You should question your local building authority for the latest, complete requirements. Now they seem to be required nearly everywhere. They were initially only required around pool areas in the ’70s. The list of areas requiring GFCI protection has increased with every code revision. Local building authorities may have additional requirements. The National Electric Code specifies many such areas in residential dwelling units, such as, but not limited to: Bathrooms Garages and accessory buildings All exterior receptacles Crawl spaces Unfinished basements Kitchens Laundry, Utility, Wet Bar Sink Areas and Boathouses. GFCI protection should be provided anywhere there is a receptacle installed in an area subject to moisture, as the presence of moisture greatly increases the danger of accidental shock. There are two types of GFCI: one for personnel (the one you commonly hear about extremely sensitive) and one that is less sensitive… and that there is also something called an AFCI breaker, which opens the circuit if arcs caused by loose connections are detected. To protect us in this situation, the device very quickly cuts off the power supply to the leaking device, within 20-30 milliseconds, greatly reducing any possible human tissue damage from errant current. If there’s the slightest difference in current, on the order of a few milliamps, then there is current leaking out somewhere, possibly through somebody’s body. It works by comparing the input current on the hot side to the output current on the neutral side. This means that the protection is in fact, working.A GFI, or GFCI – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter device protects us from receiving electric shocks from faults in the electrical devices we use in our home. The red button next to it should pop out. One final step: push the small black button right here. Restore power at the circuit breaker or fuse box and then check with the night light to make sure that the circuit is working. Read the instructions thoroughly so you'll be sure and put the wires on the correct terminals, then attach the ground wire.įinally, fold the wires and gently push the GFCI back into the electrical box. Insert the stripped ends of the wires in the back of the GFCI receptacle and tighten the terminal screw. We'll also need to remove about one half inch of the wire covering using these wire strippers. The GFCI that we're installing requires straight ends on the wires. That's the one that usually looks like bare copper. Remove first the black wire from its terminal and then the white from its.įinally, detach the ground wire. Gently pull the receptacle out of the wall. Then remove the two screws, one top and one bottom that hold the receptacle in place. It shouldn't come on.įirst, take off the cover plate. Now a good way to check to be sure that there is no power here is to plug in a working night light. A water source near an electrical source can result in a deadly shock but there is a way to prevent that kind of accident by replacing these conventional receptacles with this, a ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI receptacle.įirst, make sure you turn off the power at the circuit breaker or fuse box.
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