Thanks, you answered all my questions. I called many Electricians and none of them answered the phone. Watched your video and I don’t need an electrician. You saved me time and money. Thanks
Some corrections... 1:50 - if that's a Ground-fault outlet as you stated, it won't trip on an arc 1:55 - it doesn't protect "before it gets to the panel". In fact, the homerun is completely unprotected from the faults the outlet detects. It's only the outlet and anything downsteam from the load side on the outlet that's protected 2:10 - groundfault outlets do NOT protect from overloaded circuits. That's the job of the overcurrent device - the breaker in your example 7:19 - the upper breaker is a dual-function. AFCI AND GFCI. The lower one only provides AFCI (along with no being a plug-on neutral)
EXCELLENT DETAILED VIDEO. It was a quick lesson on where did the GFI switches go?!? Integrating makes more sense. I moved in a home that was built in 2021 and I did not recognize these AFCI breakers. My previous home from 20 years ago had the regular ones. This video really helped. Thanks!
You’re very welcome. Local codes call for different set ups. Sometimes they want both GFCI breakers and outlets. Sometimes just one or the other. Here they seem to like redundancy
The refrigerator explanation is what I was looking for. That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering why I need arc fault if my first receptacle is AFCI/GFCI. Not needing to pull a refrigerator out, or not placing them in hard-to-reach places is smart.
Yep! Thats the same question I had when I was wiring a panel a couple years ago. New code is asking panels circuits to all have a GFCI or AFCI installed. So I didn’t get it at first either and thought they were just trying to be difficult. But for lighting too it makes sense I guess.
Truly excellent job of explaining this. Thank you for taking the time to do so. The explanation of the different types of breakers was true gold! I went and looked at some. This makes choosing the right one really simple. Thank you again. I'm subscribing.
Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. I’m not trying to say that they are exactly the same because obviously they aren’t. But they’re very similar in nature as far as what they do as a breaker. I mainly focusing on the point that you need one or both of them depending on your local building codes, usually in the beginning of your circuits or at your panel. I know it gets a lot more technical when you’re diving into the actual book on everything. I think surface level knowledge could benefit the home owner with understanding some of the basic concepts.
@@FortKnoxCoas just a regular homeowner, I definitely appreciate your explanation of how things work together big picture and not getting way into the weeds where most people probably wouldn’t understand. Thanks for posting the video! 👍
If I want to run two upright freezers in my garage, what type of circuit should I use? I'm concerned about using GFCI because if it trips I wouldn't know and could possibly lose all the food to thawing. What's the best way to do this? Thanks!
@@alexanderblack3517 well technically, no matter what you do if the circuit trips you wouldn’t know until you go and check your breaker or find out that your fridge isn’t running. No matter what type of breaker you put in there, your circuit will be protected by some type of interrupter one way or another. Every house in the circuit at the end of the day will have a breaker at the box. so the type of breaker isn’t going to change your function. I would say have the breaker at the box because it’s easier to reset rather than having a GFCI outlet that your fridge is plugged into. Because if the outlet GFCI pops it’s a lot harder to to get to. Have to pull the fridges out to push and reset.
So, if I am wiring in LED lights on a branch circuit of 14 AWG on a 15A breaker, I should use a 15A AFCI (with the pigtail wire) Circuit Breaker inside the Panel Box for that branch? I’m using 12AWG on 20A regular breakers for all my outlet branches, and have a GFCI Receptacle as the first receptacle in each branch, protecting all the downstream receptacles, so I think I am good there!?! (No need for AFCI/GFCI Circuit Breakers, on those branches, right?!?) Thanks for all you have shown us, brother!
That is correct. You can either have a GFCI outlet as your first outlet and that protects that whole branch and you can have a regular breaker. And if you don’t have the GFCI outlet as the first stop and your running straight to wall switches and lighting you could use one of the AFCI OR GFCI breakers in your panel to accomplish the same level of protection. At least that’s what my new local code is requiring of all circuits
Thank you. Yeah they may all look very similar but you need to pay attention the brand/Type of your breaker box first. That will have the brand/type of breaker you’ll need to look within. I made the mistake and ordered a couple breakers that looked exactly the same But found the way it pops on and contacts the HoT bar of the panel was slightly different. Like it would sit into place but be just so slightly off. And you’d think it just needed to be “tapped” into place with some elbow grease. But it was actually a different Type of breaker.
