What type of protection shall be provided for fixed outdoor electric deicing and snow-melting equipment?

• A. Ground fault protection of equipment
• B. Arc-fault protection
• C. Overcurrent protection only
• D. No protection required

Answer: (A)

Ground-fault protection of equipment is required for fixed outdoor electric deicing and snow-melting equipment because these installations are outdoors and frequently exposed to moisture. The risk is that a fault inside the equipment could energize exposed metal parts or conductive surfaces, creating a shock hazard. Ground-fault protection of equipment continuously monitors current in all conductors and will rapidly disconnect power if any leakage to ground is detected, even if there isn’t an overload elsewhere in the circuit. This provides a fast, site-specific safety shutdown for the equipment itself, which is essential in wet outdoor conditions.

Arc-fault protection targets dangerous arcing that can start fires, but it doesn’t address a ground fault that could energize equipment and shock a person. Overcurrent protection only responds to excessive current from a fault, not to a ground fault with leakage that may occur at a low level. No protection is clearly inappropriate for such exposed equipment.