Hello. Please help. I know that the dryer and Range should be GFCI protected. If I don’t see a GFCI breaker for these appliances with the test button, how else could I know if they are GFCI protected?
Thank you for your time.
They are protected through the breaker. If you dont see a GFCI breaker on any circuit above 30 amp, it most likely does not have protection.
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Except when they are not required to be:
MA Emergency TIA Exempting Cord and Plug GFCI.pdf (76.8 KB)
That’s a whole state dropping GFCI because of the horrid problems.
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As Daniel stated once you get over 20 amps where receptacles no longer have GFCI protection these branch circuits will have protection with a GFCI circuit breaker. Also keep in mind that GFCI requirements seem to change every code cycle so a home that hasn’t been built in the last few years may not have required GFCI when it was constructed.
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IMO it’s getting ridiculous.
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I agree. And when they added outdoor AC units to the list it just showed how out of touch with reality these CMP’s (code making panels) are. These units were never desigend to have a leakage level low enough to not nuisance trip the GFCI protection. You think before they rubbber stamped this code change someone would have thought of that.
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Article 210.8(A) says;
(A) Dwelling Units. All 125-volt through 250-volt receptacles
installed in the locations specified in 210.8(A) (1) through
(A) (11) and supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated
150 volts or less to ground shall have ground-fault circuit
interrupter
protection for personnel.
Utah amendments say: In NEC, Section 210.8(A), the words “through 250-volt” are deleted.
They aren’t required for dryers or ranges in Utah!
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That’s very helpful!!!
California extended the exemption for outdoor HVAC.
There’s a lot of talk about a NITMAM, or appeal, at this years voting conference on similar topics.
This!
For the OP: you’re an after the fact inspector, looking for safety issues. It’s not your job to try to bring an older home up to current code. In fact, that’s nobody’s job.
For ranges and dryers and HVAC I focus on ensuring the case equipment grounding is in good shape. That’s what’s going to matter. An old “no ground” dryer outlet is legal, but gets called out.
You, OP are a safety inspector NOT a code inspector.
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That’s helpful and very interesting. Should I still recommend adding GFCI breakers as an upgrade? Thanks
That’s downgrade in a number of ways.
I’d say no. Check the grounding however. Check for other higher priority safety issues.
Tell us more like age of home, State or Province, number of wires (3 or 4) for better advice, about if the GFCI may have been required. Various localities have resisted the GFCI juggernaut, and you may be in one.
I do recommend upgrading to GFCI in wet locations: Exterior, bathroom, kitchen. Sometimes I’ll include the garage and basement, sometimes not. I look at it more as a liability issue for me if I don’t mention it. There is no “one rule” on this issue.
You can recommend anything you want, but the operative word here is UPGRADE. Upgrades have little negotiating value and are routinely dismissed by agents. Some SOPs require you to report a lack of some electrical safety devices. Most notably, smoke and CO alarms.
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“Upgrade”, well, maybe “Different” or “Sidegrade”. These devices have tradeoffs.
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I mention the benefits of installing GFCI receptacles but I don’t refer to it as an upgrade, nor do I refer to the lack of GFCIs as a defect or deficiency. Most of the homes I’ve inspected were built before GFCI protection existed or was the norm. I see GFCIs as being like seatbelts in cars. I know mechanics who inspect cars. They don’t say that a 1963 Chevy Impala has a defect because it lacks a seatbelt. They don’t recommend installing seat belts either. When you buy old stuff, you should not expect it to have modern components. It’s old. You get old. If you want new, you buy new.
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Here’s the issue though. What year of car does your mechanic friend start saying the lack of a seatbelt is a defect? I’m sure you can figure out where I’m going with this.
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I read a kid was jumping a fence onto the compressor and got electrocuted which prompted the code change. Problems with nuisance tripping of GFCI protected HVAC equipment caused them to back track (supposedly) until the industry can come up with more reliable GFCI protection for HVAC equipment. I think 2026 or 28?
That’s a good question. I know several auto mechanics, marine surveyors, and aircraft inspectors who do pre-purchase inspections and I have had some in depth conversations about the things they inspect and what they put in their reports. The answer to your question is ‘Never”.
I live in the Great Lakes region. There was a local home inspector who was well known as a marine surveyor for a long time before he got into the home inspection business. He got into doing home inspections because we have a very short boating season and he didn’t get enough marine survey work to keep busy during our long off-season. He asked me to help him understand the HI business.
There is not a lot of difference between a marine survey and a home inspection. We had some interesting conversations comparing home inspections and marine surveys. Likewise, I have had similar conversations with auto mechanics about car and truck inspections.
They all say the same things. They inspect the car, truck, boat, or airplane to assess its condition. The don’t recommend altering it or critique the adequacy of the vehicle’s design.
What they all do is consistent with every home inspection SOP. They assess condition, not adequacy of design. There is not one HI SOP in North America that put determining adequacy of design on a home inspector.
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Interesting video on Japanese GFCI.
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