Electrical Travel to Vancouver, Canada - New vs Questionable

Quick Overview

Electrical travel in Vancouver reveals a stark contrast between modern code-compliant installations and older, questionable wiring practices, with many public and older residential GFCI outlets found to be non-functional despite appearing to work, posing significant safety risks.

Key Points: The speaker successfully replaced a popping AFCI breaker in his bedroom, demonstrating the process and explaining that AFCI breakers trip at over 40 milliamps of ground fault. Vancouver's residential power typically uses two 120V AC phases 180° out of phase, providing 240V AC, which the speaker considers safer than European 240V as accidental contact with a single live wire is only 120V to neutral. An older apartment building showed widespread loose outlets and a complete lack of AFCI or GFCI protection in the kitchen and washrooms, despite the fire risk from arcing. Multiple public GFCI outlets in community centers and outdoor areas were found to be non-functional, failing to trip even at 30+ milliamps of ground fault, despite their test buttons appearing to work. A 35-year-old house under renovation lacked GFCI protection in the kitchen and by sinks, though a shared GFCI for washrooms was functional, highlighting outdated safety standards. Apartment buildings in Vancouver receive three phases, with individual apartments getting two 120V phases 120° out of phase, resulting in around 205V AC, making appliances run about 25% weaker than in houses. Connecting a scope's earth to neutral on an AFCI circuit caused it to trip due to a voltage drop between neutral and earth, creating a current imbalance exceeding 40 milliamps.

Context: The video documents an electrical enthusiast's observations and experiences with electrical systems in Vancouver, Canada, spanning his own home, an older apartment where his mother-in-law lives, public community centers, and a newly acquired 35-year-old house undergoing renovation. The speaker provides practical demonstrations, such as replacing an AFCI breaker, and conducts tests on various outlets to assess compliance with modern electrical codes, particularly regarding Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI) and Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) for safety.