Ground Fault Interrupter Wiring

If a person s body starts to receive a shock the gfci senses this and cuts off the power before he she can get injured.

Ground fault interrupter wiring. To better understand what is involved in installing a ground fault circuit interrupter in your home you ll first need to have an understanding of basic electrical wiring if you feel at all uncomfortable about working on an electrical circuit then it might be best the call a professional. The national electrical code requires ground fault current interrupting gfci outlets in bathrooms kitchens outdoors and anywhere else water is likely to be present. Now thanks largely to the proliferation of gfci technologies particularly in areas near water such as bathroom sinks or in places exposed to rain or standing water that number has dropped to around 200 deaths per year sources. Ground fault circuit interrupter also detects ground faults and interrupts the flow of electric current.

A residual current device rcd residual current circuit breaker rccb or ground fault circuit interrupter gfci is a device that quickly breaks an electrical circuit to prevent serious harm from an ongoing electric shock. A gfci not to be confused with an afci integrates a ground fault protection in receptacles where electrical equipment is near water or might be in contact with water. The breaker inside a gfci outlet trips when it detects a sudden surge of current such as would be caused by holding an ungrounded appliance while standing in water. Before the widespread adoption of gfci ground fault circuit interrupter outlets around 800 people died annually in the united states.

Nickel electric fish at. Injury may still occur in some cases for example if a human falls after receiving a shock or if the person touches both conductors at the same time which an rcd won t. A ground fault circuit interrupter gfci is an electronic device that can operate quickly to prevent electric shocks from electrical shorts. As soon as the current flowing through the hot conductor is in the range of 4 to 6 milli amperes more than the current flowing in the return grounded conductor the gfci senses this unbalance and trips opens the circuit off.

This page contains wiring diagrams for ground fault circuit interrupter gfci receptacles. A ground fault circuit breaker is properly called a ground fault circuit interrupter breaker or simply a gfci breaker it installs into a home s service panel or breaker box and provides gfci protection for the entire branch circuit it serves. A ground fault circuit interrupter gfci can help prevent electrocution. During normal operation of an electrical appliance the current flowing through the conductors into a gfci generally equals the flow of current returning from the appliance to the gfci.

A ground fault circuit interrupter gfci monitors the current balance between the ungrounded hot conductor and the grounded conductor.