The Differences Between a GFCI Breaker & a Receptacle
So few accidents occur to people using electricity, it's easy to forget how dangerous this source of power can be. Used incorrectly or inappropriately, it can be the cause of fires in homes and the cause of death to people coming in contact with wires or electrified surfaces. As electricity grew from being a novelty to necessity, makers of electrical components learned to make their products safer and more user friendly. One of these innovations was ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) breakers and receptacles now required in certain applications by the National Electric Code. Does this Spark an idea?
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GFCI Function
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You can think of a GFCI protected outlet as one protected by a sort of ultra-sensitive fuse or circuit breaker. If you were to get a shock from an improperly grounded appliance connected to a non-GFCI, 15-amp circuit, the fuse or circuit breaker wouldn't cut off the electricity until more than 15 amps of resistance is being created. But a charge of just 50 milliamps (0.005 amps) can stop your heart. A GFCI protected outlet will shut down the power in a fraction of a second when it detects 5 milliamps of current going astray.
GFCI Breaker
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When you have a GFCI circuit breaker in the load center of your home, all the receptacles that are connected to it provide you with GFCI protection. For example, the NEC stipulates all receptacles on open porches or the exterior of homes be GFCI protected. To comply, electricians commonly connect all the external receptacles on the outside of your home to one GFCI breaker in the load center.
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GFCI Receptacle
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When the NEC requires a single outlet be GFCI protected, such as any receptacle positioned within 6 feet of a kitchen sink, it's often more economical to install a GFCI protected receptacle, connected to a conventional circuit breaker, than protect the entire circuit with a GFCI breaker in your load center.
GFCI Series
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When you want all the outlets in one small room to be GFCI protected, such as in a bathroom or laundry, it's possible to feed one GFCI receptacle in the room from a conventional circuit breaker, then power all the other outlets in series through the GFCI outlet. All the receptacles downstream from the GFCI protected outlet will then also be protected.
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References
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