Gfci breaker: How to Install a GFCI or AFCI/GFCI Circuit Breaker

How to Install a GFCI or AFCI/GFCI Circuit Breaker

By

Timothy Thiele

Timothy Thiele

Timothy Thiele has an associate degree in electronics and is an IBEW Local #176 Union Electrician with over 30 years of experience in residential, commercial, and industrial wiring.

Learn more about The Spruce’s
Editorial Process

Updated on 09/27/22

Reviewed by

Larry Campbell

Reviewed by
Larry Campbell

Larry Campbell is an electrical contractor with 36 years of experience in residential and light commercial electrical wiring. He worked as an electronic technician and later an engineer for the IBM Corp. is a member of The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board.

Learn more about The Spruce’s
Review Board

Fact checked by

Jillian Dara

Fact checked by
Jillian Dara

Jillian is a freelance journalist with 10 years of editorial experience in the lifestyle genre. She is a writer and fact checker for TripSavvy, as well as a fact-checker for The Spruce.

Learn more about The Spruce’s
Editorial Process

The Spruce / Kevin Norris

Project Overview

A ground fault circuit breaker is properly called a ground-fault circuit-interrupter breaker, or simply a GFCI breaker. It installs into a home’s service panel, or breaker box to provides GFCI protection for the entire branch circuit it serves. This installation is commonly used as an alternative to installing GFCI receptacles (outlets) in specific locations where they are required by the local electrical code. GFCI protection aims at protecting users against accidental shock during circuit failures.

Fast Fact

What is a GFCI breaker used for? According to the Energy Education Council: “A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) can help prevent electrocution. If a person’s body starts to receive a shock, the GFCI senses this and cuts off the power before he/she can get injured. “

Building codes in most areas now require an additional type of protection against sparking for all general-use outlet circuits, known as AFCI protection. While GFCI protection aims to prevent shock, AFCI protection guards against sparking and resulting fire. Where you need to give a circuit both AFCI and GFCI protection, there are special dual-purpose AFCI/GFCI circuit breakers available, which are installed in the same way as a GFCI-only breaker.

Before You Begin

Service panels and breakers are made by many different manufacturers, and they are not universally compatible. When installing a new breaker, the breaker must match the brand and type of panel you have. Consult the breaker and/or panel manufacturer for recommendations.

The new breaker also must carry the appropriate voltage and amperage ratings for the circuit it will protect. Most standard branch circuits are rated for 120 volts and either 15 or 20 amps. Make sure the new breaker has an amperage size appropriate for the circuit: 15 amps for circuits wired with 14-gauge wire, 20 amps for circuits wired with 12-gauge wire.

Safety Considerations

Installing a circuit breaker involves working near equipment carrying potentially deadly voltage. While the main circuit breaker and all of the branch circuits in the service panel will be shut off for the GFCI breaker installation, the incoming conductors from the utility service and the lugs (terminals) where the conductors connect to the panel remain live at all times. Never touch the service lines or the lugs while working in the service panel. 

Standard vs. GFCI Breakers

Both standard and GFCI breakers are single-pole breakers that occupy one slot on a service panel and connect to the “hot” circuit wire, usually a black wire. The main difference between the two types of breakers involves the neutral connection. With a standard breaker, the neutral circuit wire (usually white) connects to the neutral bus bar on the service panel; it does not connect to the breaker. But with a GFCI or AFCI/GFCI breaker, the neutral circuit wire connects instead to a neutral terminal on the breaker. The GFCI or AFCI/GFCI breaker also has short, coiled, white neutral wire preinstalled on the breaker; this pigtail connects to the neutral bus bar in the service panel.

Warning

It’s critical that you connect the hot circuit wire to the “hot” or “load” terminal on the GFCI breaker and the neutral circuit wire to the neutral terminal. Mixing these up reverses the polarity of the circuit and may mean the breaker does not provide GFCI protection to the circuit—even if the breaker’s test button works normally.

Watch Now: How to Install a Circuit Breaker

Equipment / Tools

• Screwdrivers
• Non-contact voltage tester
• Pliers (as needed)

Materials

• GFCI or AFCI/GFCI circuit breaker

The Spruce / Kevin Norris

This demonstration assumes you are installing a GFCI or AFCI/GFCI breaker for a new electrical circuit. It presumes that the circuit cable has already been routed into the panel and is simply awaiting connection to a new circuit breaker. The process will look a little different if you are disconnecting a standard circuit breaker in order to connect it to a new GFCI or AFCI/GFCI breaker.

