Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter

An arc-fault circuit interrupter, or AFCI, is a specialized circuit breaker that senses the electric arcing that signals a loose or damaged connection in household wiring and cuts power before the arc can start a fire. It distinguishes between the harmless arcing that happens during ordinary switching and the more sustained, dangerous arcing that can develop when a connection has worked loose over time and become hot enough to ignite nearby material. Because of that fire-prevention role, AFCI protection has become mandatory across a growing share of home wiring in North America, starting with bedroom circuits in the United States and Canada and expanding over time to kitchens, family rooms and other living spaces by 2014. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/