AFCIs and GFCIs

Arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) have been on the market since about the year 2000. They differ from ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which were introduced into the NEC in the 1960s. Where GFCIs are designed to protect people from shock if parts of an electric appliance or tool become energized due to a ground fault, AFCIs are designed to protect branch circuit wiring from arcing faults.

NAHB offers resources through a series of code adoption kits to help builders and state and local HBAs to help with evaluation of the new electrical provisions as their jurisdictions move forward with the code adoption process. These resources include a list of significant changes from the previous code version, estimates of added construction costs, a list of suggested amendments, and more.

AFCIs

The electrical problems AFCIs are designed to prevent occur overwhelmingly in older dwellings built to outdated codes. Since the 1990s, numerous changes have been made in both the NEC and product safety standards which mitigate against similar fires in newer homes—even as they age. For that reason, NAHB and other housing affordability advocates see their inclusion as an unnecessary expense.

The NEC first included AFCIs in the 1999 edition. Subsequent editions added locations which were required to be covered.

• 1999 NEC: AFCIs required on branch circuits serving dwelling unit bedrooms. The NEC provided an effective date of January 1, 2002.
• 2008 NEC: AFCI coverage expanded to family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways and similar rooms or areas.
• 2014 NEC: Kitchens and laundry areas to the list of required areas.

The list has remained unchanged in the 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2026 editions of the NEC.

A clear improvement in safety was evident during the early adoption of GFCIs. The same is not true for AFCIs. The current fire data coming from NFPA shows there is no empirical, real-world data supporting the expansion of AFCI requirements. Quite the opposite is true. After the installation of tens of millions of AFCI devices, no noticeable effect on fire data can be found. As millions of AFCI devices were being installed, home fires involving electrical distribution and lighting equipment experienced a dramatic increase between 2010 and 2014—the numbers of fires nearly doubled from 19,900 to 37,900 in that period.

GFCIs

Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) have been an unmitigated success, contributing significantly to reducing deaths due to electrical shock. In just 25 years after GFCIs were introduced, accidental electrocutions in the United States were cut by more than half, even though electricity use more than doubled. There is a clear relationship between the reduction in electrocutions and the increased use of GFCIs over the last 45 years. However, this success has relied on requiring the devices in locations where dangers exist which they can protect against.

GFCIs are shown to be effective where a corded product is plugged into a standard “convenience” receptacle in a wet or damp location. However, in recent code cycles, GFCI requirements have expanded to include areas beyond where a handheld electric device would come near a sink, bathtub or other source of water. These expanded locations include 240-volt appliances, all areas of kitchens and basements regardless of any source of water and outdoor outlets for air conditioning condenser units and heat pumps.