The last 20 years of Home Power Have Been Amazing

@bigtwin Oy Vey, is that an Aluminum ladder in front of the live panel?  OSHA 1915.72. Not a good look .              

Eric,

Here's a story. Neighbor here in the lowcountry had lightning hit tree then it went to his gutters, then to internal supporting bolts in footers, then to random outlets zapping his dryer, washer, and two tv's. Would these upgraded outlets you mentioned prevented this? Any solution other than multiple surge protectors?

Given the added protection, all the advances are worth it but the cost--ouch!

Do they still have exceptions e.g. single receptacle, non GFCI for sump pump or freezer to reduce possibility of ghost trip?

@bigtwin 

My brother is building a new home and I have volunteered to plan the basement bar and sound system, something that I did in 2011 when my home was built.

In retrospect, I neglected to run dedicated lines - something I intend to fix in the future - for my basement sound system. I also did not add a whole house surge protector something that - as Erik stated - is now a requirement by the National Electrical Code. Those two things are paramount these days, IMHO.

Would really appreciate you sharing when you are complete as I could use it as a blueprint later this year. Don't forget what type (brand name) of cable and sockets you decided on..thank you ahead of time!

My relatively upscale neighborhood in north San Diego County was built in the late 80s.  the entire development was wired with Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) breaker boxes.  they were out of business about the time that the homes were built because their crappy breakers were burning down houses.  

Fortunately for me, I bought the house and promptly started adding circuits to power tools, an electric dryer (I work for the electric company, but have to admit I've gone back to gas now) and a few othe circuits including 2 circuits for audio.

I was surprised when I went to Home Depot and new breakers weren't available but they sold "refurbished" ones that were 4-10 times the price of new name-brand breakers like Westinghouse.  So I quickly did the math and concluded it was worth the effort to change to a 200 A Westinghouse panel with all new breakers, which I did.  total cost of parts about $300.  I did the work myself.  at the time I didn't even realize how dangerous the FPE breakers were.

Now, 30 years later, I am surprised no homes have burned down but several neighbors have done thermography and found significant hot spots in their boxes.  When they get a quote to change out the box, it runs up to $50,000 because of new regulations.  of course all the breakers have to be the new type which are 5-10 times as expensive.  but the big cost is a new code requirement that the gas meter and the electrical panel must be seperated (I think 10 ft).  This wasn't a requirement when the neighborhood was built so all the gas meters are directly below the electrical panels.    If you try to get a permit to upgrade your electrical panel, you have to meet all the new code requirements, that is,  move either the panel or the gas meter.  One neighbor just moved his gas meter.  what a pain in the rear and what a cost.  He had to take off a total of 7 days from work to be home for various appointments and of course there were the obligatory redos to make the inspector happy.  

One neighbor found an electrician who would do the work without a permit and without moving the gas meter.  that was probably the best answer.

Most of the neighbors are doing nothing because of the expense of moving the gas meter (generally seen as cheaper than moving the electrical panel).  Clearly this code change, along with the requirement to backfit any new code requirements in order to get a permit, is making the neighborhood much less safe.

Jerry