[justjim]

Originally Posted by DangeloInspections

The AFCI issue is a complicated and complex one. Much of what has been posted so far is good info, and some is a bit off the mark.
I am not an expert on this issue and my opinion is by no means the last word on the subject.

AFCI's trip for various reasons. They are designed to trip when an arc is detected or the amperage for that circuit is exceeded. The problem is that there are some electrical appliances that are designed to have an arc, like corded drills, some vacuum cleaners, etc, etc.

So....when an AFCI trips, the question is this.....Is the AFCI defective, oversensitive, etc, or is it correctly doing it's intended job. If the circuit is a 15 amp circuit, and you have a huge TV, sound system, a bunch of lamps, etc on the circuit, then plug in a powerful 12 amp vacuum cleaner, and the AFCI trips, you have probably exceeded the amperage.

While 15 amp receptacle circuits pass code, I personally prefer all of my receptacles wired with 20 amp circuits, but that is not required.

Furthermore, some AFCI's can trip from some refrigerators, plasma TV's etc. Sometimes the Electrician's will add a magnet type device to the conductors in the panelbox, or add a coil of additional conductors to that circuit to dissipate the problem, or change the electrical cord, etc, in the back of the refrigerator to solve this. Whirlpool recently has been covering the warranty cost of this on homes less than one year old.

To complicate the issue, one can have a Ham Radio operator a block away trip your AFCI breakers. That Ham Radio operator is doing nothing wrong, and his equipment is totally compliant to all laws and codes. He has every right to be a Ham Radio operator, just as much as you have the right to play golf. He is doing nothing wrong. You can own your home for say 5 years, no problems, then suddenly you have this problem due to a new neighbor or new hobby.

The law states that the manufacturers of the AFCI's have the obligation to make their product work with all existing electrical and radio frequencies, etc. The onus is on them. Not your neighbor. Sadly, this does not help you at all or solve your problem.

There are different generations of AFCI's, and the newer ones are less problematic. They are costly. A regular circuit breaker can cost less than $5.00, but AFCI's can be between $50-$80 a piece. Plus installation.

So, in short, this problem has a number of different causes, and some of the causes are the normal intended function of the AFCI(s). One size does NOT fit all.

This is NOT just a problem here in The Villages....it is a well known issue that should work itself out as the newer generations of AFCI's become more common.

When I do a warranty inspection I ask the homeowners if they have had any issues of this nature and make sure it get into the report so the Electrician's can take all the needed steps to remedy the issue, whether it be changing the AFCI, or the refrigerator component, etc.

Again, I am NOT an licenced Electrician. I have wired complete houses and as a Home Inspector have a good working knowledge of typical household electrical systems. I post this only as an attempt to clarify the issue somewhat. If you have this type of issue, I suggest contacting a good licensed Electrician to troubleshoot your UNIQUE situation, as your "fix" may be different than your neighbor. Any good Electrician should have a good understanding of this issue. I do know that Terry from Pike's is considered an expert on this issue.

I hope this helps....

Frank

Excellent post Frank---thanks for the information. I have lived in neighborhoods with ham operators before but never had this problem and never had a "tripping breaker" issue until a couple years ago. Pike's replaced some breakers and all was okay.

The new sometimes not as good as the old!

[ditka41]

Thanks for the useful comments. Seems that we have a very common problem in a concentrated area. I am leaning toward problems caused by the recent lightening strikes we've had affecting overly sensitive breakers, but that's just my opinion. I left a message for Home Warranty (753-6222) and don't expect a response until tomorrow due to the holiday. If I don't have a response from them tomorrow, will try again. It's a good idea for all who have been affected to call them so they understand it's not just a few "squeaky wheels" complaining about this irritating and potentially dangerous problem.

[birdawg]

Originally Posted by ditka41

Thanks for the useful comments. Seems that we have a very common problem in a concentrated area. I am leaning toward problems caused by the recent lightening strikes we've had affecting overly sensitive breakers, but that's just my opinion. I left a message for Home Warranty (753-6222) and don't expect a response until tomorrow due to the holiday. If I don't have a response from them tomorrow, will try again. It's a good idea for all who have been affected to call them so they understand it's not just a few "squeaky wheels" complaining about this irritating and potentially dangerous problem.