So far I haven’t seen that problem. I know they are supposed to trip to the same standard and it’s really just an added layer of protection. But overall I think they are fine. Code requires them is some builds to pass permit inspections 🤷🏼♂️
Thx. New build blues We are refurbishing a pole barn into a house. Old panel needs to go. Shopping for new one for 200 amp 40 space square D and this arc fault thing has me spinning
Yeah. It’s not too bad once you understand which circuit needs one and which ones can have just a regular GFCI outlet installed. I have about half my breakers with the new ones and the other half regular breakers because they go to all my outlets that have a GFCI outlet.
Great video! Thanks for the content - How do you make the decision on what to include on each circuit. Other than a dedicated appliance circuit, why would someone opt to have 1 or 2 outlets on 1 circuit and then multiple lights, outlets, and switches on another - is it just about convenience for wiring or is there a formula/total load you are taking into consideration?
Good question. Technically code depend on your area would say one breaker or circuit for no more than 10 outlets. That’s a very common practice. That’s also usually rated to be safe. Assuming all 10 outlets could be used at once. Obviously you’re not gonna have all 10 outlets on one circuit being used at one time. Usually it’s one or two like a vacuum and a blender. But just for general purposes, a good rule of thumb is no more than 10 outlets per breaker. As far as lights there’s also an equation that has to do with watts or amps. Now with LED lighting you can get away with a lot more lights on one circuit. So for example, I would run 115 amp breaker and run two or three bedrooms off of that one. Since I’m running a lot of lighting in the garage, I ran a 20 amp breaker that will power to wall switches and have two branches of a lot of lights. Everything is LED, so it’s still under loaded. So to answer your question, they’re technically a math equation. My rule of thumb is if it’s going to be a fridge a washing machine or something that is a utility. I would put it on its own circuit if you’re able to. That way if you are using an outlet or something else related it’s not going to pull too much energy off of the one breaker if that utility turns on. So I usually run dedicated lines for those devices. Otherwise, I’ll run 6 to 8 outlets at most on one breaker. Again, just so I don’t overload a circuit. I’m trying to consider the use of power tools and you don’t want too many of those on one circuit because it could pop the breaker. So I usually underload those.
When talking about the garage lighting you said you could use an AFCI breaker in place of a GFI receptacle. Arc fault and ground fault are two different things. I assume you meant GFI Breaker?
Yes. In place of a GFCI. Apologies for the miss speaking. I was mainly trying to drive home the ideas of having a breaker & first outlet as a GFCI or have a breaker with the same capabilities and accomplishing the overall same task of protecting your circuits
I’m not sure. Might depend on the brands they carry or what code in those areas require? I know to get better selections you can order from bigger online supply stores. They usually carry whatever you’re looking for.
Your dryer sounds like it’s a 220v appliance. So you need a big enough breaker at the panel and the outlet in your wall needs to be able to receive that plug type for the dryer. But the breaker being afci or GFCI would depend on what you can get in what size of breaker. You may not be able to find a 30amp afci breaker. Usually for the larger appliances like a dryer or A/C unit I’ve still seen a standard breaker.
My understanding is with plug on neutral panels used as a main bonded panel. The ground can go on the neutral bar but the neutrals must be one per terminal
Good information. I know there usually is a difference when you have a main panel and the. Neutral bar and ground bar are bonded vs with a sub panel the two have to remain separate.
ℹ️The only thing they have in common is instantly opening the circuit. Internal electronics and operating principles of the two devices are entirely different. * GFCIs protect against electric shock by interrupting hazardous fault current as small as 5 milliamps. *AFCIs protect buildings and occupants from electrical fire. Rather than a ground fault, what is detected is an arc fault - the associated heat from which is thought to be responsible for a large share of residential fires .
