PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new provision in the national electrical code is causing some nuisance and financial issues for homeowners.
New homes, renovations and additions are now required to use new electrical outlets using arc-fault circuit interrupters, or AFCIs.
An AFCI breaks the circuit when it detects an electric arc in the circuit it's attached to. It distinguishes between a harmless arc, such as the normal operation of switches and plugs, and a potentially dangerous arc, which can occur in a lamp cord with a broken conductor, for example.
"It's a safety device, it prevents fires," says Mark Lynch, safety coordinator for IBEW local 98, "and in the long run it's a good thing."
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Note Lynch's use of the phrase "in the long run."
Right now, very often, the arc-fault technology activates when people plug in older appliances.
"With the older vaccums, dryers, things like that, they have brushes that are inside for the motors. And when the device is turned on, the brush creates an arc, which is like a little flash. The new breakers see that flash and it automatically trips the breaker," he said.
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Lynch says hang in there — appliance makers are catching up to the technology.
"The newer appliances have more up-to-date motors and things like that, so they're not gonna see the initial arc when they kick on or do anything like that, which we call 'nuisance tripping,'" he said. "Every month more and more devices are coming out and they're getting better and better. So it's only gonna be a small amount of time to be able to correct the issues."
Dan Namerow, a Main Line electrician, recently went to an older home recently to replace a dozen two-pronged receptacles with the new ones.
"There are homes that are unbelievably outdated and this is where we're going to start to find the need for these types of receptacles."
Sticker shock is another problem.
Namerow, who owns Farryn Electric in Lower Merion, had to deliver the bad news recently.
"The price of a receptacle for me goes from maybe 89 cents to anywhere between 27 to 35 dollars. It is unreal," he said.
But he expects the price to come down as more cities and townships implement the new code.
