The size of the main disconnect is 50 amps on the outside. There is a panel on the inside that appears to be 60 amps. Is this a problem for a 1800 sq ft house built in 1969 that has Central AC and Heat (Gas), water heater ( gas), electric stove and the occupant is only one person?
Thanks in advance for any replies and be nice.
The smallest link in the chain… you havn’t said much with regard to wire gauges and such, so with the information given so far it would be 50 amps.
Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. What I was trying to get at is with the service amps today ranging from 100 to 200 amp in a modern home. Does older homes that still have the amperage rating at 50 amps, a concern that should be mentioned ?
Many municipal codes require 100 amps. If this is the case, you have a defect with 50 amps. In the absence of a requirement for an upgrade, you would simply recommend that the house be upgraded to a minimum of 100 amps in order to accommodate the average family’s use of electricity.
In Canada, I know of no insurance company that, after a 50-60-70 amp service is reported, will insure the house until a 100 amp entrance is installed.
About 7-8 years ago, I inspected a small house of 550-600 or so sq ft with a 15-20 year old 60 amp service and panel. I did a load calculation and found 60 amps met the code. I told the buyer that this may be an issue for insurance reasons…the vendor had an an electrical inspector check it out…no problems…but 3 months later the house finally sold with a new 100 amp entrance.
Check with insurers. Do any have a policy similar to those in Canada? If so, warn the purchaser…it’s outside of any SOP but still may be a fact of life and the customer deserves to know as much as possible.
“The service entrance amperage is estimated to be XX amps. Generally speaking, 100 amps is the minimum amperage necessary for today’s modern homes. You should confirm the amperage prior to close of escrow and consult with a licensed electrician about the limitations of this size service.”
Joe is exactly right! It should be mentioned…
Seeing as the air-conditioner will likely use up to as much as 80% of the total capacity of the service, I would venture to say its undersized.
[size=2]“Recommend the client sit in the dark and not watch television while the air-conditioning is running”! 
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Wouldn’t it be better to just recommend having a qualified person do a load calc and determine the minimum need for the residence? I would think if you go and recommend a minimum size of 100 amps, and it turns out to not be enough, you have put your foot in your mouth.
Don’t get me wrong, just trying to help you CYA.
I like the wording in general, although I might also mention potential problems getting insurance with a fused panel and/or one smaller than 100A. However, in this case I might word it a little stronger since things just don’t seem to add up in general.
Not a good combination.
Although way beyond the scope of an inspection, that service may very well be overloaded on paper. Just for discussion … taking 5,400 VA for general lighting/receptacles (3 VA/sf), 1,500 VA for general laundry, 3,000 VA for the kitchen (excluding stove), 8,000 VA for the stove (up to 12 kW stove), and say 6,000 VA to 7,000 VA for the central AC … would add to around a 75A to 80A service load (even using the lower alt method for existing houses).
If there was no central AC and a gas stove it might be a different story.
JMO & 2-nickels … 
I had an inspection the other day with a similar problem.
When you looked at the old snake skin service entrance cable, it appeared to look 60 amp. when I poped the cover the aluminum wire appeared to look like 100 amps. Confused, Any tips?