Why You Should Protect Your Home with AFCI Outlets

Arc-fault circuit interrupter, or AFCI, outlets play an important role in protecting your home from electrical fires. These outlets immediately cut off power to the branch circuit when they detect situations that could cause danger to you and your family. That’s important because they work, full time, whether you’re home or away, and they constantly monitor situations both seen (around your home) and unseen (inside your walls).

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The Causes of Common Fires

Electrical failure or malfunction causes more than 45,000 home fires each year, according to the National Fire Protection Association. It also causes more than 400 deaths. Fortunately, almost half of these fires are preventable. All you need to do is outfit your home with AFCI outlets. Most home electrical fires start in the bedroom from arc-faults. When an electrical wire or cord is damaged, it creates a spark, or arc, between the metal contact points. It doesn’t take much to damage electrical cords, wires and equipment. Something as simple as a piece of furniture pinching an electrical cord, foot traffic trampling cords, and accidentally nailing into electrical wiring can do the trick. If there’s flammable material near the spark, such as a bedsheet, paper or wood, inside your walls, it can start a fire. That’s why AFCI outlets’ round-the-clock protection is so important.

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How AFCI Outlets Can Provide Peace of Mind

Installing an AFCI outlet from Leviton can protect your family and property, and provide peace of mind. If you’re comfortable working with electricity, installation is a simple do-it-yourself project that takes less than 10 minutes. Just cut off the outlet’s electricity at the service panel and test that there’s no power. Then follow Leviton’s instructions included in the product box. You’ll need to take a crash course on electrical ‘line’ and ‘load,’ to determine which outlets are directly powered from the energy source, and which outlets simply carry power to other outlets. But once you get that squared away, installation is easy! AFCIs immediately detect arc-faults in the circuit and shut down the flow of electricity. Best of all, you don’t have to replace all of a room’s outlets with AFCIs to protect your home. When you install an AFCI as the first outlet on a branch circuit, it provides arc protection for the entire circuit. AFCIs are a smart, simple way to protect your family from electrical fires. So, don’t let a seemingly small issue like a crimped electrical cord or a damaged wire inside your wall turn into a dangerous and possibly deadly situation.