Service Panel in Corner of a Basement.

Hey Guys,

Last year when I went to school for home inspection the instructor taught us that a service panel in the corner of a room was a safety hazard and should be written up. As I’ve continued my education over the last year via InterNACHI I haven’t seen this called out as a defect. I’ve seen the NEC standards on accessibility but it seems the 30" wide distance can be satisfied with a panel placed in a corner as the panel does not need to be centered in the 30" access space.

Does anyone else write this up? Is it actually a defect?

Thanks!

How old is the service , I do not think it is a big deal .
It must have passed inspection when installed originally .

The panel requires a minimum of 30" of width as part of the working apace. Being in a corner is irrelevant if you have the 30".

I rarely write that up unless access is truly restricted.

There are tons of old panels crammed into small basements here.
Of course I have seen some particularly egregious examples from time to time, sometimes rather amusing from a home inspectors point of view.

Panel was installed in the kitchen, which is unusual here.
Then they decided they needed more cabinet space.
So they installed a pantry cabinet over the panel! :roll: