GFCI outlet vs. breaker - GF trip speed

LanterDan

I was chatting with an electrical safety consultant at work the other day. He is claiming that a GFCI outlet will trip due to a ground fault faster (and thus offer enhanced personal protection) than same circuit protected with a GFCI breaker. I have a hard time believing this. Transmission line effects should be negligible in household wiring and I have a hard time believing the electronics in breaker and the outlets are substantively different. A quick google search revealed nothing. Has anyone ever heard of this before? If it’s true can anyone explain why?

Christopher

LanterDan,

I have never heard of this difference. The only advantage that I attribute to GFCI receptacles is resetting at the tripped location.

While my experience is not statistically significant, I have seen many GFCI receptacles fail and require replacement. I have never seen a GFCI circuit breaker fail - they seem to be better quality.

...Christopher

Speedy Petey

I will say I have definitely seen both fail. I think devices fail more often because of 1) The environment they are usually installed in {ie: outside and garages, etc}, and 2) There are FAR more GFI devices than breakers.
So statistically there will be far more device failures than breakers, making breakers look more reliable.

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