ELECTRICAL PANEL(S) PAGE

Free DIY Home Inspection Checklist

General Comments

• DIY Tips: 

1. Some houses possess multiple electrical panels. We suggest printing this section as many times as necessary to accommodate the number of panels at your property.

•  All conditions listed below (if checked) require an additional inspection by a professional of this trade
•  All conditions are considered a hazard if checked

Service feed is      UNDERGROUND    AERIAL 

Weather Head (Aerial Service)

•  Overhead service is Okay
• Weather head is damaged
• Service mast is leaning / rusted / cracked / damaged
• Service conductors are too small for this size home
• Service conductors not attached to weather head mast or roof cleat
• Roof cleat is loose or pulled away from roof deck
• Bolts on roof cleat need to be sealed
• Neutral wire disconnected from mast
• Flashing into the roof is missing / needs sealant/ damaged
• Service mast is located more then 48” from eave
• Wire entering Weather head is closer than 18” to the roof deck
• Service conductors not suggested to pass over the roof more than 6 feet
• Service conductors must maintain these clearances:

• 8 feet over flat roof
• 10 feet over grade
• 10 feet over deck within 3 feet
• 12 feet over driveway
• 14.5 over diving board
• 15 feet over alley
• 18 feet over road
• 22.5 feet over swimming pool

• Wire entering Weather head are frayed / connections are exposed
• Service wires laying on the roof deck
• Service mast suggested to be better supported
• No drip loop observed
• Service wires too close to trees / buildings

Underground Service 

• Check to see if any trees are close to underground feeders
• Exposed underground wires observed
• Exposed service feeder wires above grade

Service Panel Cover

•  SPC is Okay
• SPC is damaged
• SPC is loose
• SPC hinges missing / damaged / loose
• SPC missing

Dead Front Cover

•  DFC is okay
• DFC is missing
• DFC is damaged
• DFC is missing screws
• DFC is screws are pointed and not blunt
• DFC is missing breaker labels
• DFC breaker labels are worn
• DFC is missing knockouts
• DFC is not tight to breakers leaving a gap
• DFC is not original to panel / replaced / modified
• DFC is rusted / deteriorated

Service Size

• The service size is _________ amps
• The panels rating is  __________ amps

Wiring Methods

• The wiring appears to be Non Metallic cable (Romex)
• The wiring is drawn through conduit 

Bus Bar

•  The bus bar looks okay
• The bus bar is scorched / damaged
• The bus bar appears to have been replaced

Infrared Observations

•  No visible issues
• Heat in excess observed at one or more connections / breakers / wires

Circuit Breakers

•  Circuit breakers okay
• Damaged Circuit breakers
• Circuit breakers not approved for this panel board
• Circuit breakers scorched
• Circuit breakers loose
• Circuit breaker is tripped for unknown reasons
• AFCI (blue button) recalled
• GFCI breaker defective
• Circuit breakers amps too large for appliance / circuit / wire

Panel Wiring

• Wiring looks okay
• Wires scorched
• Wires are corroded or deteriorated
• Wires loose in panel not terminated
• Two or more wires into one breaker
• Wire is too small for breaker size
• Wire / circuit is not protected by breaker / fuse (direct tap)

Neutral / Grounding Bus

• Panel appears to be bonded
• No visible bond observed  (The bus bars appear to be floating)
• Bus is deteriorated 
• Two or more neutral wires under one terminal
• Ground and neutral wire under one terminal
• GROUNDING ELECTRODE CONDUCTOR disconnected

Equipotential Bonding

• EQ bond is complete
• EQ bond is not visible / missing
• EQ bond was terminated in re-pipe
• No EQ bond due to plastic water pipes
• EQ bond present but not compete to gas and hot water pipes
• EQ bond clamps loose
• EQ bonding conductor is too small  ( < #8 AWG )

Wiring Type

• The wire type is non metallic ( Romex)
• The wire type is stranded wire pulled through conduit
• The wire type is old Aluminum
• The wire type is pre-1984 Non metallic ( Romex)

Grounding System

• The GROUNDING ELECTRODE CONDUCTOR (GEC) was verified
• There is no GEC installed
• The GEC is incorrectly sized
• The GEC is was not visible to verify
• The GEC is spliced
• There are two or more GROUNDING ELECTRODES
• The  GEC has been nullified 
• The GEC requires a bonding jumper
• The GEC is subject to damage and not protected
• The grounding rod electrode is exposed and not completely embedded
• There is only one grounding electrode where two are required

SUB-PANEL

General comments

Sub Panel Service Panel Cover

• SPC is Okay
• SPC is damaged
• SPC is loose
• SPC hinges missing / damaged / loose
• SPC missing

Sub Panel Dead Front Cover

• DFC is okay
• DFC is missing
• DFC is damaged
• DFC is missing screws
• DFC is screws are pointed and not blunt
• DFC is missing breaker labels
• DFC breaker labels are worn
• DFC is missing knockouts
• DFC is not tight to breakers leaving a gap
• DFC is not original to panel / replaced / modified
• DFC is rusted / deteriorated

Sub Panel Service Size

• The service size is _________ amps
• The panels rating is  __________ amps

Sub Panel Wiring Methods

• The wiring appears to be Non Metallic cable (Romex)
• The wiring is drawn through conduit

Sub Panel Bus Bar

• The bus bar looks okay
• The bus bar is scorched / damaged
• The bus bar appears to have been replaced

Sub Panel Infrared Observations

• No visible issues
• Heat in excess observed at one or more connections / breakers / wires

Sub Panel Circuit Breakers

• Circuit breakers okay
• Damaged Circuit breakers
• Circuit breakers not approved for this panel board
• Circuit breakers scorched
• Circuit breakers loose
• Circuit breaker is tripped for unknown reasons
• AFCI (blue button) recalled
• GFCI breaker defective
• Circuit breakers amps too large for appliance / circuit / wire

Sub Panel Wiring

• Wiring looks okay
• Wires scorched
• Wires are corroded or deteriorated
• Wires loose in panel not terminated
• Two or more wires into one breaker
• Wire is too small for breaker size
• Wire / circuit is not protected by breaker / fuse (direct tap)

Sub Panel Neutral / Grounding Bus

• The neutral and grounding bus are separate 
• The sub panel appears to be incorrectly bonded to the equipment panel board 
• Neutral and grounding conductors are intermixed

Sub Panel Wiring Type

• The wire type is non metallic ( Romex)
• The wire type is stranded wire pulled through conduit
• The wire type is old Aluminum
• The wire type is pre-1984 Non metallic ( Romex)

Sub Panel Grounding System

• The GROUNDING ELECTRODE CONDUCTOR is present
• There is no GROUNDING ELECTRODE CONDUCTOR 
• The GEC is disconnected

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