As a part of my renovation of a 1900's cottage I'm completely rebuilding the kitchen.
I'm planning on running 2 20A circuits shared between the countertop outlets, fridge & dishwasher.
Is there any objective reason (or code requirement – GA, USA) to choose to do either:
1. A GFCI outlet as the first outlet in the chain (or at the 1st location in the chain where a GFCI is required like near the sink)
2. A GFCI breaker in the panel for each circuit
What leads me to ask this question is that in the country where I am originally from, it is standard practice for all outlets in a house to be protected by a single large 'Earth-Leakage Circuit Breaker' in the electrical panel, so having individual sockets protected seems unusual to me.
Best Answer
You can run the fridge but not the dishwasher as shown in exhibit 210.28. It also depends on where you live local code may have exemptions or tougher requirements. I usually run a dedicated circuit for the fridge. There is an exception that allows a gas stove igniter and a clock outlet on the 2 small appliance circuit. The wording is counter top a dishwasher, Garbage disposal, trash compactor and in some cases a built in microwave require additional circuits. It really depends on local requirements. But Exhibit 210.28 clearly shows the fridge not gfci protected and on 1 of the 2 small appliance circuits. (The Exhibit is 2 drawings of methods that can be used for the required 2ea 20 Amp small appliance circuits in the 2014 NEC hand book).