1. Turn off the Power

   Open the service panel door and switch the main breaker to the OFF position. Remove the panel cover (called the “dead front cover”) without touching any wires inside the panel. Confirm that the power is off inside the panel, using a non-contact voltage tester to check several wires and circuit breakers. Check both terminals on a double-pole breaker, making sure that the breaker is switched ON. The tester should indicate zero voltage for all tests.

   Warning

   Remember: Switching off the main breaker turns off the power to the panel’s hot bus bars and to all of the branch circuits. It does not turn off the power to the utility service conductors coming in from the utility meter or the terminal lugs they connect to in the panel. Utility service wires and the main breaker terminals remain live and carry deadly current even when the main breaker is switched off. Never touch the main breaker terminals or the service wires.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

2. Remove a Knockout Plate

   Remove one of the knockout plates on the panel cover, if necessary, to create an opening for the new breaker, using pliers.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

3. Connect the GFCI or AFCI/GFCI Breaker

   Switch the new breaker to the OFF position. Connect the hot circuit wire to the “HOT” or “LOAD” screw terminal on the breaker, using a screwdriver. Connect the neutral circuit wire to the “NEUTRAL” screw terminal on the breaker.

   Connect the breaker’s coiled white neutral wire to the neutral bus bar on the service panel. You must use an open screw terminal on the bus bar; do not connect more than one wire to a single terminal. Make sure all of the wire connections are tight.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

4. Install the Breaker

   Snap the breaker into the panel as directed by the manufacturer. Most breakers have a notch or foot on the outer end of the breaker that fits into a mounting rail on the outer side of the breaker area in the service panel. The inner end of the breaker snaps into a tab or clip on the panel’s hot bus bar.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

5. Test the Breaker

   Reinstall the panel cover (and door, as applicable). Turn off all of the branch circuit breakers. Also, turn off any appliances that are supplied by the circuit with the new breaker. Switch the main breaker to the ON position to restore power to the panel, then turn on each of the branch breakers one at a time, including the new GFGI breaker. Test the breaker as directed by the manufacturer. Close the panel door.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

When to Call a Professional

Although the technical skills required for installing a GFCI or AFCI/GFCI circuit breaker are fairly simple, the potential for fatal shock means this is a project that you should not attempt if you aren’t entirely confident of your DIY electrical skills. And in some areas, local codes do not allow unlicensed homeowners to do this work.

Call a licensed electrician if your code requires it, or if you’re not completely confident in your abilities. This is a basic, affordable service call that should take the electrician less than an hour to complete.

How to Provide GFCI Protection to an Outlet

Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. University of Washington.

2. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs). University of Illinois Extension’s Energy Education Council.

3. AFCI and GFCI Requirements State-by-State Data. National Association of Home Builders.

4. Train-the-Trainer: Basic Electricity Safety. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

5. CPSC Fact Sheet: What is a GFCI? United States Product Safety Commission.

GFCI Receptacle vs. GFCI Circuit Breaker

What’s the difference?

By

Timothy Thiele

Timothy Thiele

Timothy Thiele has an associate degree in electronics and is an IBEW Local #176 Union Electrician with over 30 years of experience in residential, commercial, and industrial wiring.

Learn more about The Spruce’s
Editorial Process

Updated on 08/30/22

Reviewed by

Larry Campbell

Reviewed by
Larry Campbell

Larry Campbell is an electrical contractor with 36 years of experience in residential and light commercial electrical wiring. He worked as an electronic technician and later an engineer for the IBM Corp. is a member of The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board.

Learn more about The Spruce’s
Review Board

The National Electric Code (NEC) and all local building codes require GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) protection for many outlet receptacles throughout the house and in outdoor locations. The requirements exist to protect users against the possibility of shock in the event of a ground fault, a condition in which electrical current accidentally flows outside the established circuit. This protection is generally required wherever an outlet is in proximity to the earth or to water sources that can create a direct path to earth.

This required protection can be provided either by a GFCI circuit breaker or GFCI receptacles. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, depending on the installation. Also, keep in mind that the local electrical code—the rules you must follow to pass electrical inspections—may have specific requirements for how to provide GFCI protection in your jurisdiction.

Basically, a GFCI circuit breaker does the same thing as a GFCI receptacle, so making the correct choice requires that you weigh various advantages and disadvantages of each.

