Small-Appliance Circuits and GFCIs

I already mentioned the danger of electricity around water and water pipes. An errant current will not hesitate to pass through you on its way to the ground through a water pipe. You also can get a shock or become electrocuted if you have contact with a receptacle and a range, a refrigerator, or a cooktop because they also are grounded. The code recognizes these dangers and steps in with GFCI requirements. Specifically, the code requires that all small-appliance circuits used on countertops be GFCI protected. This includes any receptacles serving kitchen islands. The usual installation calls for the first receptacle on the circuit (the feedthrough receptacle) to be a GFCI type, which in turn protects the additional receptacles down the line. It also is acceptable to install a GFCI circuit breaker, although this is more expensive than a GFCI receptacle.
The key word here is “countertop.” Other receptacles, such as one for the refrigerator or under the sink for a plug-in disposer, do not have to be GFCI protected. The underthe-sink receptacle cannot even be part of a small-appliance circuit; it must be its own dedicated circuit. Small-appliance receptacles must be installed so that any point on the back of the countertop is within 24 inches of a receptacle. Another way of saying this is that no two receptacles can be more than four feet apart. Every counter that’s wider than 12 inches must have at least one receptacle.