It is estimated electrical problems cause more than 40 thousand fires a year, kill close to 500 Americans and injure 23-hundred more, according to the US Fire Administration. That’s the bad news. The good news- many of these fires are preventable, especially thanks to new technologies. Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) have been used for years to help detect what’s known as “parallel” types of arcing, believed to cause many electrical fires.
Now, new “combination type AFCIs” take this prevention a step further, by detecting parallel types of arcing as well as series, or load limited, arcing. Beginning in 2008, the 2005 National Electrical code mandates combination type AFCIs in new residential construction. Experts say it makes sense not just to install the new combination type AFCIs in new homes, but in older homes as well, saying this inexpensive device can go along way towards saving both property and lives.
