Three Things Please maybe four

[Unregistered]

Anti Arc Breakers, R these for bedroom RECEPTICALS only?

3 wire kitchen circuits within 3' of sink, require ground fault?

Speaker wire installed in a new home, someone (a salesman who has the wire) said it needed to be fire rated. if so what about communication wire (intercom), RG45 (network cable) and coaxal CB, FM, Sat and cable)?

Anything else since 2003 for residental wire on new homes?

[Homer]

Arc Fault Breakers, R these for bedroom RECEPTICALS only?Yes, they are only required for bedroom RECEPTICALS but you can use them elsewhere if you wish.

3 wire kitchen circuits within 3' of sink, require ground fault?Yes, you'll need a 2-pole GFCI breaker for this (expensive). Why not use two 20A 2-wire circuits with GFCI receptacles (T-slot) instead of the two 3-wire circuits with GFCI breakers? See Rule 26-726.

Speaker wire installed in a new home, someone (a salesman who has the wire) said it needed to be fire rated. if so what about communication wire (intercom), RG45 (network cable) and coaxal CB, FM, Sat and cable)?It sounds like this guy is trying to boost his sales! Plenum rated wire (fire rated) is only required if run inside a plenum (air compartment, chamber, or duct). This applies to all communications wires, not just speaker wires. In a typical house there are no large air chambers or compartments. You just have ducts or small chambers from boxed in joists and there are lots of ways to route wire without going through them. Take a look at this (http://www.phonicear.com/learnplenum.asp) for an explanation.

Anything else since 2003 for residental wire on new homes?No.

Homer

[Unregistered]

Yes, you'll need a 2-pole GFCI breaker for this (expensive). Why not use two 20A 2-wire circuits with GFCI receptacles (T-slot) instead of the two 3-wire circuits with GFCI breakers? See Rule 26-726.


I don't believe there is a requirement for GFCI in kitchens. Do you have a code rule? The last two new high-rise projects I worked on didn't require them.

IMO, the T-slots are good idea... saves on breakers, helps on box fill, less splicing, and a better quality receptacle.

[Homer]

I don't believe there is a requirement for GFCI in kitchens. Do you have a code rule? The last two new high-rise projects I worked on didn't require them.I do believe there is!

CEC 2002, Rule 26-700(12)

Effective Jan. 1/2003;

Receptacles located in kitchens and installed within 1 m of a kitchen sink along the wall behind counter work surfaces shall be protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter of the Class A type.

Homer

[joed]

Receptacles on either side of the sink are not considered adjacent. They can be on the same circuit and protected by one GFCI receptacle.

[Mr Fixit eh]

It is true that receptacles that are adjacent to, and on either side of the kitchen sink are not considered adjacent.

Joed says, They can be on the same circuit and protected by one GFCI receptacle.

If these 2 receptacles are on the same circuit and protected by 1 GFCI receptacle, this must be a 20A T-slot GFCI fed by 12AWG wire. The alternative would be 15A receptacles on a multiwire circuit fed by 14-3 cable and protected by a 15A GFCI breaker.

Below is a quote from the ESA website http://www.esasafe.com/consumer/faq.php

Kitchen counter outlets, split GFCI

Question
I understand the Code requires GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) protection of receptacles next to my kitchen sink. Can I install a 15 amp GFCI type receptacle at these outlets?


Answer
No. The Code requires either a 15 amp multi-wire circuit and 15 amp split receptacles or a 20 amp circuit and T-slot receptacles for kitchen counter outlets. A 15 amp rated GFCI receptacle cannot be installed in compliance with either of these requirements.
Code compliant GFCI protection of the split circuit and receptacle option can be achieved by installing a 2 pole 15 amp GFCI circuit breaker at the panelboard.
Code compliant GFCI protection for the 20 amp non-split circuit option can be achieved by either installing a 20 amp GFCI circuit breaker at the panelboard or by installing a T-slot GFCI type receptacle at the outlet .
See Ontario Electrical Safety Code Rules 26-700, 26-712, 26-722, and 26-726.

This information relates to Ontario. I can't tell where the OP is located, so if the OP is NOT located in Ontario, he/she should contact the electrical inspection agency in the jurisdiction to double-check.

[joed]

If these 2 receptacles are on the same circuit and protected by 1 GFCI receptacle, this must be a 20A T-slot GFCI fed by 12AWG wire. The alternative would be 15A receptacles on a multiwire circuit fed by 14-3 cable and protected by a 15A GFCI breaker.

That is true. The 15amp split would require a double pole GFCI. Can you say $$$$$.

[u2slow]

I do believe there is!

CEC 2002, Rule 26-700(12)

[I]Effective Jan. 1/2003;



Perhaps for some jurisdictions (Ontario?) Subrule 12 as you quoted does not exist in the current 2002 CEC. Many provinces do not adopt interim code changes. BC is one of them.

Nothing wrong with the added safety of a GFCI near the sink... it just won't be required until 2006 for all of Canada. ;)

[Homer]

Subrule 12 is as I quoted for as per CEC 19th edition 2002 and adopted as is by OESC (Ontario) 23rd edition 2002.

If some jurisdiction chooses to specifically omit subrule 12 then that would be their business. Without access to the amendments of all provinces there is no way to know if BC has chosen to omit subrule 12.

All I do know is that what was quoted is law in Ontario and most of Canada.

It is rare for a jurisdiction to omit a section. Typically they tend to replace a section with a stricter or more clear passage.

As you stated it will probably be effective for all in 2006.

Homer

[suemarkp]

It sounds like this guy is trying to boost his sales! Plenum rated wire (fire rated) is only required if run inside a plenum (air compartment, chamber, or duct). This applies to all communications wires, not just speaker wires. In a typical house there are no large air chambers or compartments. You just have ducts or small chambers from boxed in joists and there are lots of ways to route wire without going through them.
Homer

Note that fire rated doesn't mean plenum rated. All cables listed under the NEC are what fire safety people mean when they say "fire rated". There may be some cable types in the NEC that are not fireproof (such as USE), but they are not listed for use inside, so that makes them "fire rated" and with a poor rating.

For low voltage cables, you need to use cables with a recognized NEC (or CSA) listing for the way the cable is being used. This would be CL2, CM, CATV, etc. You can also use plenum or riser rated cables, and these have a P or R suffix (e.g. CMP or CMR). Ideally, this listing mark would be applied to the cable jacket so you have proof as to what was actually installed. Just about any cable you buy today will be a listed cable type, and perhaps have multiple listings such as CL2 - CM.

[Unregistered]

26-700(12) is a local amendment, for Ontario. The 2002 code book stops at 26-700(11), and in the parts of Canada not acknowledged to exist, in Ontario, receptacles on either side of the sink are considered adjacent. We will catch up (or fall back) in 2006. I'm still not convinced that 2 x 20 amp receptacles on one circuit are going to replace 2 x 15 amp receptacles on a split circuit.

Congrats to Ontario for caving in to the manufacturers' pressure before the rest of Canada. Wanna buy a bridge?