job over the last couple months where the new sub panel I installed had the neutral plug on. It was Siemens. It so used afci breakers that plugged on and had no load neutral going to the breaker. All load neutral afci went to the normal neutral bar.
 
LarryFine said:
I believe plug-on-neutral breakers do have load-neutral terminals, like GFCIs without pigtails.

The panels will also accept wire neutrals and regular breakers; the neutral busses have terminals.
Click to expand...
Siemens plug-on neutral breakers have one terminal. Everything is wired like a regular $4 breaker costing $45-50
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top