Is it acceptable to install GFCI protection instead of rewiring the facility with an electrical grounding conductor system?
Reply: The answer to your question, with respect to the cord- and plug-connected equipment that requires grounding, is “No.” (1) The described existing condition at the nursing home was properly cited as the grounding type receptacles, which replaced the previous nongrounding-type receptacles, were only permitted to be installed if a grounding means existed in the receptacle enclosure. The equipment grounding conductor grounds the noncurrent-carrying, metal parts of tools or equipment and carries off the leakage current thus limiting the voltage on the tool or equipment frame by providing a low resistance path to ground. When the leakage current increases beyond the setting of the over-current device protecting the circuit (usually 15 or 20 amperes), the device trips and interrupts the current. The ground-fault circuit interrupter, on the other hand, is a fast-acting device which senses small current leakage to ground and, in a fraction of a second, shuts off the electricity and interr
