$2 billion made. $300 million saved.

We got to be a part of a wonderful wedding this weekend, so I actually took time to iron my clothes for the wedding. As I was trying to plug in the iron I grumbled to Brad about the new outlet he had put in for us to try. I have given up using it when I plug in the vacuum, so I don’t know why I even tried it with the iron. Brad plugged the iron in and informed me that this great new tamper proof outlet is what all new homes are going to have now because the national electrical board voted to change the code. Considering I haven’t been able to plug anything into the great new outlet without Brad’s help, I certainly don’t feel inclined to want a new home right now.

This led to an informative discussion in which I learned some things I will now rant about.

This little code change will cost around $1 more per outlet plus a lot of annoyance at trying to get things plugged in. I guess it will protect your child if they stick a paper clip in one side of the outlet, but they make little plastic covers for that or you can just keep your eye on your child.
Now if you don’t care about tamper proof outlets, you might care about this new code. If an electrician goes into a home and touches a circuit, they now have to put in an arc-fault breaker. So let’s say you want a new outlet in your bedroom. Instead of that costing you around $60 (if you used Robertson Electric) it would now cost you $120 if your house was compatible with the breakers or up to $200 or more if it wasn’t. That’s just one outlet.

As for new construction, a new home could have anywhere from 8 to 20 breakers. The breakers you formerly were able to use cost $4. The arc-fault breaker costs a minimum of $30. You do the math on that one.

This is what’s really intriguing on this topic. The manufacturers, who sat on the board that voted for this, will generate over $2 billion in revenue annually. The amount of property damage that this will prevent across the nation is only $300 million. Over $2 billion made. $300 million saved. Hmmmmm.

So I wondered, who makes up this National Electric Code? Well, I went and did some very deep research  to Wikipedia. It didn't really answer my question, but it did tell me this.

"The National Electrical Code (NEC), or NFPA 70, is a United States standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment. It is part of the National Fire Codes series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). "National Electrical Code" and "NEC" are registered trademarks of the NFPA. While the NEC is not itself a U.S. law, NEC use is commonly mandated by state or local law, as well as in many jurisdictions outside of the United States."

Does that mean we could change these annoying codes if we storm the gates of the Nebraska legislature and beg for reform? Maybe I need to become a lobbyist.

This is going to make my fabulous electrician look like he’s trying to make a lot more money, but he’s really just doing what he has to do. In reality, it makes you think it could cause him to make less money because who wants to pay $200 for a new outlet?