When electricity meets water. Gfci protection in your home.

What is a GFCI outlet?

Unlike regular outlets and circuit breakers that are designed to protect your home, GFCI outlets or “ground fault circuit interrupters” are designed to protect people from electrical shock. By monitoring the electrical current, GFCIs cut power or “trip” when an imbalance or excess current flow down an unintended patch is detected. These devices are designed to respond before electricity can affect your heart beat.

GFCIs have been required by the electrical code since 1973. Since their introduction in homes there has been an:

• 83% drop in electrocutions (total)
• 95% drop in electrocutions from consumer products.

The consumer product safety commission estimates that:

• 47% of recent electrocutions could be prevented with proper GFCI protection
• 50% of American homes were built before the introduction of GFCIs.

Because the code only applies to new construction and remodels, if electrical improvements have not been made in your older home, you could be missing these important safety features putting you and your family at risk.

Where should GFCIs be used?

GFCI outlets are required by code in moist or wet locations of the home, including:

• Bathrooms
• Kitchens
• Laundry and Utility rooms
• Garages and outbuildings
• Crawl spaces and unfinished basements
• Wet bars
• Spa and pool areas
• Outdoor areas
• Unfinished basements

“In a society where children and adults frequently live with phones and other electronics in their hands, it’s important to remember how deadly these devices can be when plugged into a source of electricity. When plugged into a GFCI outlet, it could mean the difference between life and death.”     ESFI President, Brett Brenner. 

If you currently have GFCIs in your home

If you verified you currently have GFCI protection, just like other safety features in your home you are going to want to test them. It is recommended you test you GFCIs monthly (and like your smoke detectors, replaced every 10 years).

To Test your GFCI Device: (the most common method of GFCI protection)

1. The face of the device will have two small buttons labeled “test” and “reset”. Press the test button and it should trigger a snap sound and the “reset” button should extend out.
2. You can verify the device has cut power with a simple circuit tester or appliance (lamp, hair dryer, phone charger)
3. Unplug the device or circuit tester and press the “reset” button. It should stay in and not extend back out.

To test your GFCI Breaker: (the newer method for GFCI protection)

1. Locate the “test” button on the circuit breaker and push it. This will trigger a snap and the handle for the breaker should move to a middle position.
2. The breaker will not be moved back to the on position, push the handle fully to the “off” position, then to the “on” position.

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If you have any questions about GFCI protection in your home, or any other safety issues, contact your team at Skyline Electric for honest answers and exceptional service.