Common Electrical Issues Found During Home Inspections

Home inspectors closely examine all major components of a home, including the plumbing, structural elements, HVAC, roofing, and, of course, the electrical system. While every part of a home is important to home buyers, the inspection of electrical components can often uncover deeper issues that could spell disaster for a home or their inhabitants. 

Electric shock, personal injury, and fires are among the top safety concerns, but it’s also important to consider how a family could be left in the dark or unable to complete daily household activities with an older, outdated electrical system.

Let’s take a look at some of the more common electrical issues that may be identified during a home inspection. 

How Common Are Electrical Issues? 

A recent 2019 report from the National Fire Protection Agency cited that there are an average of 44,8800 home fires every year that involve an electrical failure or malfunction. Sadly, these home fires cause an average of 440 civilian deaths and 1,250 injuries annually. Along with human loss and injury, these fires cause an estimated $1.3 billion in direct property damage a year. 

These statistics show the true importance of a home inspection that takes a comprehensive look at the wiring, outlets, and the electrical panel. 

Top Electrical Issues 

Home inspectors have been expertly trained and are experienced in identifying electrical issues that need correction by a licensed and qualified electrician. 

Outdated Wiring 

Older homes are typically good candidates for having older or outdated wiring. In homes predating the 1920’s knob and tube wiring was commonplace. Two wire ungrounded romex was used throughout the 1950’s and Aluminum wiring was prevalent between 1965 and 1972 when the price of copper skyrocketed due to the Vietnam War.

Knob and tube wiring is no longer sufficient nor safe for the modern demand of our household electrical needs including computers, stoves, microwaves, and all the other devices we have become almost dependent on. Aluminum wiring resulted in many fires due to the incompatibility of connectors designed for use only with copper wires. . Thankfully, most homes have updated from knob and tube  as well as aluminum wiring to more modern wiring. 

Outdated Electrical Panel Boxes 

The typical lifespan of an electrical panel box is approximately 30 years. Most older panels are not suited for the needs of modern homes and lack important safety features such as GFCI and AFCI. That being said, panel boxes that have fuses instead of circuit breakers should be  updated. 

Additionally, many older homes have an electrical service size that is below today’s standards.  Handling today’s electrical demands often requires an update of the service to 200 Amps.  

Missing GFCI Protection 

Ground fault circuit interrupters or GFCI protection has been around since the 1970s.These special outlets are designed to guard people against electrical shock. They are often required by code in moist or wet locations of the home to protect people from being shocked, such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry and utility rooms, garages and outbuildings, unfinished basements and pool areas. Any electrical outlet that can come in contact with water) are required to have GFCI protection. These outlets that are easily identifiable by the ‘test’ and ‘reset' buttons generally only last ten years or so and should be upgraded . 

A Double Tapped Circuit Breaker

In most panels, Each circuit breaker slot is designed to accommodate one live wire. Unfortunately, some homes have breakers with two or more live wires connecting to each slot which can cause nuisance tripping of breakers or worse a loose connection  which becomes a significant fire risk. A quick fix for this issue is to add extra breakers or install breakers designed to accept two-wire circuits called tandem breakers. 

While there are many more electrical problems that could be found during an inspection including reversed polarity, ungrounded outlets, or exposed wiring, these four issues tend to be the most commonly seen during home inspections. Many of these defects go unnoticed until it is too late.  Preventing shock hazards or fire risks are one of the most important functions of a home inspection. Having a trained professional inspect the electrical system of your home helps mitigate these risks and could save someone’s life.