Watch Now: GFCI Receptacle vs GFCI Circuit Breaker

How to Test GFCI Outlets

What Is a GFCI Receptacle?

You can tell if a receptacle is a GFCI one or not by the way it looks. The GFCI is integrated into an electrical outlet and it typically has a red (or possibly white) reset button on the outlet’s faceplate. The outlet monitors how much energy is going into it when in use. If the receptacle senses any sort of an electrical overload or imbalance, it is designed to trip the circuit in a fraction of a second.

GFCI receptacles are generally used instead of a standard outlet receptacle to offer protection to a single outlet location. However, GFCI receptacles can be wired in two different ways to offer two different levels of protection. Single-location protection offers GFCI protection only at one receptacle. Multiple-location wiring protects the first GFCI receptacle and every receptacle downstream of it (including standard receptacles) in the same circuit. However, it does not protect the portion of the circuit that lies between itself and the main service panel. For example, if the GFCI receptacle wired for multiple-location protection is the fourth receptacle in a circuit that includes seven outlets, then the first three outlets will not be protected.

Resetting a receptacle is typically more convenient than going all the way to the service panel to reset a breaker, but remember that if you wire a circuit for multiple-location protection from a single GFCI receptacle, that receptacle controls everything downstream. If there is any wiring issue downstream, you will have to backtrack to find the GFCI receptacle to reset it.

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What Is a GFCI Circuit Breaker?

GFCI circuit breakers protect the entire circuit. GFCI circuit breakers are simple: By installing one in the service panel (breaker box), it adds GFCI protection to an entire circuit, including the wiring and all devices and appliances connected to the circuit. In cases where AFCI (arc-fault circuit interrupter) protection is also called for (an increasingly common scenario), there are dual function GFCI/AFCI circuit breakers that can be used.

GFCI circuit breakers make more practical sense in situations where all outlets on a circuit require protection. For example, let’s say you’re adding a receptacle circuit for a garage workshop or a large outdoor patio space. Because all of these receptacles require GFCI protection, it is probably more efficient to wire the circuit with a GFCI breaker so that everything on the circuit is protected. GFCI breakers can carry a high cost, though, so doing this is not always the more economical option. Alternately, you could install a GFCI outlet in the first outlet on the circuit to provide the same protection at a lower cost.

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When to Choose a GFCI Receptacle Over a GFCI Circuit Breaker

When a GFCI breaker trips, you must go to the service panel to reset it. When a GFCI receptacle trips, you must be able to reset it at the receptacle location. The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that GFCI receptacles must be in readily accessible locations, ensuring there is easy access for resetting the receptacle if it trips. Therefore, GFCI receptacles are not allowed behind furniture or appliances. If you will have receptacles that need GFCI protection in these locations, use a GFCI breaker.

GFCI receptacles are easier to install. Sometimes the decision comes down to a question of efficiency. For example, if you need GFCI protection for just one or two receptacles—say, for a bathroom or laundry room—it probably makes the most sense to simply install GFCI receptacles at those locations. Also, if you’re a DIYer and are not familiar with working on a service panel, replacing a receptacle is a simpler and safer job than replacing a circuit breaker.

GFCI receptacles have much larger bodies than standard receptacles, so in some instances, the physical space within the wall box may affect your choice. With standard-size boxes, there may not be enough room to add a GFCI receptacle safely, making a GFCI circuit breaker the better choice.

Cost can also be a factor in the decision. A GFCI receptacle often costs around $15. A GFCI breaker might cost you $40 or $50, versus $4 to $6 for a standard breaker. If money is an issue and you only need to protect a single location, a GFCI outlet might a better choice than a GFCI breaker.

Finally, there’s the local electrical code, which may have particular GFCI requirements that are different than those suggested by the NEC. Consult your local building code department for details.

GFCI Receptacle

• Install in basement, near pool or spa, utility room, attached garage, and outdoors

• Do not install behind furniture

• Do not install behind refrigerators, freezers, or other appliances

GFCI Circuit Breaker

• Install in easy-to-service area

• Install in main service panel or a sub-panel

• Best for uses with jacuzzi tubs since protection device should not be under the tub.

How to Wire a GFCI Outlet When Replacing a 2-Prong Outlet

Which Is Better: Gfci Socket Or Gfci Circuit Breaker? 💡 Home renovation | EN.HomeInteriorz.com

• Protecting chains against vessels
• Where are vessels located?
• How many drives need protection
• A few more factors

GFCI (ground fault protection) protection is required for many containers (sockets) throughout the home and outdoors. This protection can be provided by either a GFCI breaker or GFCI sockets. Depending on the setup, there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. Also, be aware that the local electrical code – the rules you must follow to conduct electrical checks – may have specific GFCI protection requirements.

