U.S. Manufacturers' New Tools for Electrical Safety

NEMA's CEO Evan Gaddis tells a recent story about his son, who's building a new wing onto his house out in Southern California. An inspector was looking over the plans with the contractor, and asked about the installation of Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters -- the special circuit breakers that are being incorporated more and more into new construction to reduce the risk of home electrical fires. Seems this particular contractor hadn't heard of AFCIs. No problem: the savvy inspector pulled out an Electrical Safety Foundation International brochure on the subject (created in conjunction with NEMA) and handed it over to the contractor. The new wing will now have AFCIs.

The inspector likely wouldn't have been so knowledgeable two years ago. But over the past year the NEMA circuit breaker members put together such a sensational marketing campaign that their property- and life-saving product is now widely recommended -- including by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Fire Protection Association, and now by a growing number of state officials. It's just one example of how our electrical manufacturers are helping American households increase their living standards.

Even though the last two revisions of the National Electrical Codes have called for the installation of AFCIs into new homes, it's up to state legislatures to officially adopt these rules. The bad news is national and state home builders associations have targeted state AFCI provisions for defeat. The good news is state legislators thus far have overwhelmingly sided with those who favor electrical fire protection.

We still have a ways to go before Americans fully understand the importance of AFCIs and other new technologies that can prevent electrical fires. Still, the progress we've made over the past year has been remarkable.