Video: The Value of GFI Protection

DALY CITY — Host, Sarah Rutan: When it comes to electrical safety in the home, GFI protection is a top priority. To learn more we’re in Daly City with Brian Polli of Bit Electrical speaking on behalf of our Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Sergey Ivanov.

Brian Polli: Yes, GFI breakers are really good in properties that are not grounded. What happens is, is that when it’s not grounded, if you ever touch something that’s not grounded, you’re going to have a shock that’s going to go all up to 20 or 30 amps, and when that happens, you get the full voltage.

Now, with a GFI breaker, the breaker measures voltage. It measures voltage coming in and going out. What’s going to happen is that you’re going to get the full voltage through your body, until 30 amps trips. With a GFI breaker, the measurement measures power out and measures power back in. So, when you touch something, and the voltage changes, and it measures it going out but not coming back in, it trips itself.

So, whenever you touch something that’s hot that’s not GFI-protected, you get the full voltage. When you touch something that is GFI-protected, you just get that measured distance between the two. Long story short, what happens is that it trips, and you’re protected.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local, top rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.org.