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210.12(C) and (D) AFCI Protection in Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities and AFCI Protection for Branch Circuit Extensions in Guest Rooms/Suites

Revision

Change Summary

  • AFCI protection has been expanded to patient sleeping rooms in nursing homes and limited-care facilities. In addition, Guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels have been added to the areas requiring AFCI protection for extensions and modifications of existing occupancies.
NEC® Text

210.12 Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection.
Arc-fault circuit-interrupter protection shall be provided as required in 210.12(A), (B), (C), and (D). The arc-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.
(C) Guest Rooms and, Guest Suites, and Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities. All 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets and devices installed in guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels and patient sleeping rooms in nursing homes and limited-care facilities shall be protected by any of the means described in 210.12(A)(1) through (6).

(D) Branch Circuit Extensions or Modifications - Dwelling Units and, Dormitory Units, and Guest Rooms and Guest Suites. In Where branch circuit wiring for any of the areas specified in 210.12(A) or, (B), where branch-circuit wiring or (C) is modified, replaced, or extended, the branch circuit shall be protected by one of the following:

(1) A listed combination-type AFCI located at the origin of the branch circuit By any of the means described in 210.12(A)(1) through (A)(6).

(2) A listed outlet branch-circuit-type AFCI located at the first receptacle outlet of the existing branch circuit

Exception: AFCI protection shall not be required where the extension of the existing branch circuit conductors is not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) and does not include any additional outlets or devices, other than splicing devices. This measurement shall not include the conductors inside an enclosure, cabinet, or junction box.

Leviton Comment: While there was no specific change to dormitory units here in 210.12 (C) or (D), the NEC did add a definition in Chapter 1 clarifying and expanding what a dormitory is:

Dormitory Unit. A building or a space in a building in which group sleeping accommodations are provided for more than 16 persons who are not members of the same family in one room, or a series of closely associated rooms, under joint occupancy and single management, with or without meals, but without individual cooking facilities (CMP 2)

 

Material taken from the National Electric Code® is reprinted with permission from NFPA 70®, 2020 edition.
National Electrical Code®, Copyright 2019, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. All rights reserved.

Expert Analysis

210.12(C) and (D) AFCI Protection in Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities and AFCI Protection for Branch Circuit Extensions in Guest Rooms/Suites

For the 2020 NEC, AFCI protection has been expanded to include patient sleeping rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care facilities. The wiring methods employed to supply areas of limited care facilities and nursing homes that are used exclusively as patient sleeping rooms are often NEC Chapters 1 through 4 wiring methods as addressed at 517.10(B)(2). AFCI technology will provide the same protection from the danger of arcing faults to the occupants of these rooms that is afforded occupants of conventional dwelling units and guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels.

Also in the 2020 NEC the areas where AFCI protection for existing branch circuit extensions or modifications is required has been expanded to guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels for consistency. All these areas (dormitory units, guest rooms, and guest suites) are areas that are typically used and treated much like a dwelling unit.

210.12(C) and (D) AFCI Protection in Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities and AFCI Protection for Branch Circuit Extensions in Guest Rooms/Suites

One last change that needs to be addressed here is the measurement of the extended branch circuits. The exception to AFCI protection for existing branch circuit extensions or modifications states that AFCI protection is not required for existing branch circuit conductors where extended not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) and does not include any additional outlets or devices (other than splicing devices). For the 2020 NEC, CMP-2 added a new last sentence to this exception which states that “this measurement shall not include the conductors inside an enclosure, cabinet, or junction box.” This means that the extension could consist of something like 1.8 m (6 ft) of flexible metal conduit from the panelboard to an outlet device box with 3.0 m (10 ft) of conductors from the circuit breaker terminal to the receptacle at the first outlet box.

 

Leviton Comment

Dormitories, Nursing Homes, Guest Rooms and Guest Suites can present unique challenges for AFCI protection. Quite often people staying in these rooms don’t have access to breaker panels to reset the circuit should the AFCI breaker trip. Since receptacles can be reset at point of use, they are a convenient and preferred method of AFCI protection among students, patients, guests and facility personnel.

 

The NEC allows for AFCI receptacles to satisfy 210.12(B) and (C) as long as RMC, IMC, EMT, Type MC or steelarmored type AC cables are used on the installation. This is often the case for commercial installations like dormitories, nursing homes and guest rooms/suites. In addition, the NEC specifically calls out AFCI receptacles as an allowable solution for branch circuit extensions and modifications as identified in 210.12(D) above.

 

Please reference 210.12 for complete details.

 

Leviton Solution

Leviton offers AFCI receptacles and dual function AFCI/GFCI receptacles. The SmartlockPro. Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle offers protection both from electrical fires that could result from arc-faults and from electrical shock or electrocution due to ground faults in one smart device.

 

Through advanced technology, the SmartlockPro. Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle helps protect home and family by working to detect arc-fault and ground fault hazards and, if detected, quickly cuts off power to help avoid a potential fire or shock/electrocution occurrence. The SmartlockPro. Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle offers a National Electrical Code. (NEC.) compliant option for AFCI/GFCI protection in residential kitchens and laundry areas for new construction, modifications/extensions and replacement receptacles. It is also ideal as a replacement for ungrounded receptacles, satisfying NEC. requirements for both AFCI and GFCI protection. Leviton’s AGTR1 is rated at 15-Amp, 125-Volt, 20-Amp Feed-Through. It is Tamper-Resistant, back and side wired and a self-grounding clip is included.

 

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