Very good info right here. I was mainly trying to highlight the reason one would be used on a. Circuit vs a standard and what their overall function was. I appreciate the detailed breakdown
I just got power after several days w/o it due to hurricane Beryl. However all my bedroom lights and outlets(afci) are not working. I went out to main circuit breaker to reset my breakers designated for the bedrooms outlets/lights, but it is still not working.
That could be a number of things causing the short. Breakers could be bad or ruined if wet or damaged during the hurricane. Could even be a bigger problem with internal wiring or outlets/lights having damage.
@@FortKnoxCo it was fine before the hurricane, so it couldn’t be internal wiring that caused this to begin with. Also the circuit breaker panel is inside the garage, thus not exposed to the elements to get wet or damaged. Do I need to replace the bedroom breakers on the panel? Also could it be an issue where the power company didn’t fully restore the power to all the lines in the house?
@@inquisitvem6723I know that you didn't ask ME, but maybe try this. Unplug everything on that circuit, turn off (at the switch) any lighting. Remove the wires for the circuit from the service panel. Meaning to disconnect the black/White/ground wires. Use a volt meter (Multi Meter) and set it for CONTINUITY (it will beep when the leads touch together) if you have continuity between ANY 2 wires then you have a bad or damaged conductor. If any switches are on or if anything is plugged in on the circuit, it will give a false continuance. I hope you are able to find and fix your problem.
@@c.blakerockhart1128 thanks. It was stupidity on my part. I just had to push further left. It was stuck in the middle and just enough elbow grease to the left did it.
Man thanks, you over explain that. Must video are wam bam thank you mam & because I said so. Not really educating no1 These 60$-70$ locally and 40$-50$ online vs an 8$ regular breaker . But if i understand right they are 3 in 1. (Afci, gfci ,pon. Vs breaker +gfci) . But base on what you are saying, could just run each home run to gfci outlet 1st then to light switch or whatever
Yes technically you could do that and the circuit is GFCI protected because the first outlet is GFCI and everything down the line like the lights is protected. It’s not the usually way to do it but accomplishes the task. A lot of what needs to be done just depends on what your code requires. There’s nothing wrong with just having a regular breaker and stuff wired on that circuit. Just so long as it’s not over loaded. Thats the way it was done long ago and many houses are still sitting that way. But if it’s worked on or permits are pulled on it they will require you to update to the new way and add some stuff. But otherwise they would leave it as it is. So it all really layering safety measure and keeping up with the newest code.
The main concept of the video is showing why you would have a GFCI or AFCI breaker in a panel vs a standard breaker. And how they can be put onto a circuit to meet the requirement of having a circuit GFCI protected without having a GFCI outlet installed. But yes AFCI and GFCI are different in themselves.
You got good videography, but theres too much incorrect information here. Inwould consider deleting this. You might teach something to somebody that's wrong.
It’s just an overview of how in general things are working. Obviously there’s descriptive differences with GFCI, AFCI, GFI… etc. Mainly Explaining why a GFCI breaker would be used in a circuit vs a GFI outlet.
Thanks, you answered all my questions. I called many Electricians and none of them answered the phone. Watched your video and I don’t need an electrician. You saved me time and money. Thanks
Nice!! Your very welcome
Some corrections...
1:50 - if that's a Ground-fault outlet as you stated, it won't trip on an arc
1:55 - it doesn't protect "before it gets to the panel". In fact, the homerun is completely unprotected from the faults the outlet detects. It's only the outlet and anything downsteam from the load side on the outlet that's protected
2:10 - groundfault outlets do NOT protect from overloaded circuits. That's the job of the overcurrent device - the breaker in your example
7:19 - the upper breaker is a dual-function. AFCI AND GFCI. The lower one only provides AFCI (along with no being a plug-on neutral)
I appreciate all the great feedback back. Thank you!
EXCELLENT DETAILED VIDEO. It was a quick lesson on where did the GFI switches go?!? Integrating makes more sense. I moved in a home that was built in 2021 and I did not recognize these AFCI breakers. My previous home from 20 years ago had the regular ones. This video really helped. Thanks!
