![]() Each year there are an average of 400 home related electrocutions, about 60 which are associated with consumer appliances. If a person is accidentally exposed to electricity, it is very important to stop the flow of electricity into the body as fast as possible. Any current over 1 milliamp can be felt, 5 milliamps will produce a painful shock, currents at 10-15 milliamps can paralyze or freeze muscles (making it impossible to release an energized object such as a tool, appliance or wire) and currents as low as 50-100 milliamps can be fatal. It was designed to detect any difference more than 4 or 5 milliamps and to react quickly (less than one-tenth of a second) to shut down any circuit out of this small range.įor reference, there are 1,000 milliamps in an amp. Circuit simply refers to a roughly circular route that starts and finishes at the same place…in this case, your electrical panel.Ī GFCI outlet measures the power coming in and then returning to your panel as it completes the circuit. In other words, when an electrician refers to a circuit, he is talking about electricity leaving your panel, flowing through the insulated wires in your house to supply power to any energized items and then following a return path back to the panel. In contrast, circuit breakers were designed to protect equipment and buildings and operate completely differently.Īll electricity attempts to return to its original source. Dalziel apparently knew a thing or two about how much electricity it took to kill a person and developed a device designed to protect human lives. Dalziel was a professor of electrical engineering at UC Berkeley and wrote The Effects of Electric Shock on Man, a treatise which explained the effects of varying amounts of electricity on humans. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters and it was designed by Charles Dalziel in 1961. Troubleshooting non-functioning GFCI outlets are a common electrical service call which can be expensive and frustrating to homeowners. We pride ourselves in providing nothing but exceptional customer service.Customers often ask our CWC Electric, LLC electricians how GFCI outlets work and what causes them to “trip” or stop working. For more information on installing GFCI outlets in your home, call the professionals at Sunrise Heating and Plumbing today at (616) 293-9326. GFCI outlets should be installed in many areas throughout your home for the absolute best protection. Plumbing safety involves more than just smart plumbing, but also a safe environment around such fixtures. Bathrooms must have at least one electrical outlet, it must be GFCI, and it must be within 3 feet of the sink. That outlet must also be within 2 feet of the sink. The National Electrical Code requires outlets be installed in a kitchen that has a sink 12 inches wide and 24 inches deep. Placement of GFCI outlets should also be taken into consideration, especially if you are working on a remodel and have control of such things. Same with laundry rooms that have a sink close to the washing machine, and even outlets that are located outside. Consider your garage or basement, where unwanted water may find its way close to an outlet. While bathrooms and kitchens are the smartest places to have a GFCI outlet, they are not the only locations. After the area is cleared, dried and safe, the outlet can be turned back on, or you can press the reset button. Once water gets into a device that is plugged in, or into the outlet itself, the GFCI will cut off that path of electricity and shut off the outlet, stopping any possible eclectic shock. It is not the water itself, but electricity will flow through water because it contains ions of dissolved salts and metals. The danger in the bathroom or kitchen is that water is an excellent conductor of electricity. A GFCI outlet detects imbalances in electrical currents, and when such an imbalance occurs, the power will be shut down to that outlet immediately, preventing possible damage or the potential risk of shock.Įlectricity will always look for the path of least resistance. Therefore, a ground-fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI outlet, is important. It is likely that you have at least one outlet close to a sink in your home, and dangerous situations can arise if water gets into them, or into the electrical devices plugged in. To ensure safety all around, you need to consider your surroundings. The plumbing in your kitchen or bathroom is much more than pipes and sinks. ![]()
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