I am sure lots of you see GFCI receptacle or have it in your house, but surprisingly only 20 percent of people I worked with were aware of that and its purpose. As a result, I decided to talk about it in this short blog, because, in an inspection process, this is one of the high priorities among safety concern.

What it is?

Let me start with its full name, it is a device that interrupts electricity flow to an outlet in case of a fault, which is equipped with it. So, you do not get shocked or hurt by the fault.

How does it work?

Generally, current or electricity flow in a receptacle between hot and neutral wires is the same number, for example, 120 amp coming from hot and 120 amp leaves from neutral, GCFIs constantly compare this numbers in both wires and any changes between this two, even milliamps, would be a sign for the device to shut it down in milliseconds to make sure everything or everyone is safe. To device, this difference could be a leak to a person’s body.

Where should you have GFCI?

Any place close to or exposed to moisture would be a great candidate for having GFCI receptacle, Kitchen, Bathroom, Laundry room, Garage and Exterior of a house. The good news is you do not need to change all receptacles to feel safe about it, only installing one GFCI receptacle at the beginning of a circuit is enough to connect other receptacles together, say in a garage, to provide protection for all of them and you.

Last but not least, for your own safety, you should test this device once a month to make sure it operates properly. it is an easy task, only by pressing two buttons on receptacles, Test, and Retest. When you press the Test button, the small red or green light on receptacle should be off, and when you press the Retest button the light should be back. Or simply by plugging any electric device like a hairdryer, you can test your GFCI receptacle to see it interrupts the circuit or no.

I hope you like this blog and if you have any questions or concerns let us know in the comment section below.