AFCI Branch Protection -- What the Science Says

M02
AFCI Branch Protection -- What the Science Says
Paul Brazis, UL LLC David Dini, UL LLC

The number of branch circuits requiring AFCI protection has been steadily expanding. Proposed changes for the 2017 National Electrical Code may expand this to all circuits in a residence. Several approaches to implementing this AFCI protection were added during the 2014 Code cycle. In this session, the presenters will discuss their published research work on the effectiveness of some of these AFCI implementations, instructing installers, AHJs, and users on the meaning of the research work and its potential impact on branch circuit protection.

Presented by:

Paul Brazis, UL LLC
Paul W. Brazis, Jr. is a Research Manager and Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff with the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) R&D group at UL, LLC. He has a background in electrical and thermal characterization, electronic materials, and device physics, completing his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Northwestern University. Paul joined UL in 2008 and leads the Electrical Safety Center of Excellence, part of UL C&I R&D. This team has a focus in various aspects of electrical safety, including ac and dc arc fault phenomena and detection, component degradation and ignition, harmonics, video and security, and appliances, as well as energy infrastructure, generation, and storage. His current specialization focuses on electrical arcing phenomena and using statistical approaches in the time- and frequency-domains.

David Dini, UL LLC
Dave Dini is a Research Engineer in UL's C&I R&D group and has developed a reputation for electrical safety expertise. Dave began his career at UL in 1974 after graduating with a BSEE from Bradley University. He is also a Licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and a senior member of IEEE. Dave is Chairman of the NFPA 70E Technical Committee for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, a member of an NFPA NEC Code Making Panel, and a principal member of the technical committee for NFPA 73, Standard for Electrical Inspections for Existing Dwellings. He previously served as Chair of the Test Procedures and Protocols Ad Hoc Committee for the IEEE/NFPA Arc Flash Collaborative Research Project.