Leviton AFTR2-I 20-Amp, 120-Volt SmartlockPro Outlet Branch Circuit Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) Receptacle, Wallplate Included, Ivory

 If you came to this page to purchase this product, you know what AFCI is and what it does.
It is great for the peace of mind, seeing as arc fires are the most common type of electrical fire.
It is also a great way to meet the code if you are extending an existing circuit or running a new one, and they don’t manufacture AFCI breakers for your panel.

This receptacle is a great alternative to the more expensive AFCI breaker, and it is THE ONLY alternative if your panel is old and they don’t make AFCI breakers for it.
My situation is somewhat specific: They DO make AFCI breakers for my panel (GE), but GE’s AFCI’s are notorious for nuisance tripping when you’re using X10 remote switches in combination with high loads (space heaters) or motor loads (vacuums). Having gotten tired of the nuisance tripping, I decided to go with a regular breaker and AFCI receptacle.
With this receptacle, I haven’t seen any nuisance trips yet.
Be careful though: Unless you can tie tripping to something very specific (such as running a vacuum), be very wary when your AFCI trips. If it happens repeatedly and without an obvious reason, call an electrician right away, because most likely AFCI is doing its job and is detecting an arc somewhere.

This is NOT a “combination” AFCI. Combination devices work with series and parallel arcs. Non-combination ones, such as this receptacle, work with parallel arcs only. Not a big deal though.
From what I read, parallel arcs are the much, much greater danger accounting for the much greater portion of fires, so I am fine with not having a combination device.
And even if you’re not a believer in AFCI, you are still supposed to have any electrical work you’ve done permitted and inspected, otherwise you’re running a risk of having your insurance claim denied.
Yes, there are some AFCI doubters out there, even though to me it is as silly as questioning gravity.

So, what are the code requirements?
Per year 2011 and 2014 NEC 210.12, if you’re adding a new circuit in most of the living areas or extending an existing one, you’re supposed to protect it with an AFCI; Either with a combination AFCI breaker or a non-combination AFCI receptacle installed as the first receptacle on the circuit.
When extending an existing circuit, you just have to replace the first receptacle on the circuit with an AFCI one.
When running a new circuit, you can do the same thing, only the “home run”, the run from the breaker to the first receptacle, has to be an armored cable (MC or AC/BX), and the first box has to be made of metal (which is a given anyway if you’re using metal-jacketed cable).
2014 code relaxed the requirement to say that if you’re extending an existing circuit by less than 6 feet, you don’t need to add AFCI.

So now, for the product itself:
Yes, it is bulky. I’ve been spoiled by the smaller new GFCI’s that don’t take up as much room in the junction box.
This one is as big as the old-school GFCI’s. I had to plan the wires carefully.
Here’s how I’ve done for the wiring:
This was a new circuit, so I had to run an MC cable from the service panel to the first box.
I pigtailed the ground wires; I had a 6″ piece of ground wire screwed to the grounding terminal of the box. To that wire I’ve attached the ground wire from the supply cable, the ground for the load cable for the circuits downstream, and another 6″ piece of ground wire to attach to the ground terminal of the receptacle. I twisted all four wires together, put a wirenut over it and stuffed it all the way to the back of the box with a handle of opened up slip joint pliers.
Next, I’ve attached the hot (black) and the neutral (white) wires of the supply (line) cable to the Line terminals of the receptacle. The black goes under the yellow (gold-colored) screw, the white — under chrome.
I’ve attached the white and the black for the load (downstream receptacles) to the Load terminals.
I ran a few windings of tape around the receptacle to cover the exposed screws.
I bent the black and the white wires around the back of the receptacle so that they are folding as I’m pushing the receptacle into the box.
I screwed everything down, turned the breaker on, and it worked.
There is a trick with the test buttons: the Reset one is not strictly mechanical but rather electromechanical; You have to hold it in for a couple of seconds for it to re-engage.

So, here’s the quick summary of what I’m thinking so far:
Great if your panel is old and you want to be in compliance with the code, or simply want to sleep well at night.
Yes, it is bulky, so you will have to finagle the wires, especially if you have an existing box and you have to fit this thing in it.

My home was built in the 60s. The electric wires are pretty stiff and my outlet boxes are small and metal. The thickness and dimensions of this outlet made it difficult to fit where I needed it.

The test worked on it. I like leviton outlets for the push in screw connections.

Update 1 month later.
After having it installed for about a month I have had a lot of trips. This outlet trips everytime my PC is on, whether or not something else is on.
I checked all the outlets temperature and I don’t believe there is any arcing I’m switching to an updated circuit breaker instead.

good to have as many as possible in your home

My local code does not require AFCI on existing circuits, but if a circuit is extended with new receptacles, they must have AFCI protection. Technically, I only needed to put it at the new receptacle, but I added it at the first on the circuit instead for maximum AFCI protection.

No nuissance trips yet and there is one light switch on the circuit.

I may gradually get more of these for all my general use circuits in my house, since the last home owner was one of those “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” types and did a LOT of renovations with a bit of non-compliant electrical work…

The device is obviously a little big, but I didn’t have much trouble fitting it in the box. It’s probably about the same size as most modern GFCI receptacles.

I live in Canada and discovered that the electrical codes are different from US. In the US, when you replace a receptacle on a circuit that should be AFCI protected, you have to install one of these as the replacement, or upstream of the replacement. In Canada, only if you extend the wiring. In any event I installed one at the most-upstream receptacle of all of my indoor circuits, and they work fine. Pricey, but cheaper than a new breaker panel full of AFCIs.

Here’s the US NEC:

406.4(D) (4) Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection. Where a receptacle outlet is supplied by a branch circuit that requires arc-fault circuit interrupter protection as specified elsewhere in this Code, a replacement receptacle at this outlet shall be one of the following: (1) A listed outlet branch circuit type arc-fault circuit interrupter receptacle (2) A receptacle protected by a listed outlet branch circuit type arc-fault circuit interrupter type receptacle (3) A receptacle protected by a listed combination type arc-fault circuit interrupter type circuit breaker Exception: Non-grounding type receptacle(s).

Here’s the Canada (Ontario) requirement, per the Safety Authority:

— (AskESA) 1/29/2020 9:56:35 AM
In the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC), the rule that mandates the AFCI protection is a branch circuit rule. It doesn’t apply when changing the receptacle. Tamper resistant receptacles would be required as Rule 26-708 applies to the receptacle.

So I spent a bunch of $$$ that wasn’t required (in Canada), but you can’t put a price on safety.

I have not experienced any false trips, notwithstanding all the horror stories you see on the web. I have an ancient treadmill that dims the lights when you start it — no trip. I have an ancient freezer — no trip. Fluorescent lights — no trip. Sump pump — no trip.

I also bought an arc fault tester, and they do trip when I press the AFCI test button.

So I fee protected.

P.S. There is a dual AFCI/GFCI for about the same price, if you want that. GFCIs do trip now and then, for example, on power restore after a power outage. I have not experienced this with AFCI.

P.P.S. These AFCIs have no ground-fault protection at all. Some other breakers have high-current GFI. So you can use with shared-neutral circuits.