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A comment on We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electrify everything. Parent comment

Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by londons_explore on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @12:20PM (#34341143)
AFCI's are of dubious effectiveness at their purpose (preventing fires). They're kinda snake oil because each manufacturer won't tell you under what exact conditions they'll trip. Somehow the law in the USA now requires them on every circuit, although they aren't used at all in Europe (which has a higher voltage yet far fewer electrical deaths).
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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by 13of40 on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @12:45PM (#34341592)
FWIW, Google says 540 electrical deaths per year in Europe vs. 200 per year in the USA. Whether that's from lower voltage or more GFCI is anyone's guess.
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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by champtar on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @03:21PM (#34344073)
Europe is many different countries with different electric code
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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by anikom15 on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @06:33PM (#34346650)
That’s definitely lower voltage. It’s just physics.
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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by xxpor on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @01:47PM (#34342645)
AFCIs aren't meant to protect against electrocution, just sparking which leads to a fire.
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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by jly on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @03:59PM (#34344695)
I'm not sure where you are getting this.

According to the CPSC, who analyzed some 10s of thousands of fires, something like 50% of them were caused by wire arcing that could be prevented with AFCI breakers. This is the exact reason why the NFPA is moving the NEC towards eventually requiring AFCI on every circuit in the house.

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Re:We need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electri... by anikom15 on Wednesday January 11, 2023 @06:34PM (#34346659)
Key word is could.

Do AFCIs actually do their prescribed function effectively?

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