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A home electrical inspection covers seven main areas: the service and panel, grounding and bonding, GFCI and AFCI protection, outlets and switches, the type and condition of the wiring, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and any outdoor electrical. A licensed electrician checks each one for code compliance and actual safety, not just whether things currently power on.

What Does the Electrician Check in the Panel?

The panel is where most inspections start, because it tells an electrician the most about the rest of the house. A panel that’s undersized, outdated, or poorly maintained is often the root cause behind several smaller problems found elsewhere in the inspection, from tripped breakers to flickering lights.

• Whether the main breaker’s amperage matches what the home actually needs to run
• The panel’s brand and age, and whether it’s a brand with known reliability problems
• Double-tapped breakers, where two wires are landed on a terminal only rated for one
• Rust, corrosion, or heat damage inside the panel
• Whether the breaker labeling actually matches what each breaker controls

Grounding and Bonding

An electrician verifies the home has a proper grounding electrode system, usually a ground rod, a bonded water pipe, or both depending on how the house was built. At sub-panels, the neutral and ground need to stay separated; at the main panel, they’re bonded together. Metal boxes and equipment need a real path to ground too, not just a wire that looks connected. Poor grounding doesn’t usually announce itself with a flickering light or a tripped breaker, which is exactly why it’s easy to miss without someone checking for it directly.

GFCI and AFCI Protection

This section checks whether kitchens, bathrooms, garages, outdoor outlets, and other required locations actually have GFCI protection, and whether bedrooms and living areas have AFCI protection where code calls for it. If GFCI outlets already exist, the inspector tests whether the button actually trips and resets, since a GFCI that won’t reset isn’t protecting anything. Older homes built before these requirements existed often have none of this protection at all, even in a kitchen or bathroom, which is one of the more common gaps an inspection turns up.

Outlets, Switches, and Fixtures

• Loose, worn, or warm-to-the-touch outlets
• Reversed polarity or an open ground at any outlet
• Outlets or circuits clearly overloaded by space heaters or window AC units
• Light fixtures rated for where they’re installed, since outdoor and damp locations need fixtures rated for that exposure
• Switches that feel loose in the wall plate or spark when flipped

Most of what shows up in this section is minor on its own, but a home with several of these issues at once usually points to bigger problems in the wiring behind the walls.

Wiring Type and Condition

An electrician identifies what’s actually in the walls, not just what the panel suggests: copper, aluminum, or older knob-and-tube wiring. Where wiring is visible, in an attic, crawlspace, or basement, they check its condition and look for any splices that weren’t made inside a proper junction box. Aluminum wiring and knob-and-tube both come with their own known risks, and an inspection is often the first time a homeowner learns their house has either one.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

This covers whether detectors are present in the locations code requires, generally each sleeping room, the hallway outside sleeping areas, and at least one per floor, and whether they’re hardwired and interconnected or running on battery alone. Homes with gas appliances or an attached garage also get checked for carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas. Detectors that are outdated, disconnected, or missing altogether are one of the more common findings in older homes that have been lived in for years without any electrical work done.

Outdoor Electrical

• GFCI protection on every exterior outlet
• Weatherproof, in-use covers on outdoor outlets and fixtures
• Condition of the service mast and weatherhead where the utility line connects
• Any exposed or unburied wiring running to a detached garage, shed, or shop

Outdoor electrical takes the most weather exposure of anything on the property, and in North Texas that means sun, humidity, and storms all working against connections that were never meant to be indoors.

When Should You Call a Licensed Electrician?

A full inspection is worth scheduling before buying or selling a home, after storm or lightning damage, before finishing an attic or basement that adds new electrical load, or any time a home is more than a few decades old and hasn’t had one. It’s also worth doing if a previous owner did their own electrical work; an inspection is the fastest way to find out whether that work was done safely, whatever it looks like from the outside. And if you’re just moving into a home you didn’t have inspected before closing, a first-time inspection gives you a baseline to work from instead of finding out about problems one at a time as they show up.

Neighbors Electric is a licensed electrician (TECL #41555) based in Crowley, serving Fort Worth and the surrounding DFW area. We inspect against the checklist above and give you a written summary of anything that needs attention, plus an upfront flat-rate quote for any repairs. Call (817) 533-0943 or see our electrical inspection page to schedule one. For what a general safety inspection versus a pre-purchase inspection typically costs, see this breakdown, and if you’re inspecting ahead of a home purchase specifically, this answer covers when that’s worth doing on top of your general home inspection.

Related electrical services

Need this handled? Neighbors Electric provides these services across Fort Worth and DFW:

• Electrical Inspections
• Smoke & CO Detector Installation
• GFCI Outlet Installation