General Electric
Arc Fault Circuit Breakers

In response to upgraded National Electric Code requirements effective January 2002, General Electric has introduced a new line of Arc Fault circuit breakers. GE's new Arc Fault breaker has been designed and tested to eliminate nuisance tripping. A GE Arc Fault breaker is really two circuit breakers in one. It functions just like a conventional circuit breaker to protect against electrical overload conditions plus it incorporates circuitry for the detection of arc faults. All household electrical arcs are not the same and the GE Arc Fault circuit breaker is designed to distinguish between controlled arcs and uncontrolled arcs. Electric drill motors, faulty light bulbs and appliance motors all produce common controlled electrical arcs, which are classified as low frequency arcs. GE's new Arc Fault breaker is designed to detect high frequency arcs where the duration of the arc is very short. The GE Arc Fault breakers search out and recognize high frequency, short duration arcs. All other arcs are ignored; thereby eliminating unwanted nuisance tripping.