Is an ARC Fault Protection Required for Bedroom Baseboard Heaters?

Types of Circuit Interrupters

• The traditional circuit breaker responds to overloads or short circuits, but not to arcing or erratic current. The AFCI monitors current, detecting abnormalities. It breaks the circuit and prevents a potential fire. Early AFCIs worked only at the breaker panel. The electrician placed original arc-fault circuit interrupters in the breaker panel to protect all devices on the individual breaker circuit. Added protection came with an outlet-circuit AFCI installed in the receptacle box. The combination AFCI required by 2005 and more recent editions of NEC unites the branch-feeder special circuit breaker in the panel box and an outlet-circuit AFCI that protects power cords plugged into receptacles. The combination AFCI is an improved device, more sensitive to arc-fault detection.

AFCIs for Bedrooms

• Bedrooms were the first areas to require AFCI protection in the NEC. The 1999 NEC required bedrooms in new homes to have AFCIs for branch circuits supplying 120-volt single-phase 15-amp and 20-amp receptacles, effective in 2002. The 2005 NEC required combination AFCIs to detect both parallel and series arcing for the bedroom. The 2008 NEC required that all living areas of a residence have combination AFCIs. The 2011 NEC requires that all 120-volt bedroom circuits have AFCI protection if an electrician makes changes to existing wiring or for new construction. The regulation includes 120-volt circuits only. If you have an old home and haven’t had recent electrical work done, you aren’t required to update but you may save your home with the upgrade to AFCI protection.

Cost

• The AFCI breakers give greater protection to the home and safety for residents, but they cost more than standard breakers. The difference in cost in 2011 is $2 to $4 for a standard breaker and $30 to $35 for the AFCI breaker. If you have an outlet added at your residence, the cost can be high if the electrician must upgrade to combination AFCI breakers. States adopt versions of the NEC at different intervals, so your state may not impose the latest regulations as soon as they are effective. In areas that have adopted the newest NEC, changes made to unprotected branch circuits require the electrician to upgrade the service to AFCI protection to comply with the NEC.

Fire Safety

• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission figures for 1999 to 2003 show that cooking equipment accounted for the greatest number of residential fires at 30 percent, but heating and cooling equipment accounted for 14.7 percent. Your bedroom baseboard heater could be included in this 14.7 percent or in the 10.8 percent of fires caused by components of the electrical distribution system reported in 1999 and 2000. AFCI breakers reduce wiring and electrical component fires. Some people voluntarily comply with the NEC as a personal safety measure.