AFDDs one for Andy Burns

blimey - an AFDD built into a plug with a flashing LED to alert you to the problem?

PS

I remain to be convinced there was evidence that the latest move on AFDDs, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of a new CU, was cost-effective. Norway is one of the richest countries in the world on the yardstick that matters for stuff like this - per capita income. If any country could afford a "safety at any a price" it's them. But their Institute for Energy Technology concluded earlier this year there was still too little evidence that AFDDs are effective to justify requiring them. Their several concerns included that it seems easy to find tests where AFDDs don't detect dangerous arcing but do disconnect harmless arcing.

So are you changing from being a "Sparky" to being an "Arcy"?

AFCIs have been standard fit in the US and Canada, in certain areas since

They're 110v, so they have more current and perhaps their AFCIs aren't so sensitive.

Given they're now mandated in 'special situations', I'd expect increasing volume to bring the price down. Although I wonder if this is partly a 'not invented here' situation - you might already be able to buy them from Schneider, Legrand or Siemens (maybe in multi-module format to go in a continental-style three-row three-phase panel), but not to go in your 10 way Wylex or MK consumer unit.

Theo

And yet there seems to be a dearth of evidence of their benefits in practice. Proponents are still citing today as "evidence" a US Consumer Product Safety Division report in 2003 which had "ES [Engineering Sciences] staff estimate that the inclusion of AFCI protection in circuit breakers could have prevented 50% or more of these fires."

Government departments, the NHS etc would be castigated for spending hundreds of millions of pounds a year without pilots and/or monitoring to establish the costs and benefits. Yet the BSI seem to get away with asserting they know best what's good value for other people's money.

Given bell wire seems the norm for lighting wiring, that doesn't really surprise me very much!