Re: GFI for bathroom heat
I see a big difference between a receptacle outlet and a baseboard heater.
If you have 10 amps going through a hair dryer (i.e., current coming in from the hot leg, going through device, and leaving via the cold leg), and if you also have one half an amp going through the operator (i.e., going from the hot leg to the case of the device, into the hand of the person operating the device, through that person?s body into the floor, through dirt to the ground rod, up the ground rod to the main panel), then two things will happen: (1) The breaker will not trip, because it sees a total current of only 10.5 amps, and (2) The operator will die. The purpose of protecting the bathroom receptacle with a GFI is to terminate the event before harm comes to the operator.
In the scenario I described above, I chose a fault current of one half amp under the presumption of a high resistance leakage path internal to the hair dryer. There could conceivably be a similar leakage path in a baseboard heater. However, I cannot conceive of a scenario in which a person could come into contact with that heater, receive the same 1/2 amp shock, and be in danger of his or her life. There is a risk of a serious burn, but then contacting a running heater could give you a serious burn, even without a leakage path that sends current through your foot.
I think it is a matter of the code makers not being able to justify requiring a protective feature, without there being a high probability of an accident that would have serious consequences.