Arc-fault circuit interrupter: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:22, 16 November 2023

Revision as of 04:22, 16 November 2023

Line 13:

In the US, arc faults are said to be one of the leading causes for residential electrical fires.<ref>{{cite journal|title=New Technology for Preventing Residential Electrical Fires: Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs)|journal=Fire Technology|volume=36|issue=3|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|date=Aug 2000|pages=145–162|url=http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/108737/AFCIFireTechnology.pdf|doi=10.1023/A:1015410726786|first1=Douglas A.|last1=Lee|first2=Andrew M.|last2=Trotta|first3=William H.|last3=King|s2cid=108941129|issn=0015-2684|access-date=Feb 26, 2013}}</ref> Each year in the United States, over 40,000 fires are attributed to home electrical wiring. These fires result in over 350 deaths and over 1,400 injuries each year.<ref>Ault, Singh, and Smith, "1996 Residential Fire Loss Estimates", October 1998, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Directorate for Epidemiology and Health Sciences.</ref>

Conventional circuit breakers only respond only to [[overcurrent|overloads]] and [[short circuit]]s, so they do not protect against arcing conditions that produce erratic, and often reduced current. AFCIs are devices designed to protect against fires caused by arcing faults in the home electrical wiring. The AFCI circuitry continuously monitors the current and discriminates between normal and unwanted arcing conditions. Once detected, the AFCI opens its internal contacts, thus de-energizing the circuit and reducing the potential for a fire to occur.<ref>Source:"Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI)FACT SHEET" accessed from http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/afcifac8.PDF {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720124540/http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/afcifac8.pdf |date=2010-07-20 }}, July 22, 2010</ref>

==Operating principle==