You’re very welcome. Local codes call for different set ups. Sometimes they want both GFCI breakers and outlets. Sometimes just one or the other. Here they seem to like redundancy
The refrigerator explanation is what I was looking for. That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering why I need arc fault if my first receptacle is AFCI/GFCI. Not needing to pull a refrigerator out, or not placing them in hard-to-reach places is smart.
Yep! Thats the same question I had when I was wiring a panel a couple years ago. New code is asking panels circuits to all have a GFCI or AFCI installed. So I didn’t get it at first either and thought they were just trying to be difficult. But for lighting too it makes sense I guess.
This was a great detailed video. Well put together and greatly appreciated 🙏🏾
Your very welcome 🤙🏼
Truly excellent job of explaining this. Thank you for taking the time to do so. The explanation of the different types of breakers was true gold! I went and looked at some. This makes choosing the right one really simple. Thank you again. I'm subscribing.
Thank you!! I really appreciate that! I was hoping someone else out there would have the same questions as I did. So I wanted to share the information
Your explanation is very understandable. Thank you
That’s great. I’m happy you found it helpful
Thanks for the breakdown. I’m running a new dedicated circuit for a pool pump.
Your welcome 🤙🏼🤙🏼
You seem to be confusing AFCI with GFCI.. They are not interchangeable..
Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. I’m not trying to say that they are exactly the same because obviously they aren’t. But they’re very similar in nature as far as what they do as a breaker. I mainly focusing on the point that you need one or both of them depending on your local building codes, usually in the beginning of your circuits or at your panel. I know it gets a lot more technical when you’re diving into the actual book on everything. I think surface level knowledge could benefit the home owner with understanding some of the basic concepts.
@@FortKnoxCoas just a regular homeowner, I definitely appreciate your explanation of how things work together big picture and not getting way into the weeds where most people probably wouldn’t understand. Thanks for posting the video! 👍
@@mxcollin95 thank you. I really appreciate that. 🤙🏼
If I want to run two upright freezers in my garage, what type of circuit should I use? I'm concerned about using GFCI because if it trips I wouldn't know and could possibly lose all the food to thawing. What's the best way to do this? Thanks!
@@alexanderblack3517 well technically, no matter what you do if the circuit trips you wouldn’t know until you go and check your breaker or find out that your fridge isn’t running. No matter what type of breaker you put in there, your circuit will be protected by some type of interrupter one way or another. Every house in the circuit at the end of the day will have a breaker at the box. so the type of breaker isn’t going to change your function. I would say have the breaker at the box because it’s easier to reset rather than having a GFCI outlet that your fridge is plugged into. Because if the outlet GFCI pops it’s a lot harder to to get to. Have to pull the fridges out to push and reset.
Greatly appreciated !!!👍🏾. When I had my home re-wired, I wish the electrician would have advised; especially for the bathroom !!!
Thank you! Yeah it’s unfortunate some of the tradesmen don’t take pride in their work like we’d expect
So, if I am wiring in LED lights on a branch circuit of 14 AWG on a 15A breaker, I should use a 15A AFCI (with the pigtail wire) Circuit Breaker inside the Panel Box for that branch?
I’m using 12AWG on 20A regular breakers for all my outlet branches, and have a GFCI Receptacle as the first receptacle in each branch, protecting all the downstream receptacles, so I think I am good there!?! (No need for AFCI/GFCI Circuit Breakers, on those branches, right?!?)
Thanks for all you have shown us, brother!
That is correct. You can either have a GFCI outlet as your first outlet and that protects that whole branch and you can have a regular breaker.
And if you don’t have the GFCI outlet as the first stop and your running straight to wall switches and lighting you could use one of the AFCI OR GFCI breakers in your panel to accomplish the same level of protection.
At least that’s what my new local code is requiring of all circuits
Thanks for this video, I am confusing about the different breaker sizes of Square D, regular vs AFCI/GFCI. It helps me a lot. Great content.❤
Thank you. Yeah they may all look very similar but you need to pay attention the brand/Type of your breaker box first. That will have the brand/type of breaker you’ll need to look within.
I made the mistake and ordered a couple breakers that looked exactly the same
But found the way it pops on and contacts the HoT bar of the panel was slightly different. Like it would sit into place but be just so slightly off. And you’d think it just needed to be “tapped” into place with some elbow grease. But it was actually a different Type of breaker.
