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The last 20 years of Home Power Have Been Amazing

In the late 1990s I installed my first electric panels. Mostly for the sake of running a safe woodworking workshop but also to enable the multiple window units and my partner and my offices, plus the TV and stereo, of course.

At that time whole house surge protectors were available but not required. Being an IT guy in a storm prone area of course I went for it. Otherwise however breakers were rather similar to those from the original mid 1960s versions. I mean, I’m sure there were improvements in panel technology and how breakers were manufactured but for the home there were really only two aspects you needed to care about:

  • Current capacity
  • Poles (1 or 2)

And for the home owner that’s were things stood for almost 40 years. In the last 20 years though much has changed. Arc fault (AFCI or CAFCI) first required in 2002 for bedrooms. Now (since 2017) they are required practically everywhere in a home. Whole house SPDs (surge protectors) are required from 2020.

Most recently, the 2023 NEC greatly expanded the use of Ground Fault (GFCI) protection. GFCI’s which were limited to kitchen and bath outlets are now required for your washer and dryer, microwave, range, dishwasher and (in my case) garbage disposal. Take a look at any modern panel. You’ll see 4 different types of breakers:

  • Old fashioned
  • GFCI (white test button)
  • CAFCI (dark blue test button)
  • Combined GFCI + CAFCI (pale blue test button)

And outlets? Have you noticed weather resistant (WR, 2008) or tamper resistant (TR, 2008) requirements? In addition to GFCI requirements. Sheesh. It’s a marvel any electrician can keep them all straight, let alone a home owner.

Of all these improvements though the only one I'd suggest you rush out and get is the whole house surge suppressor unless your breaker panel is running 40 years old in which case a replacement may be a good idea soon.

erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,212 posts
 

@61falcon

Do they still have exceptions e.g. single receptacle, non GFCI for sump pump or freezer to reduce possibility of ghost trip?

Refrigerators can still trip a GFCI outlet, but are not excluded.  In other words the outlets need to be 6' away from a sink.  If you must install a freezer near a sink the solution is to have it directly connected and avoid the outlet and plug altogether.

Things get a little weird with dishwashers now though.  They require GFCI regardless of how they are wired.

Sump pumps are still required when plug/cord connected in dwelling areas AFAIK but do not need it when direct wired.

The same is true for disposals.  Direct wired don't need GFCI but cord/plug connected do.  The latter is most likely when your sink is in an island and you must use an air switch to turn it on/off instead of a wall switch.

erik_squires OP
16,212 posts
 

The Siemens Type 2 SPD is too far from the panel. It should be mounted close to the panel enclosure using a close nipple, or chase nipple.

I’m afraid I agree with @jea48 ’s assessment. I wasn’t going to say anything. An alternative of course is to use an in-panel version like the BoltShield, but the recommendation to mount it as close to the main breaker still applies.

jea48
4,471 posts
 

@erik_squires 

Per NEC 2023 all outlets in a kitchen shall be GFCI protected.

With that said not all States have adopted the 2023 NEC. My state is still working under the 2020 NEC. (The AHJ has the final say.)

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/electrical/nec-enforcement-maps

bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,222 posts
 

@jea48  I appreciate your comment.  All of the household wiring that runs behind the plywood necessitated an additional piece of backing.  As it is, we relocated a number of breakers to position the listening room breakers directly below the surge protector.  Mounting it in the first breaker slot was not an option.  We used about 1/3 of the wire connected to the device from the manufacturer.  If an extra 6 inches of wire makes a difference, when electricity is travelling at 300,000 meters per second, then the surge protector is just a false sense of security?  

hickamore
679 posts
 

@carlsbad2  Appreciate the clarification, thx.

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