Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
I don't know if this will take off and become the new "standard" for the industry, but the engineer in me really likes the concept of this https://www.leviton.com/en/products/residential/load-centers
Essentially, each breaker position is a combination AFCI and GFCI, and you wire both that branch's hot and neutral to their own, dedicated positions - there is no separate neutral bus bar and the connections go to the panel, not the breaker directly. The breaker makes the connection to both the hot and neutral when you plug it in. There are separate indicator lights that show the status of both the AFCI and GFCI portions of the device, so it's easy to identify both where and what caused the breaker to trip.
Saw this on 'This Olde House' recently. If I were to build a new house or needed a new panel, I seriously think I'd look into it a bit more carefully. Seems like a smart solution. No idea of the relative cost, but it does seem to make a very neat installation without the pigtails required of all 'conventional' breakers when GFCI or AFCI is involved.
Essentially, each breaker position is a combination AFCI and GFCI, and you wire both that branch's hot and neutral to their own, dedicated positions - there is no separate neutral bus bar and the connections go to the panel, not the breaker directly. The breaker makes the connection to both the hot and neutral when you plug it in. There are separate indicator lights that show the status of both the AFCI and GFCI portions of the device, so it's easy to identify both where and what caused the breaker to trip.
Saw this on 'This Olde House' recently. If I were to build a new house or needed a new panel, I seriously think I'd look into it a bit more carefully. Seems like a smart solution. No idea of the relative cost, but it does seem to make a very neat installation without the pigtails required of all 'conventional' breakers when GFCI or AFCI is involved.