What it is?
GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.
Where it is
required?
GFCI outlets in Ontario are required in kitchen,
washrooms, laundry room within 1.5 meters (5 feet) of the water source (edge of sink, vanity, tub, laundry sink). Furthermore, they
are required on the outside of the house. They are recommended as a safety
upgrade but not required in the garage of the house.
How they operate?
GFCI outlet is a very sensitive devise which can detect
minor variation in the current flowing between hot and neutral slots. If there
is an imbalance in the current flow it trips the circuit. It is able to sense a
mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and its reaction time is as quick as
one-thirteenth of a second.
To better understand its function I always explain my
clients during Home Inspection like this. Suppose we are playing a passing a
ball game, and I throw towards you a ball weighing a 50 grams. Then you are
also supposed to pass me back the same ball weighing 50 grams. If for some
reason the ball you threw back was 40 grams, then the 10 grams is getting dissipated
or disappearing in thin air somewhere. The GFCI outlet measures the difference
in the amount of current supplied and returned and if there is a difference it
trips the circuit to prevent the person from shock.
How to test it?
I advise Home Owners to test their GFCI outlets every
month by pressing the test button on the outlet itself.
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