I'm installing a new main service panel (upgrading 100 to 200 amp) and have a couple of quick questions:
1. The new code says that all circuits in bedrooms have to be AFCI protected at the breaker. Does this mean that I need AFCI breakers in the new panel for any branch circuits that feed into one of the bedrooms?
2. Does the AFCI requirement include the smoke alarms that have to be installed in all bedrooms now? My municipality told me that any permitted work would have to comply with the smoke alarm code.
3. Since it will be difficult to run additional branch circuits from the panel later (through the finished wall) can I install additional conductors (say 12/2) into the panel (even wired to a breaker if need be) and feed them to junction boxes in the crawl space where they would be capped off? The idea here is that if I ever need another branch circuit, I could pull it from one of these boxes rather than trying to fish a conductor through finished walls.
Thanks in advance for your help.
1. The new code says that all circuits in bedrooms have to be AFCI protected at the breaker. Does this mean that I need AFCI breakers in the new panel for any branch circuits that feed into one of the bedrooms?
2. Does the AFCI requirement include the smoke alarms that have to be installed in all bedrooms now? My municipality told me that any permitted work would have to comply with the smoke alarm code.
3. Since it will be difficult to run additional branch circuits from the panel later (through the finished wall) can I install additional conductors (say 12/2) into the panel (even wired to a breaker if need be) and feed them to junction boxes in the crawl space where they would be capped off? The idea here is that if I ever need another branch circuit, I could pull it from one of these boxes rather than trying to fish a conductor through finished walls.
Thanks in advance for your help.