Great Video. Will be putting in the 1st AFI/GFCI breaker in my panel for a new bath tub. I have the same Square D HOM breaker's. Thanks.
Awesome! Happy I could be of help
It has been a common sentiment that AFCI trip much easier than a classic breaker. Have they improved enough to rely on them?
So far I haven’t seen that problem. I know they are supposed to trip to the same standard and it’s really just an added layer of protection. But overall I think they are fine. Code requires them is some builds to pass permit inspections 🤷🏼♂️
Thx. New build blues We are refurbishing a pole barn into a house. Old panel needs to go. Shopping for new one for 200 amp 40 space square D and this arc fault thing has me spinning
Yeah. It’s not too bad once you understand which circuit needs one and which ones can have just a regular GFCI outlet installed. I have about half my breakers with the new ones and the other half regular breakers because they go to all my outlets that have a GFCI outlet.
Great video! Thanks for the content - How do you make the decision on what to include on each circuit. Other than a dedicated appliance circuit, why would someone opt to have 1 or 2 outlets on 1 circuit and then multiple lights, outlets, and switches on another - is it just about convenience for wiring or is there a formula/total load you are taking into consideration?
Good question. Technically code depend on your area would say one breaker or circuit for no more than 10 outlets. That’s a very common practice. That’s also usually rated to be safe. Assuming all 10 outlets could be used at once. Obviously you’re not gonna have all 10 outlets on one circuit being used at one time. Usually it’s one or two like a vacuum and a blender. But just for general purposes, a good rule of thumb is no more than 10 outlets per breaker. As far as lights there’s also an equation that has to do with watts or amps. Now with LED lighting you can get away with a lot more lights on one circuit. So for example, I would run 115 amp breaker and run two or three bedrooms off of that one. Since I’m running a lot of lighting in the garage, I ran a 20 amp breaker that will power to wall switches and have two branches of a lot of lights. Everything is LED, so it’s still under loaded.
So to answer your question, they’re technically a math equation. My rule of thumb is if it’s going to be a fridge a washing machine or something that is a utility. I would put it on its own circuit if you’re able to. That way if you are using an outlet or something else related it’s not going to pull too much energy off of the one breaker if that utility turns on. So I usually run dedicated lines for those devices. Otherwise, I’ll run 6 to 8 outlets at most on one breaker. Again, just so I don’t overload a circuit. I’m trying to consider the use of power tools and you don’t want too many of those on one circuit because it could pop the breaker. So I usually underload those.
When talking about the garage lighting you said you could use an AFCI breaker in place of a GFI receptacle. Arc fault and ground fault are two different things. I assume you meant GFI Breaker?
Yes. In place of a GFCI. Apologies for the miss speaking. I was mainly trying to drive home the ideas of having a breaker & first outlet as a GFCI or have a breaker with the same capabilities and accomplishing the overall same task of protecting your circuits
I was wondering why the stores only sell plug-on-neutral main panels. thanks for the video
I’m not sure. Might depend on the brands they carry or what code in those areas require? I know to get better selections you can order from bigger online supply stores. They usually carry whatever you’re looking for.
Can i do not have a ground wire on my electric dryer can i use a afci in the panel box and be good. My dryer is a 3 wire black , red and white.
Your dryer sounds like it’s a 220v appliance. So you need a big enough breaker at the panel and the outlet in your wall needs to be able to receive that plug type for the dryer.
But the breaker being afci or GFCI would depend on what you can get in what size of breaker. You may not be able to find a 30amp afci breaker. Usually for the larger appliances like a dryer or A/C unit I’ve still seen a standard breaker.
We are adding all purple breakers. Afi/Gfi combo. Gfi only for 30a double pole breaker and above
Sounds good 🤙🏼
My understanding is with plug on neutral panels used as a main bonded panel. The ground can go on the neutral bar but the neutrals must be one per terminal
Good information. I know there usually is a difference when you have a main panel and the. Neutral bar and ground bar are bonded vs with a sub panel the two have to remain separate.
Extremely helpful video, thank you!
