Fault arc circuit breaker in prefab house

Hello dear forum,

we are currently building a new house with Keitel-Haus. Now, in the additional cost statement for the selection of fittings, we were informed that we would have to install arc fault circuit interrupters because our house is being built after 12/18/2017. After some research, I found out that this is a new VDE standard which stipulates that, among other things, such devices must be installed in wooden-based buildings. According to the insurance company, however, these are not necessary unless explicitly required by the municipality. For the insurance, only what is stated in terms of fire protection in the state building code counts. The switches are supposed to cost almost €3000 for 11 circuits. We would like to save this money...

Can you shed some light on how necessary they are and whether they are really mandatory?

Best regards

In Germany, arc fault protection devices have been required for various room uses in new buildings since February 2016 according to the updated DIN VDE 0100-420; there is a transition period until December 18, 2017. This applies to final circuits with operating currents up to 16A when supplying bedrooms or living rooms in homes, daycare centers, or barrier-free apartments according to DIN 18040-2.

The same applies to rooms with a special fire risk (fire-hazardous workplaces), rooms with combustible building materials, as well as rooms with the risk of irreplaceable goods. The use for all other final circuits with operating currents less than or equal to 16 A is recommended. However, the use of arc fault protection devices is not legally mandatory in Germany and is therefore voluntary, because DIN VDE 0100-420 has not yet been introduced as a technical building regulation in the state building codes.

Ergo you do not need one. The price is about 100,- € each.

Good to know! Thank you very much for the information, it currently affects us as well and our home builder also wants a lot of money that he can now confidently cut out.

I'm currently facing the same problem. Our electrician as well as the developer say it meets the state of the art according to DIN and the parts must be installed. Otherwise, they would reject any warranty, which I can understand.

We have now agreed that individual rooms will be placed on one circuit where it makes sense, to reduce the number of switches. By the way, for us, the cost including installation is almost €300 each.

You can think whatever you want about it, but when it comes to safety, you shouldn't save money.

But they are really trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Which warranty are you rejecting? For what? Warranty for the hut burning down on you? They wouldn't cover that anyway... That's a matter for the insurance. And what safety do you mean? Either the electrician botched it, then it gets dangerous, or he installs it as usual for decades and everything is fine. In my opinion, this is currently a huge money-grab with a lot of scaremongering. Just the fact that everyone claims it is mandatory even though it is not listed in any building regulations. Even my insurance says only the state building code counts; if the hut burns down due to an arc fault, they will still pay.