Circuit vs Vessel Protection

GFCI circuit breakers are simple: you install them on a utility panel (switch box) and it adds GFCI protection to the entire circuit, including the wiring and all devices and devices connected to the circuit. GFCI outlets can be wired in two different ways to provide two different levels of protection. S Ingle-seat protection provides GFCI protection on one outlet only. Multiple location wiring protects the first GFCI receiver and every capacitance after it (including standard sockets) in the same circuit. However, it does not protect the circuit between itself and the service panel.

Where are the vessels located?

When the GFCI switch trips, you must go to the service panel to reset it. When the GFCI socket goes off, you plug it into a socket. The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires GFCI jacks to be installed in easily accessible locations, ensuring that if the trip to the outlet is easy to get, it can be reset.

GFCI vessels are therefore not allowed under furniture or appliances. If you have vessels that need GFCI protection in these areas, use a GFCI switch. Resetting the capacitance is usually more convenient than going to the service panel to reset the circuit breaker. On the other hand, if you connect a multi-site protection scheme from a single GFCI receiver, that receiver controls everything downstream.

Anything downstream can cause the receiver to shut down and you must find a GFCI socket to reset the entire protected part of the circuit.

How many drives to protect

Sometimes the decision comes down to efficiency. For example, if you only need GFCI protection for one or two receptacles – say a bathroom or laundry room – it probably makes sense to just install GFCI outlets. Also, if you are a DIYer and not familiar with maintenance panel work, adding capacitance is an easier and safer job than replacing a circuit breaker. For another scenario, let’s say you’re adding an outlet circuit for a garage workshop or a large outdoor patio space. All capacitances require GFCI protection and it would be more efficient to wire the circuit with a GFCI breaker so that everything on the circuit is protected.

A few more factors

GFCI vessels have many more bodies than standard vessels, so in some cases the physical space inside the wall unit may influence your choice. Standard sized boxes may not have enough room to securely add a GFCI receiver, making a GFCI baffle the best choice. Cost can also be a factor in the decision. The

GFCI switch can cost you $40 or $50, versus $4 to $6 for a standard switch. GFCI capacity often costs upwards of $10, compared to $2 or $3 for standard capacity (don’t get the cheapest anyway). Finally, there is the local electrical code. Some GFCI requirements may or may not be allowed by the local building authority, regardless of what the NEC says. Check with the building department.

Instruction video: .

GFCI circuit breaker vs.

GFCI outlets – Ideas for the home

GFCI outlets have TEST and RESET buttons.

GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Breaker and they are usually found in the home in the form of circuit breakers located in the home’s breaker box. However, electrical outlets can also be GFCI. Both types provide automatic shutdown of electrical circuits in the event of a short circuit or power surge somewhere in the circuit it is connected to, preventing the user from being electrocuted if they touch the outlet during the surge/short circuit.

GFCI Circuit Breaker Amplifier Ratings

Each GFCI circuit breaker is rated for the number of amps it will allow the circuit it is connected to draw at any one time. For example, a 20 amp circuit breaker will only allow 20 amps or less to be used. If appliances are connected to the circuit and draw more than 20 amps in aggregate, the GFCI circuit breaker will automatically open (trip).

Testing GFCI Circuit Breakers

Each GFCI circuit breaker has an on/off switch on the front panel that can be manually turned on to turn the breaker off in case work is required on the circuit. This switch also allows the switch to be turned on again after it has tripped. Each GFCI circuit breaker also has a “Test” button that, when pressed, will turn the breaker off. The on/off switch is then pushed to “off” and then “on” to turn the switch back on. This should be done periodically to check the correct operation of the switch.

GFCI Circuit Breaker Terminal Connections

The circuit breaker has terminal connections marked “power line” and “load neutral” and a stranded wire that connects to the neutral bus of the circuit breaker unit.

Overview of GFCI receptacles

GFCI receptacles are required by regulation to be installed in high water consumption areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms and adjacent areas. These sockets come in different sizes, depending on the power requirements of the devices you plug into them.

Testing GFCI receptacles

Each GFCI receptacle has a TEST and RESET button. Press the TEST button to turn off the device to verify that the tripping (disabling) device in the GFCI is working properly.