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5 Easy to Overlook Electrical Finds
by Dylan Chalk, CEO of ScribeWare
Inspection of electrical systems in existing dwellings is a challenge. In some states and provinces, there is resistance to letting home inspectors perform the basic steps necessary to complete an electrical inspection such as opening the dead front cover to the electric panel. Then, obstacles such as personal belongings, wall and ceiling finishes, and busy agents/brokers wishing we would hurry up, all conspire against us. Despite these obstacles, home inspectors are often the best and possibly only resource for identifying electrical safety concerns and flagging electrical systems for repair in existing dwellings. Who else would do this? As electrical systems age and get modified by Larry The Cable Guy, there is often no one else watching or paying attention.
Here are some sobering statistics. According to the US Fire Administration, electrical fires are the leading cause of fires in residential buildings. An estimated 24,200 residential building electrical fires were reported to United States fire departments in 2021. These fires caused an estimated 295 deaths, 900 injuries, and over $1.2 billion in property loss in the US alone.
Hopefully, this average of over one electrical fire per day per state is enough to stave off complacency. But the challenge is real. Home inspectors are tasked with being constantly vigilant for low-probability, high-consequence installations, and the electrical system forces dozens of seemingly little critical safety items upon us. Inspectors must also explain to homeowners that electrical system safety standards are a progressive moving target. Do you need modern AFCI protection in your 1984 house? Probably not … But if you do … You might NEED it. Do you write this up? Call it a repair? An improvement? Ah, business decisions!
With this in mind, let’s take a look at five commonly overlooked electrical findings.
208-Volt Systems
Some state standards of practice require that inspectors describe the electric system voltage while also stating that inspectors do not need to insert testers into electric panels. Even if you don’t live under such an SOP, measuring the system voltage is a great way to get it right. If you don’t measure, you are guessing. I use a Fluke T+ Pro Tester to measure the voltage on line lugs at the main panel. Most residences are 240-volt but you will likely find lots of 208-volt systems in condominiums and commercial buildings. While this is not a major safety item, it is easy to overlook and something a homebuyer may want to know. Here is the narrative I use to explain this:
The electrical tester above shows a 208-volt system on a townhome. It is normal to find readings slightly above or below the nominal voltage.
Note the 208-volt rating for this solar panel installation above.
Poorly Wired Sub-Panels in Outbuildings
Sub-panel wiring is complex and often glossed over in inspection training. Some newer inspectors cling to the idea that neutrals and equipment grounds should ALWAYS be separated or isolated in sub-panels. This is TRUE for all sub-panels done with a 4-conductor feed, but not sub-panels done with three-conductor feeds to outbuildings. Three conductor feeds were allowed in detached structures until the 2008 NEC and such panels should be treated like main panels where grounds and neutrals are bonded together. This has brought up many a donnybrook in an electrical class I teach with my friend and mentor Charles Buell, so we came up with this helpful flow chart. Also, be sure to check outbuildings for a proper grounding system. If home inspectors get confused, imagine Larry The Cable Guy.
A note about the ground rods on the single phase sub-panel wiring flow chart: it is possible that one ground rod could be adequate. In practice, I rarely find two ground rods at outbuildings but it’s a good idea to look and at least check for some type of grounding system. (See Figure 1: Single Phase Sub-Panel Wiring Flow Chart).
Figure 1: Single Phase Sub-Panel Wiring Flow Chart
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Bootleg or False Grounds
Bootleg grounds are frequently found in buildings that pre-date the equipment grounding requirements of the early 1960s, especially older buildings that have been flipped (See Figure 2). The installer of these installations will install a jumper wire between the neutral and the ground terminals on the receptacle, making most three-bulb testers believe it is a grounded circuit.
Figure 2: Bootleg ground courtesy of Mike Twitty from Homescan Training – www.HomeScanTraining.net
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Figure 3: Three-bulb tester shown above is not finding the bootleg ground; courtesy of Mike Twitty.
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Most if not all three-bulb electrical testers will miss a false ground so consider establishing more vigilant procedures for buildings older than 1963 (See Figure 3). A Sure Test Circuit Analyzer is a great circuit tester for older buildings. It can find false or bootleg grounds that many three-bulb testers will overlook. I identify where these conditions were found and I use this narrative:
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Messed-up Multi-Wire Branch Circuits
Multi-wire branch circuits are my nemesis. They grind my inspection process to a crawl, especially if there are a lot of them as I fumble to try and trace the wires in the panel. When wired correctly, these 120-volt circuits consist of one cable with two ungrounded conductors (hots), one grounded conductor (neutral), and an equipment grounding conductor. The ungrounded conductors share a neutral (grounded conductor) for the unbalanced load between the two circuits. Put both breakers on the same leg, and the neutral can now carry the combined current of BOTH conductors. This can overload the neutral, and overheating is likely if that neutral wire is loose. I trace the wires backto the circuits and see how many conductors are in the cable (See Figure 4). Then, I try to make sure the breakers are on different legs. Throw tandem or wafer breaks into the mix and things get seriously confusing. These are the thin breakers that allow two breakers into one slot. Tandems are even more difficult to verify that the two circuits are on different legs. You might even find some cables feeding these circuits with two neutrals (See Figure 5), which would not be a multi-wire branch circuit, so watch your step and keep your wits about you. Also, in 2008, multi-wire branch circuits started requiring handle ties so that BOTH ungrounded conductors would get disabled with a fault or when working on a circuit. This comment makes all of my reports where handle ties are missing.
Figure 5: Two neutrals in one cable courtesy of Charles Buell
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Disabled Grounding/Bonding Connections
Grounding and bonding is an infinitely complex subject and the grounding and bonding system is difficult to inspect because you cannot just switch it on and see how it works. One habit I got into was taking a picture of all grounding and bonding connections and putting them in the report. This change in my inspection process helped me develop instincts for finding and documenting connections. Now, with this new workflow, at the end of the inspection, I feel more confident that I have looked at the grounding and bonding system. Be vigilant in buildings that have partly updated plastic piping systems. There may be unbonded parts of the metal piping system. You can also use a clamp meter to look for stray currents on the equipment grounding system. This is a rare find but could be a life safety issue. I avoid testing this inside the panel due to induced current but often test grounding conductors away from the panel. If you discover this, the next challenge will be finding an electrician willing and able to diagnose the source. Find more information at: https://bit.ly/grounding-electrode.
Is this helpful? Was it too short? I get it. This is complex stuff. Want another resource? Douglas Hansens’ book, Electrical Inspections of Existing Dwellings is a fantastic resource—big thanks to Mike Twitty and Charles Buell for editorial help. Happy inspecting!
About the Author
Dylan Chalk is the author of The Confident House Hunter—a book to teach homebuyers how to look at and understand houses: Cedar Fort Publishing and Media. He is also the co-founder of ScribeWare report software, which offers innovative and simple report-writing solutions for inspectors—https://getscribeware.com.
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