Supplementary overcurrent protection used for luminaires, appliances, and other equipment may substitute for required branch-circuit protection. Is this statement true or false?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only for isolated circuits
• D. Depends on the equipment

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that overcurrent protection must be provided at the branch circuit to protect the conductors and the entire circuit run. Supplementary overcurrent protection is meant as additional protection for a specific piece of equipment, not as a replacement for the required branch-circuit protection. If you were to rely on this supplementary device instead of the branch-circuit protective device, portions of the circuit could remain unprotected in a fault, which is unsafe and not allowed by code. Equipment may have its own protective device for its own protection, but that does not satisfy the requirement for branch-circuit protection along the circuit path. Therefore, the statement is false.