well Mikesh, wouldn't UL1699's wording address this?
(is there a linguist in the house?)clickyThe UL code states “By recognizing characteristics unique to arcing and functioning to de-energize the circuit when an arc-fault is detected, AFCI's further reduce the risk of fire beyond the scope of conventional fuses and circuit breakers. The UL page at http://www.ul.com/regulators/afci/ leads to details of how AFCI breakers are tested in the UL laboratory. The UL 1699 defines the requirements for the new AFCI breakers. Work on AFCIs by the UL can be traced back to a 15 March 1996 UL report of Research on Arc-Fault Detection Circuit Breakers which was based upon research that extends back into 1994. While AFCIs are specified to detect several different types of arcing faults, they will not detect all types of arcing faults, http://www.ul.com/regulators/afci/Dini.pdf. The UL 1699 Standard currently addresses four different types of arcing tests with different types of wires and insulation cuts, 15 different unwanted tripping tests, and 14 tests for overloads, short circuits, and mechanical operationanyone have an update on this?
~S~
