![\"\"](\"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/arc_fault2.png\" "\\"arc_fault2\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nI am continually amazed at what state government gets involved in. Last year it was the Plumbing Code that became a big fight. This year we had electricians.<\/p>\n
In Commerce and Human Resources Committee this year we had the update of the Electrical Code. We got cross wise on Arc Fault Interrupters<\/a>. These new protectors interrupt a circuit if they sense an arc. This is different from GFI (Ground Fault Interrupters) that are in the bathroom or kitchen. Arc fault interrupter wired circuits are supposed to detect arcing and thus reduce a fire hazard. D<\/p>\n But we had testimony against requiring these in the code. There were electricians at the committee who argued they added too much to the cost of the house. And we needed to help out home builders any chance we got.<\/p>\n I called the electrician I use in Moscow. He\u2019d just put in a new service for me so I had his number in my phone.<\/p>\n \u201cMark, what can you tell me about arc fault interrupters?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoc, you don\u2019t want them in that old house do you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it has to do with the new code we\u2019re looking at for Idaho.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to tell me the problems he\u2019d had getting them to not trip incorrectly. It seems some of the breakers are very sensitive and trip when you run the vacuum cleaner. He\u2019d even talked with the State inspector who told him that maybe he should tell the home owner to run an extension cord from another room when he was vacuuming.<\/p>\n We voted down adding these to Idaho code. But I think we\u2019ll be requiring them someday. It\u2019s like all the new tests that come out in medicine. We can do a lot but sometimes we find things that we can\u2019t really tell the patient what they mean. I didn\u2019t rush into the newest technology, either with new tests or the new drugs that came out. Maybe that means I\u2019m conservative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am continually amazed at what state government gets involved in. Last year it was the Plumbing Code that became a big fight. This year we had electricians. In Commerce and Human Resources Committee this year we had the … Continue reading