In CA at least, all bathroom, kitchen, and garage outlets have been GFCI required since at least the 80s. this results in some strange circuits where the builder puts garage, bath and kitchen outlets on the same circuit since one outlet protects the entire circuit. they saved $3. apparently copper wire was cheap then.
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.
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We actually have an electric dryer and we didn’t get any GFI of any sort, but we did have to switch out the 220 power cord from one that has three leads to one that has four. I did look at some YouTube videos and installing a whole house surge protector looks simple, but until I figure out why I really would need one, I’ll probably keep looking for the next piece of unobtainium. |
@curiousjim Man that was one old dryer !! 🤣 I think the expansive, new GFCI requirements come into play with new constrution where the 2023 code is adopted. I just checked and my state is still on 2020. A new plug would not force a new breaker in your case either way, but I think the adding of washer and dryer to the list of appliances that need gfci makes sense |
While we're on the subject of plugs and outlets, is anyone aware of a high quality NEMA L6-30P 30 Amp Twist Lock 240 Volt 2 Pole 3 Wire. Both male and female? All I can find are run of mill Leviton plugs in the $20 range. You can spend $$$$ on Furutech outlets but I've never seen anything offered in the way of higher quality 30 amp.
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