A GFCI is triggered when there is current flow in which path?

A GFCI is triggered when there is current flow in which path?

• A. In the neutral conductor
• B. Ground wire
• C. In the hot conductor
• D. In the panel box

Answer: (B)

A GFCI trips when current takes a path to ground, creating an imbalance between the current in the hot and neutral conductors. It continuously compares how much current leaves on the hot with how much returns on the neutral. If some of it leaks through the ground path (for example, through a person or a grounding fault), less current returns on neutral than left on hot, and the device instantly shuts off the circuit. That makes the ground path the signal that triggers the GFCI. In normal operation, current flows from hot to load and back on neutral, so there’s no imbalance. Current flow strictly in the neutral or strictly in the hot, or staying within the panel box, doesn’t produce the leakage the GFCI is designed to detect. Hence the triggering path is through the ground wire.

A GFCI trips when current takes a path to ground, creating an imbalance between the current in the hot and neutral conductors. It continuously compares how much current leaves on the hot with how much returns on the neutral. If some of it leaks through the ground path (for example, through a person or a grounding fault), less current returns on neutral than left on hot, and the device instantly shuts off the circuit. That makes the ground path the signal that triggers the GFCI. In normal operation, current flows from hot to load and back on neutral, so there’s no imbalance. Current flow strictly in the neutral or strictly in the hot, or staying within the panel box, doesn’t produce the leakage the GFCI is designed to detect. Hence the triggering path is through the ground wire.