The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is responsible to protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is estimated that faulty home wiring causes more than 40,000 home fires each year. Sadly, these fires cause serious injury to 1,400 people and kill an additional 350. In their quest to keep us safe, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends AFCIs be installed in all homes to reduce this risk of fire.
An AFCI is a breaker that identifies arcing faults (small sparks) through de-energizing the circuit. An arching fault has a unique “signature waveform” that the AFCI identifies as dangerous and a potential fire hazard.
