210.12(C) AFCI Protection in Guest Rooms, Guest Suites, and Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities.
Code Change Summary: Revised code language on arc-fault circuit-interrupter (AFCI) protection now applies to more than just guest rooms and guest suites.
In the 2020 NEC®, the AFCI protection requirements for specific branch circuits in hotel or motel guest rooms and guest suites has been expanded to include patient sleeping rooms in nursing homes and limited-care facilities.
Areas of nursing homes and limited care facilities used as patient sleeping rooms are commonly wired with nonmetallic cable type wiring methods permitted in NEC® Chapter 3, similar to typical dwelling unit bedrooms which are subject to the AFCI protection requirements in 210.12(A)(1) through (6).
This expansion of AFCI protection to the sleeping areas of nursing homes and limited care facilities was a move to provide the occupants of these rooms with additional protection from the danger of parallel and series arcing faults.
Below is a preview of the NEC®. See the actual NEC® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2020 NEC® edition of NFPA 70.
2017 Code Language:
210.12(C) Guest Rooms and Guest Suites. All 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets and devices installed in guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels shall be protected by any of the means described in 210.12(A)(1) through (6).
2020 Code Language:
210.12(C) Guest Rooms, Guest Suites, and Patient Sleeping Rooms in Nursing Homes and Limited-Care Facilities. All 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets and devices installed in guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels and patient sleeping rooms in nursing homes and limited-care facilities shall be protected by any of the means described in 210.12(A)(1) through (6).