{"id":436,"date":"2019-09-16T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/?p=436"},"modified":"2023-06-09T11:47:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T15:47:18","slug":"getting-afci-and-gfci-outlets-straightened-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/electrical\/getting-afci-and-gfci-outlets-straightened-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting AFCI and GFCI Outlets Straightened Out"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
A new GFCI electrical outlet.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We have professional electricians who install AFCI and GFCI outlets in Buffalo, NY<\/a> homes and elsewhere in Western New York. In fact, we strongly recommend homeowners arrange for this service if they have an older electrical system without these types of outlets. You can recognize these outlets by the two buttons located between their sockets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re already reaching for the phone to call us or you\u2019re typing a message for a service request, that\u2019s great. You can hang out here and read more about what these outlets do. If you still aren\u2019t sure, we also want you to hang out as we explain the difference between AFCI and GFCI<\/a> and why both<\/em> are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

AFCI and GFCI Outlets Are Safety Improvements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll touch on the similarity between the two first.\nAlthough they shouldn\u2019t be confused or used as synonyms, AFCI and GFCI outlets are\ntypes of grounded (three-prong) outlets which provide better home electrical\nsafety, especially with the higher voltage demands on outlets today. They also look\nsimilar, and once you have them installed, you won\u2019t need to think much about\nwhat makes them different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AFCI Outlet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AFCI stands for arc fault circuit interrupter<\/em>. The\njob of this outlet is to protect a home from electrical fires resulting from\narcing faults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, what\u2019s an arcing fault<\/em>? It\u2019s an electrical malfunction\nthat can happen in aging or damaged wires. Wires that lose insulation, or which\nwere hit with a nail when someone tried to hang a picture from the wall. It can\nalso result from amateur, unlicensed work installing outlets or putting in wires.\nThese damaged or deteriorating wires allow electrical current to leap from one wire\nto another, which is called arcing<\/em>. This can easily trigger a fire. An\nAFCI outlet detects this occurring and then trips a circuit breaker in the\noutlet to stop the electrical flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFCI outlets are recommended for the following locations in\na house: family rooms, dining rooms, dens, bedrooms, closets, hallways, recreation\nrooms, sunrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GFCI Outlet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GFCI stands for ground fault circuit interrupter.<\/em> The purpose of this outlet is to prevent people from suffering harmful electrical shocks because the electric current from an outlet passes through them to reach the ground, rather than through their actual grounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way GFCI outlets work is that it monitors the electrical current between the two sides of the outlet, the \u201chot\u201d and \u201cneutral\u201d sides. If the neutral side drops lower than the hot side, it means the electrical current is passing through another object to reach the ground\u2014and this almost certainly means it\u2019s passing through a person. A circuit reacts within a fraction of a second to cut off voltage flow from the outlet to prevent harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GFCI outlets are recommended for bathrooms and the kitchen\nbecause of the number of appliances in them and the possible danger of electrical\ncontact with water. Also recommended for outdoor outlets, crawlspaces, and\nlaundry rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can trust our electricians<\/a> to know the right spots to put in these two types of outlets. Speak to our team today to arrange for this vital service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call on Scherer Electric:<\/a> Western New York\u2019s Favorite Electrician! We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ll explain the difference between AFCI and GFCI and why both are important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87],"tags":[97,91,95,96],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":925,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions\/925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}