ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area arc fault circuit breakers and knob and tube

Are arc fault cicuit breakers required in Massachusett on service upgrades? I heard of other electrical contractors having trouble when mandated to use arc fault circuit breakers on knob and tube. Any one else out there having these problems, please advise thank you JDP

Massachusetts did put a revision in the 2002 MEC 210.12(C) that read:

(C)Overcurrent Device Replacements.
Where panelboards are replaced that contain one or more circuits requiring AFCI protection by this or other sections of the Code, AFCI protection shall be provided for such circuits.

This revision was quickly removed and did not make it into the 2005 MEC. Although it may be around for the 2008 cycle if manufacturers can produce products that satisfy the AFCI requirements under all circuiting arrangements.

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