this is an image of an electrical service system on rural property. the home owner had informed me that the box in the upper right of image is a disconect for the whole house and shop that is adjacent to the home. i had noticed the meter had a rating of 200amp/240 volt but the box in the lower right of image was rated for single phase 100 amp. as well as service entry point into home did not appear to have any flashing or sealant where it penetrates the siding. this has potential to cause future issues. i recommend an electrician examine further.
i read electrical service from hell. i noticed it is the same as in the course. i still find it helpful that it shows some of the exact issues to look and prepare fore mores if you are not very familiar with electrical systems.
Electrical service panels should be free of aluminum branch wiring, sharp-tipped panel box screws, improperly sized circuit breakers, and require a clearance of at least 3-foot in front and free of any obstacles. The service panel should be inspected for any corrosion, wire damage, evidence of electrical failures, water entry, and missing or improper bonding. Also, problematic panels such as Zinsco or FPE should be further evaluated by a qualified electrician.
I read an article about AFCIs.AFCIs interrupt a circuit if they detect a wave pattern that is similar to that of an arc. Arcs can happen from improperly installed wiring or wire insulation that is damaged. AFCIs are required to be installed in bedrooms.
this is the service main entrance. it consist of the service conductors located between terminals and main disconnect. also in this picture is the service drop or over head service conductors as well as tap or splice where its all connected.
I picked distribution line tree clearance as my picture to write about. Pole should be minimum 20’ away from tress no taller than 25 feet and should be 50’ away from trees larger than 40’. also 10’ clearance from the underside of power line
I ran into this problem last week, I was inspecting a home and it had the electrical service panel located on the outside of the home. No problem there except it was raining and there was water ponding on the outside of the foundation which created a safety hazard. Other than physically observing the panel I was unable to remove the dead front panel to inspect the components. I noted it in the report and discussed this condition with the customer and recommended that they improve the ponding issue to reduce the safety hazard.
I found the overall coursework to be a good refresher and appreciate the work the nachi team does to produce these. After performing many inspections I always find something new when I take a class. Like the info about bonding and sub panels. Sub panels are not as common and it is easy to forget all the things needed to be inspected.
In this photo you will see a couple of issues. To begin with this is a GFCI receptacle. It shows a refrigerator plugged in to it. Though this is not a hazard or defect, if the circuit is interrupted you could obviously lose the food. The other issue is that there is an extension cord plugged in that runs up the wall and through a hole in the wall. I found on the other side of this wall an outlet with a lamp plugged in.
“Electrical Safety”. There are many good tips in this article for not only inspectors but for homeowners especially. Tips on child safety were very good, such as, using outlet safety plugs and locking electrical boxes. Homeowners should also hire a licensed professional electrician anytime they can see obvious issues such as frayed wires, scorched outlets or panel covers.
Here is the inside of a 200 amp electrical panel in a basement. Several neutral conductors are sharing lugs with ground conductors, which is not allowed. I can also see two double breakers on the bottom right for AC units with hot and neutral conductors, which is accepted.
I have gone through several diagrams. Some takeaways are workspace should be 30"x78"x36", grounding should jump meters and valves (weaker conductors), plumbing pipes are commonly bonded to, and terminate at a grounding rod or something similar. Distribution panels must have separate grounding from neutral conductors.
Double-tap does not mean to give up twice, but it sure is giving up on proper electrical safety ! Surprisely double-tapping a breaker, meaning to put two wires on a single electrical terminal, is found fairly often. See the attached picture. Always call this out in your report. It is not only a code violation, it presents a real fire hazard if the connections become lose for any reason.
In the NACHI article "Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs), a clear explanation of why GFCIs are important, how they work, and the code requirements is provided. Electricity alway attempts flow more through the path of least resistance. Since water is a low resistance path for electricity to flow, wet environments are an extremely high risk area when using electrical devices. A GFCI is designed for these environments and acts by monitoring for any “stray” flow of electricity. That is electricity not flowing through it’s normal path. If sensed, the GFCI will shut-off electricity to the outlet. It is very important that inspectors test every GFCI using either the test button or a GFCI tester. Also note the lack of a GFCI where they should be; gargage, bathroom, outdoors, kitchen … the complete list can be found in the NACHI article.
This Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)outlet is in the guest bathroom.It is located near the sink.Tripped, it works properly to deenergize the outlet.On the adjacent side of the wall is a bathroom to the master bedroom.It also has an outlet located near the sink.That outlet is not (GFCI),but wired into the same circuit.It is also protected to trip as the (GFCI) outlet does.
Understanding the service panel.Unless the homeowner is a licensed electrician.The service panel can be intimidating.It is certainly to be respected.Only licensed or properly trained persons should work on it.It can be seen as the circuit distribution for the house.It manages all the electricity to every switch,outlet and appliance throughout your house.As with most things.If properly managed and maintained.Your service panel will help make your house safe, comfortable, and efficient to live in.
This photo is of a in proper joining of conductors found in a utility storage area in the basement. The conductors should be terminated into a junction box with proper strain release clamps and a junction box cover. The junction box needs to be secured to the side of the beam above. This work shold be done by a qualified electrician.
My essay is how to inspect a dryer exhaust duct. I start by looking for ridged metal (aluminum or galvanized)connecting the transition to the outlet terminal. making sure its no more than 25’ in length including 45s and 90s.I check its supported every 4’ making sure there are no sags and that the ducks are assembled for direction of air flow. I than make sure the exhaust exits the building at least 3’ from any opening and 10’ from air conditioning, and heat pumps. at the terminated end i want to make sure the back draft damper is in place and functioning.
I chose to observe an electrical receptacle near the sink in a bathroom. The receptacle has a two conductor system which is GFCI protected. The receptacle works and has both reset buttons in the middle of it. Also this receptacle is far enough away from the sink to minimize the chance of damage and showed no signs of defects.
The article I chose to read was titled, “Electrical Terms” and within it contained as stated, several electrical terms that I further understood after reading the article. This article went into further depth within each term than the online course did. I further learned that all the terms listed are intertwined and rely on each other when talking about another term. At the end of the article I found it interesting that voltage and current are not the same thing and that although many signs may read, danger high voltage, it is the current that will and can cause serious damage even death.