Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI's) help to prevent electrical shocks by shutting off the current as soon as an imbalance in the hot & neutral is detected. Current codes require GFCI protection on all kitchen & bathroom outlets & in other potentially damp locations like basements & garages.

If you are building a new home or retrofitting an older one you can use either an outlet or circuit-breaker GFCI device.

A GFCI outlet, which costs 10-15 dollars, has it's own built-in circuit breaker as well as a reset button. When installed properly, a GFCI outlet will protect all other outlets on the same circuit as long as the GFCI outlet is the first one on the circuit.

A GFCI circuit breaker, 30 + dollars, is an easier way to ensure that all the outlets & fixtures on any given branch circuit will be protected. GFCI breakers also function like standard breakers to protect against overloaded or short circuits.