Studio apartments & AFCI

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rcarroll

rcarroll

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Fort Collins, Colorado
I got a call from an EC. He is going to be wiring studio apts. There is no separate bedroom in these. Just 1 big room with a bed, kitchen, couple of closets, separate bathroom. Would all outlets need AFCI protection except the required GFCI circuits. IMO I say they do. What does the great & powerful OZ have to say? Thanks
 
Re: Studio apartments & AFCI

HI EVERYONE_

I think your on to something. There is no definition for bedroom in NEC. Just dwelling units, and if you put a bed in it "I think"
it's a bedroom. Yes to arc fault. But just my opinion. You may to look in UBC.
 
Re: Studio apartments & AFCI

This is where the AHJ gets to earn all those ?big bucks.?

The real problem here is that the room might have more than one area that could contain the bed. There is no way to establish, during initial construction, which areas would need the AFCI and which would not. I agree with you.
 
Re: Studio apartments & AFCI

What does the great & powerful OZ have to say?
Click to expand...
LOL! The collective voices of this forum + smoke + mirrors + thunder + flashing lights = OZ :D

IMO, the only way to know how 210.12 will be applied in a studio unit will be from the AHJ for the area the unit is in.

Personally, I submit three thoughts. </font>
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Nothing prevents the use of a Class A GFCI receptacle on an AFCI protected circuit.</font>
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Since the kitchen is in this dwelling unit, then the food is eaten in the unit in an area that requires a 20A circuit for the general use receptacles. So. . .simply. . .the "bedroom" is also a "dining room" and therefore one must install a 20A AFCI.</font>
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Based on historical installations. . .I have observed in small dwelling units where dining and living rooms share the same physical four walls, that a receptacle at the little dining area, typically with a light over a floor space where the occupant can place a table, will be tagged off a 20A small appliance circuit. The rest of the outlets on the four walls of the living / dining room will be on a 15A circuit. To me, this is a common sense approach that will have a parallel with the question of this thread.</font>
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">
That is, subject to acceptance by the local AHJ, within the four physical walls of the studio, the AHJ may recognize a kitchen, dining area, living area and sleeping area.

IMO, the more recognizable the areas are within the four walls, the easier it will be for the AHJ to allow the AFCI to cover just the sleeping area. Conversely, if the studio is designed to allow the occupant to arrange the dining, living & sleeping areas at her/his whim, then the overlapping of requirements will be enforced.
 
Re: Studio apartments & AFCI

You make my point.

If your Family Room is the only room outside of the Bath and Kitchen, then I think you just described a use of space that overlaps a couple sections of the NEC.
 
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