Just ran into a new NEC rule about AFCI breakers in basements

I was going over the 2023 code update last night and found out basements now need AFCI protection on all 120V outlets. That caught me off guard since my own setup has a freezer down there on a plain old breaker. Has anyone else had to redo their basement circuits for this?

3 comments

3 Comments

graydavis1mo ago

My 1980s basement freezer has been running fine for 40 years without AFCI.

sarah_mason19d ago

Old freezers are built different but the real issue nobody mentions is grounding. Your grandpa's freezer probably has a two-prong cord sitting on a concrete floor. No path for a fault to travel. Modern codes need AFCIs because houses are wired with ground wires now. That old freezer leaks current through its frame. AFCI sees that as arcing and trips. So it's not the freezer that's the problem. It's the fact your house actually follows code now.

the_lucas1mo ago

Read an electrician say modern compressors can trip those things more.