In Residential Electrical Inspections Course, the course explicitly says that Home Inspectors are not required to remove the deal panel and look inside. However, at the last leg of the course, Paul Abernathy clearly says that Home Inspectors need to do it. (InterNACHI® - International Association of Certified Home Inspectors)
So, i find it contradictory and confused. Please advise.
Welcome Nishith!
Think of it this way, and how it should be worded and taken;
Substitute the word “supposed” with “required”. Then substitute “must” with “should”. That should help clarify it. You are not required to do it, but you should do it. Keep in mind that certain states and jurisdictions require it under their SOP.
I think it should say “not required to remove” not shouldn’t remove.
If at all possible the panel cover should be removed to look for defects, which I find 95% of the time.
Some panel covers are literally impossible to remove and some may be dangerous to remove. IMO these would be reasons not to remove the cover, but should be stated so in the report and recommend it be inspected when feasible.
I agree with Kevin and his wording.
That’s what the OP stated above.
The OP edited his post.
And he stated the other thing that made it confusing for him. Hence, his request for advice.
Yep, he edited his post from “not supposed to” remove to “not required to” remove.
I also agree. I thought I was going to get to skip one this week on an 11 month. The owner had so much junk in front of it, I literally could do nothing but get the lid open and do a thermal shot of the breakers. I told the owner, he spent the next 30 minutes or so clearing the space and gave me access.
If I hadn’t have had uncounted numbers of dead fronts off in mfg plants all over, I can understand how it’s a bit daunting the first few times.
Now it’s just a matter of making sure to not dip the top or bottom into the exposed lugs/buss.
I do happen to like the latest Eaton panels where the dead front is slotted on the top and bottom. You can remove 4 of the 6, loosen the last two and lift it right off. It’s a little easier than leaning into it and holding it to the wall while you loosen the last screw.
Yea, it’s better than what Eaton had before but still doesn’t work perfectly. If the panel body is flush with the drywall then it’s not difficult to take off, but a lot of times the panel body is recessed and the screws can only be loosened so far to try to squeeze out the dead front. When Eaton first came out with this design I was like yep they definitely took inspiration from the siemens panel design. I was skeptical at first with Eaton’s take but it’s grown on me.
For a while now, the siemens panels have had metal tabs that hook onto the top of the panel body just above the top two screw holes so you can remove all the screws and the dead front will hang on the metal tabs. Only problem is electricians keep installing the siemens panels upside down on new construction to save money by running shorter service entrance conductors from the bottom and defeating the purpose of the design. If only Siemens put the tabs on both the top and bottom so it is reversible.
Just a tip to clarify your wording and narrative writing. The cover is referred to as a “dead front” and not a “dead panel.”
You might want to work on your terminology usage. You will be creating narratives with these terms. A “dead panel” is one that is not energized, not connected, etc. It’s the way they come out of the box before any components are installed. A “dead front” is the panel cover that is “dead” because no electrical components are installed on it. This is the part you remove to look inside the panel.
Now consider how you will determine the wiring methods and specifically the presence of aluminum wire if you don’t remove the cover. You may not be able to read the wiring jacket covers. The easiest method is to remove the dead front as all the circuits in the house terminate there.
The NEC defines “Dead Front” as “without live parts exposed to a person on the operating side of the equipment”. So it means the component is not electrically live and does not have the potential to become live.
A dead front refers to the front of an electrical panel that does not have any live electrical parts exposed. This means that the front of the panel does not have any live wires or electrical components that can be touched or manipulated. This is a safety feature designed to prevent electrocution or accidental electrical contact. So in effect, the entire panel cover assembly is considered the “dead front”. Note that some (primarily older panels) are two piece or multiple piece covers, and all pieces are jointly considered the dead front. Any single piece by itself would typically constitute a “live front” (cover), as it does not completely prevent exposure to energized components and hazards.
Where are you located?
Are you licensed in your location?
There are several seemingly contradictory, poorly written statements in the InterNACHI SOP. Some panel components that an inspector shall inspect cannot be fully inspected without removing the cover.
Think about this one…the InterNACHI SOP specifically states that “The inspector is not required to…H. operate any valve”. A “faucet” is a type of valve and a toilet is literally operated by the “flush valve” both of which are terms defined by the IPC and the UPC.
Just like everything else in this world, InterNACHI has to be concerned with legal liabilities if they say inspectors “must” or are “required” to open electrical panels because of the dangers involved. But, everyone here, as well as InterNACHI staff, knows that opening the electrical panel (when possible) will provide the inspector with a wealth of information about the state of electrical system. And, not opening the electrical panel(s) would be a huge inspection restriction. Hence, the occasional conflicting viewpoints.
Maryland SOP says -
.08 Electrical Systems.
A. A home inspector shall visually inspect an electrical system, including:
(5) Interior components of service panels and subpanels; §09.36.07.08
Liability is not a consideration. If you decide NOT to remove the dead front you are liable for omission unless your report states a safety related reason.
In SC we have to identify the type of conductors in the panel (aluminum or copper). So to do this we have to remove the cover.
