When I was in school, we had a classmate that intentionally stuck a pair of scissors inside of a receptacle. For what ever reason he done that, he was very luck in not getting shocked because their was a GFCI receptacle upstream that recognized a discrepancy in the current flow and tripped the receptacle. It may shock you, but there were 166 electrical fatalities in 2019, which was a 3.75% increase over 2018 and the highest number of electrical fatalities since 2011. This is a huge issue. Now all of these deaths are not due to GFCI’s not being in place. But this number is an indicator of how serious electricity is and just how fatal it can be. If a simple device such as a GFCI receptacle can save you, why not have it?
Where are GFCI receptacles required?
According to the 2017 NEC, all 125 volt, single phase, 15 and 20 amp receptacles installed in the locations listed below shall have ground-fault circuit interrupter protection: bathrooms, garages and also accessory buildings, outdoors, crawl spaces, unfinished portions or areas of the basement not intended as habitable rooms, kitchens, sinks, boathouses, bathtubs or shower stalls, and laundry areas. There are quite a few places that these GFCI’s should be located throughout your home. If you do not have them in these areas, then I would recommend installing them or contacting us for installing them as they pose a risk not having them installed.
How Do GFCI Outlets Work?
The GFCI will “sense” the difference in the amount of electricity flowing into the circuit to that flowing out, even in amounts of current as small as 4 or 5 milliamps. The GFCI reacts quickly (less than one-tenth of a second) to trip or shut off the circuit.
The Importance of GFCI Maintenance
GFCI receptacles are great at protecting us from the dangers we have talked about, but they do not last forever. Most GFCI’s are good for an average of 10 years. Eventually (and it’s a guarantee) your GFCI’s will wear out and lose functionality. Because of their importance, it is good practice to test the receptacles once every month to ensure that they are working properly and tripping/resetting accordingly. When is the last time you checked yours???
Testing GFCI receptacles
What is the best way to test the GFCI receptacles in your house? It is really simple to test them and does not take long at all. All you have to do is take a corded lamp to each GFCI receptacle and press the “test” button on the receptacle itself. In doing so, the GFCI will sense that the button has been hit and the power will be cut from the lamp. To get power going back to the GFCI, you press the “reset” button and in doing so the lamp should come back on. Did you get these results while testing your GFCI’s? If so, then they are working properly!!
If you did not have these results while testing them, then it is time we take care of the issue. If hitting the “test” button didn’t cut power to your lamp, then we have an issue. If pressing the “reset” button cut power back on to your lamp, then we have an issue or problem with the GFCI. You may have a problem with the outlet due to the GFCI being installed improperly or some other malfunction within the GFCI. As you’ve now learned, a dysfunctional GFCI outlet can’t protect you from the risk of electric shock!
If you need any other assistance with your GFCI’s or have any questions about them, do not hesitate to contact us!!