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I'm just finishing up adding outlets to the front and back of my house. I have it arranged such that a new line runs from the panel to a junction box, where it T's off to feed the new outlets. I understand that I need GFCI protection on this circuit, but I'm not really familiar with the ground fault application. If I were to add a GFCI outlet at some point between the panel and the junction box, would the two branches coming out of the junction box both be GFCI protected?enter image description here

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  • Since you say you are not familiar with GFCI, I ask if you are sure you want GFCI on all of the receptacles? On certain appliances GFCI is not a good idea, for example, a refrigerator or the aerator or heater of a fish tank should not be on a GFCI. A brief power outage can lead to a GFCI receptacle staying off until it is manually reset. You could set up this circuit so that some receptacles were GFCI protected and others were not.
    – Jim Stewart
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 17:35
  • My house previously had no functioning outdoor outlets. I'm just adding a power source on the front and back of my house.
    – clwhoops44
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 18:22
  • Ok then you really do want all these receptacles to be GFCI, right? Do you have it straight exactly how to connect the two branches to the one GFCI receptacle to achieve this?
    – Jim Stewart
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 18:51
  • I think my plan is to install a GFCI outlet beside of my electrical panel. I'll connect a short piece of conduit and run from the breaker to the line side of the outlet. Then, run a cable from the load side of the outlet to the junction box, where I will tie my hots, neutrals, and grounds together.
    – clwhoops44
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 19:17

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Yes, you can. Electrically that's no different than having a series of outlets on a single run after a GFCI. Everything is wired in parallel regardless.

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    As long as the additional receptacles are wired to the load terminal I agree there is no difference.
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 14:19
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LOAD terminals have precisely one purpose: to attach downline wiring that will be in the "protected zone" of the GFCI. Only that should be attached to LOAD; all else goes on LINE.

So yes, any GFCI device can protect a downline that is properly connected.

If any hot or neutral wire in a cable is attached to a LOAD terminal, then all hots and the neutral must be attached to LOAD. The only exception is dual-neutral (12/2/2) cable where you really know what you're doing.

Ground must bypass the GFCI (bootlegging ground off neutral will defeat the GFCI protection). So for instance if you have an old 2-wire groundless downline, people who want a 3-light tester to read normal, will often bootleg ground off neutaral to fool the tester. Anything like that must be removed, or the GFCI won't protect you.

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