Awesome. I was hoping to shed some light on the concept.
A dual function breaker does afci and gfci. An afci breaker doesn't detect ground fault
Correct 👍🏼
ℹ️The only thing they have in common is instantly opening the circuit. Internal electronics and operating principles of the two devices are entirely different.
* GFCIs protect against electric shock by interrupting hazardous fault current as small as 5 milliamps.
*AFCIs protect buildings and occupants from electrical fire.
Rather than a ground fault, what is detected is an arc fault - the associated heat from which is thought to be responsible for a large share of residential fires .
Very good info right here. I was mainly trying to highlight the reason one would be used on a. Circuit vs a standard and what their overall function was. I appreciate the detailed breakdown
I just got power after several days w/o it due to hurricane Beryl. However all my bedroom lights and outlets(afci) are not working. I went out to main circuit breaker to reset my breakers designated for the bedrooms outlets/lights, but it is still not working.
That could be a number of things causing the short. Breakers could be bad or ruined if wet or damaged during the hurricane. Could even be a bigger problem with internal wiring or outlets/lights having damage.
@@FortKnoxCo it was fine before the hurricane, so it couldn’t be internal wiring that caused this to begin with. Also the circuit breaker panel is inside the garage, thus not exposed to the elements to get wet or damaged. Do I need to replace the bedroom breakers on the panel? Also could it be an issue where the power company didn’t fully restore the power to all the lines in the house?
@@inquisitvem6723I know that you didn't ask ME, but maybe try this. Unplug everything on that circuit, turn off (at the switch) any lighting. Remove the wires for the circuit from the service panel. Meaning to disconnect the black/White/ground wires. Use a volt meter (Multi Meter) and set it for CONTINUITY (it will beep when the leads touch together) if you have continuity between ANY 2 wires then you have a bad or damaged conductor. If any switches are on or if anything is plugged in on the circuit, it will give a false continuance. I hope you are able to find and fix your problem.
@@c.blakerockhart1128 thanks. It was stupidity on my part. I just had to push further left. It was stuck in the middle and just enough elbow grease to the left did it.
i pass inspeccion thanx to ur video
That’s awesome to hear!! Good job! And happy I could be of help 🤙🏼
Thank you
Your welcome
Man thanks, you over explain that. Must video are wam bam thank you mam & because I said so. Not really educating no1
These 60$-70$ locally and 40$-50$ online vs an 8$ regular breaker . But if i understand right they are 3 in 1. (Afci, gfci ,pon. Vs breaker +gfci) . But base on what you are saying, could just run each home run to gfci outlet 1st then to light switch or whatever
Yes technically you could do that and the circuit is GFCI protected because the first outlet is GFCI and everything down the line like the lights is protected. It’s not the usually way to do it but accomplishes the task.
A lot of what needs to be done just depends on what your code requires. There’s nothing wrong with just having a regular breaker and stuff wired on that circuit. Just so long as it’s not over loaded. Thats the way it was done long ago and many houses are still sitting that way. But if it’s worked on or permits are pulled on it they will require you to update to the new way and add some stuff. But otherwise they would leave it as it is. So it all really layering safety measure and keeping up with the newest code.
AFCI would detect an ark inside the wall like wires chewed by mice. GFCI won't so... I don't understand your rationale
The main concept of the video is showing why you would have a GFCI or AFCI breaker in a panel vs a standard breaker. And how they can be put onto a circuit to meet the requirement of having a circuit GFCI protected without having a GFCI outlet installed. But yes AFCI and GFCI are different in themselves.
The differance is about 30 dollars.
Yup. Lol
Arc fault and ground fault are completely different things. This is bad information.
💯
You got good videography, but theres too much incorrect information here. Inwould consider deleting this. You might teach something to somebody that's wrong.
It’s just an overview of how in general things are working. Obviously there’s descriptive differences with GFCI, AFCI, GFI… etc. Mainly
Explaining why a GFCI breaker would be used in a circuit vs a GFI outlet.
That would be great if you list some incorrect info here. As an audience, more than happy to learn new things.
@@emilyyang7087 agreed. Its helpful to constructively criticize and share the knowledge 🤙🏼