gfretwell,
It has always been my understanding that the arc fault we are protecting against is the lamp cord pinched under the leg of the bed and buried in dust bunnies.
That is what the manufacturers have been trying to tell us since the first AFCI proposal appeared in the ROP for the 96 code. In the 2005 code cycle they finally admitted that they really don't do that job...yet. They have promised that the combination type AFCIs that are required by the 2005 code with an effective date of 1/1/08 will actually do that. No one really knows yet, because there are no combination type AFCIs on the market at this time.
Don