Will do, I think if it was lightening it would have happened at the time of the strike. I will also call seco

[ditka41]

When we lived in rural Illinois four years ago, a lightening strike occurred in our neighbor's yard, killing a tree, and took out one of our TV's instantly. . GRADUALLY we lost 4 electronic devices over a span of two days, with the final failure being that of our private well which was 210 feet deep. Our insurance company covered it all and advised that it is not at all unusual for various equipment to fail relatively slowly after a strike. It is not always instant.

[tommy steam]

Did anyone think of calling the electric company to see if they had any ideas?

[Vladimir]

Originally Posted by outahere

A few months back, a local electrician here in TV told me that they do see problems with the 1st generation of arc fault breakers being tripped by nearby HAM radios. While trying to determine the cause of the breakers tripping, they have found that HAM radio antennas can be "hidden" inside a flag pole, so they are difficult to locate. Supposedly, the 2nd generation of the arc fault breakers are not as sensitive to the radio waves, but they are not cheap.

Several months ago we had the same issue with half dozen circuit breakers tripping in about 12 homes in our neighborhood. Turns out a not so good neighbor put in a HAM radio antenna which was causing the problem - and he didn't care and Community Standards was powerless in this situation. Our master electrician neighbor replaced the 6 or 7 breakers with the second generation arc fault breakers and this solved the problem. Sounds like you may have a new HAM operator in your area.

[gene21fan]

reading all about the breakers tripping mine 6 breakers just tripped at 10pm

[Jeff/Tracy]

When I woke up this morning the lights didn't work in the kitchen .. I went out to check and we had 3 breakers tripped. We live in the Village of Charlotte. VERY strange.

[HiHoSteveO]

These two links are NOT The Villages, but are quite interesting to this topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsILD0Fce1s

Forum » RFI - Discussion and Q&A » HF RF Tripping Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI's)

[champion6]

Originally Posted by Vladimir

<snip> Turns out a not so good neighbor put in a HAM radio antenna which was causing the problem - and he didn't care and Community Standards was powerless in this situation.<snip>

I'm not attacking you, but I think it's unfair to blame your neighbor or Community Standards for the problem. The neighbor has the right to operate the radio. The operation of the radio is not prohibited by deed restrictions.

The problem exists in the breakers. This has already been covered in other posts.

[foxmeadow]

Originally Posted by gene21fan

reading all about the breakers tripping mine 6 breakers just tripped at 10pm

I live north of 466A, in St James and many of my breakers kicked last night at about 10:15pm. There were 6 in a row, all 15 amp. It was like they went off one at time in rapid sequence. My house is three years old. I'm not too worried because this is a first, but I do wonder why, all of a sudden, this is happening. I called SECO and they said they have had numerous calls and continue to investigate.
My facts, as I see them:
-All breakers in a row
-All are 15 amps
-no lightning in the area
-I have a noise suppressor, installed by SECO, at the outside meter.

Hope we get a definitive answer soon.

[Down Sized]

I live in Sanible. Two 15 amp breakers tripped around 10 pm last night.

[Chatbrat]

Just checked my panel-noticed the dedicated smoke detector circuit is on a ARC breaker-I am removing it and putting in a conventional breaker & if my refrigerator is on an ARC breaker I will change that one also--these are important circuits & they should not be subject to nuisance tripping despite what the current code says. I don't know when the ARC rule became part of the NEC, but certain aspects are over kill. And yes, I am a retired electrical contractor.

[SKIMAN]

:i think it's aliens:

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by foxmeadow

I live north of 466A, in St James and many of my breakers kicked last night at about 10:15pm. There were 6 in a row, all 15 amp. It was like they went off one at time in rapid sequence. My house is three years old. I'm not too worried because this is a first, but I do wonder why, all of a sudden, this is happening. I called SECO and they said they have had numerous calls and continue to investigate.
My facts, as I see them:
-All breakers in a row
-All are 15 amps
-no lightning in the area
-I have a noise suppressor, installed by SECO, at the outside meter.

Hope we get a definitive answer soon.

If SECO does respond with a cause, would you please let us know? I have not had any issues but have found this thread very interesting.