To get you ready for this, a GFCI electrical outlet is the kind that has the reset buttons on it and a GFCI protected outlet is one that follows it in the circuit, and if properly wired, it does not need to have reset buttons to be protected.

GFCI requirements have changed and increased over the years starting with the first requirements in the early 70’s for GFCI protection of exterior outlets.  Each National Electric Code, (NEC), revision since has expanded the requirements.  Home owners in older houses had heard about the safety benefits of GFCI and have attempted to add the new safety features on their own.  Many did not understand how the devices worked and were confused by the cryptic instructions that came with them.  What follows is a sample of what home inspectors find all the time in houses dating from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s:

I was inspecting a 40 year old house that had been partially renovated by it’s owner. I found numerous electrical problems in the house but the newly built (10 year old) screened in porch was just a lot of fun.

I use an electrical test device which will trip a GFCI circuit from any protected outlet on the circuit. I routinely test all exterior outlets which, unless they are dedicated to a refrigerator or freezer, are supposed to be GFCI protected according to the NEC code since 1973.

While the house predated the requirement, the screened porch was added after GFCI was required on all external outlets and the owner rightfully wanted to make sure he complied to all code requirements. The screened porch was beautifully done and it sported a ceiling fan which was nice on this 95 degree day. There were two electrical outlets on each wall, eight in total, and every outlet had a GFCI outlet with resets.

I started on one side and tested in a clockwise direction. When I tested the outlet #1 outlet #3 tripped but not outlet #1. Hmm. I reset the outlet #3 and tested it. It did not trip but power went off on the line indicating a GFI reset somewhere else was more sensitive than this control outlet. I found it next to the electrical panel in the basement. Resetting that, I went back to the porch.

The second outlet in line did not trip at all, and the fourth outlet tripped properly as did the fifth, sixth and seventh. The last outlet tripped outlet #1. It was pretty confusing and can you imagine the home owner trying to figure out how to reset the circuit when one of the outlets tripped?

It is very common for the GFCI outlets on houses which were built in the eighties or earlier, where GFCI has been added, to have mistakes. This house had multiple redundant GFCI outlets…a common misconception of homeowners who think that you have to have the outlets with buttons or else the circuit is not protected.  While the extra GFCI protection can be considered good, if the user doesn’t know why the outlet has no power, he may resort to using extension cords…always an increased hazard.

This house had reverse wired GFCI outlets and also miswired GFCI outlets where the “Line” and “Load” terminals were reversed. Finally, at least one of the outlets was just defective. Pretty confusing. My recommendation was to have an electrician remove all the redundant GFCI outlets and to correct any miswiring so that the circuits are all properly protected.

It’s always a good idea to get an inspection.  In this case, without the inspection my clients would have truly been confused!

You never know what you will find…

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Tags: GFCI, Home Inspection, Home Status, Mis-wired GFCI

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 10:14 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.