Though I think that AFCI's promise sounds good. But the only live demonstrations that I have actually witnessed could be attributed to the GFI 30ma built-in protection or that a good quality quick trip breaker would likely have seen also. Noting that the AFCI have a lower instantaneous trip settting, who's to say that the rest of the electronics does much.
What would be helpful is if we could get our collective hands on the tests with complete data on the current waveforms and maximum amperage values for the tests with video. I would think that that would help in the conversion process. As I think about it, maybe I did see a video once that may have covered some of this, if so it was not memorable enough.
Sign me as a hopeful sceptic. (I have not installed them in my own home yet.)
