Arc faults are problems with your wiring.
These are not due to bad wiring, but disconnections within your house's electrical system.
Most commonly, these are loose connections or areas where the material has corroded.
The connection is not good, and it sometimes sends out deadly sparks which can start house fires.
You probably know that a torn or worn away electrical cord is a major fire hazard.
This is the same thing that's happening with a fault, only instead of a visible cord, it is in the wiring behind walls, above ceilings and under floors.
This means that you can't detect it and patch it up as simply as you can a damaged cord.
The arc fault breaker detects these problem spots and stops electricity from getting to them.
A Bigger, Better Circuit Breaker You're right if you're thinking, "but that's what the circuit breaker does.
" They are designed simply to protect wires, switches and outlets.
They don't have the power to sense arcs.
When there's a problem in your wiring, it shoots off sparks that are thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.
Although these arcs can be tiny, they can also be deadly when they come into contact with any nearby material.
It takes an arc fault breaker to detect these tiny fireworks going off behind your walls.
The Downside Of Arc Fault Breakers The only trouble some folks have had with the breakers is that they can be too sensitive.
This means that you can trip them up sometimes by simply plugging in a regular appliance.
This problem can be fixed, and not all styles of breakers will do it.
Still, it's well worth the pain if sometimes you have to reset the breaker to make sure that you're home is protected.
Shooting sparks from concealed electrical wires are the number one cause of the over 100 house fires that happen daily in the United States.
No matter how big or small, all of these fires are tragic and preventable.
An arc fault breaker detects the tears in your wires and gives you a chance to fix them before they can wreak havoc on your home.