We use a lot of electricity every day. We rely on electricity more than we know, from making dinner, surfing the web and blow-drying our hair. We want to know that the appliances and outlets in our home are working properly so they will work when we need them, and our homes aren’t at risk for an electrical fire. A safety inspection can look for any problems. There are defects that can prevent your home from passing an electrical inspection. These include illegally spliced wires, overcrowded wires, non-IC-rated recessed lights that touch attic insulation, broken or missing smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, new lights installed onto old wiring and old knob and tube wiring.

Electrical Inspection Checklist

Kitchen– The demand for electricity in the kitchen is high and code requirements demand that the electrical range, cooktop or oven needs to have their own 240-volt circuit, a minimum of two receptacles circuits to be installed above the countertop and each motorized appliance needs to have its own circuit.
Laundry room– Code complaint laundry rooms need to have a washer and dryer plugged into their own 20-amp receptacle and an electric dryer needs to have its own 240-volt circuit.
Bathroom- Bathrooms are only up to code when all the outlets are ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI), the combined light/heater, fan has its own 20-amp circuit and the light fixtures in the tub/shower area are resistant to moisture and covered with a lens.
Dining, living & bedrooms– Electrical codes still need to be met in these rooms even though they don’t usually have any large appliances. These include ceiling fans that are controlled with a switch and not a pull chain, outlets installed no further than 1 feet apart and each room needs to have a wall switch installed by the entry door to control lighting.
Staircases & hallways– These areas of your home serve as escape routes in the event of a fire, bad weather or any other emergency and they have specific electrical codes. Lights need to be located frequently enough so shadows aren’t cast, three-way switches are located at the top and bottom of the staircase and both ends of the hallway and hallways more than 10 feet long have an outlet for general purposes.
Attached garages– When your garage is attached to your home, it becomes an extension of it and will require electrical codes as well. There needs to be at least one switch in the wall the controls the lighting, in addition to the light for the garage door, the door leading out of the garage and the side door need to have their own three-way switch and to accommodate power tools, there needs to be at least one GFCI outlet installed on its own circuit.

Electrical Safety Inspections & More in Laguna Woods, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Lake Forest & Orange County, California

You can schedule an electrical safety inspection to make sure everything is up to code to ensure your home is safe and electrical fires are unlikely to happen. Other reasons you should get one include, if you’re buying a house, if you live in a home older than 40 years, if you’ve installed a new appliance or your home has been renovated. Contact Peterkin Electric to schedule an inspection today!