Beginner inspector here. I recently inspected a property and came across a few things in the electrical setup that I’d like your input on. Below are my observations and questions:
Subpanel Identification. The property has two electrical panels. The first is an exterior panel where the service enters the house. The second is an interior panel that distributes power to outlets and switches in the home. My question: Is the interior panel considered a subpanel?
Neutral Bus Bar in Subpanel. Should the neutral bus bar in the interior panel (subpanel?) have a bonding screw connecting it to the metal enclosure?
Cloth Wiring in the Main Panel. In the main panel, I noticed some wiring wrapped in what appears to be a cloth material. Is this cloth wiring, and if so, what are your thoughts on safety and potential issues associated with it?
150-Amp Breakers in Both Panels. The main panel has a 150-amp breaker for the incoming service line. The subpanel also has a 150-amp breaker. Is this setup correct? Are there any concerns or code violations I should be aware of?
I’d love to hear your feedback, insights, and any resources you might recommend to better understand these setups.
If the outside panel is energizing the interior panel, then yes, it would be a sub-panel and should be wired as such.
No, the neutral bus should not be bonded to the panel, but the ground bus should be, which it appears to be.
You also should have 2 hot leads, one neutral, and one ground from the disconnect to the interior panel. I’m only seeing 3 wires, 2 hot and one neutral.
I don’t think splitting the neutral, half for the neutral bus and half for the ground bus, if that’s what they’ve done, is correct. @rmeier2 would be able to give a more definitive answer on that issue.
It looks like the cloth wire you’re refering to has a rubber insulator, so not a problem.
Normally a sub panel doesn’t have a “main breaker” in it as the overcurrent protection should be in the disconnect panel, but IMO it’s not hurting anything.
I would be recommending an electrician for corrections.
I do see a grounding bus in the subpanel, but the neutral is fed with an uninsulated neutral which is not allowed. They taped it up with white tape but it’s still an uninsulated neutral.
The short answer is no. Home inspectors are not code compliance inspectors (though there are plenty of wannabes). You didn’t say where the house is located or when it was built, so even if you were going to cite compliance to building codes, you wouldn’t be able to until you had that information. Furthermore, not everyone interprets or enforces building codes the same way. You would need to know the position of the local inspection authorities at the time of the construction. If a permit had been issued and approved, it was in compliance with the applicable codes.
Its a little hard to follow the EGC in the “sub panel” but it does look like they just split the ungrounded wire, they need another ECG to the the sub. The SE cable in the main panel does not have a GEC, but it looks line a separate ECG wire runs parallel, and probably hits a ground rod outside? Need to lose the bonding screw on the ungrounded bus in the sub panel.
Feeders say 1/0, so that’s fine for 150 amp.
I assume you mean the grounded (neutral) bus. An ungrounded bus would be considered the “energized” busses. Also, since there is not a 4-wire feed to the sub, neutral and ground cannot be separated. So until the SEC is updated, you want to keep that bonding screw in place.
