Yes, but a standard home inspection outlet testing is designed to check the grounding and polarity of the outlets only. This identifies outlets that are wired incorrectly and can pose shock or electrocution hazards. The main limitation to this standard process used by city building officials, independent inspectors, and contractors is that the industry approved two light and three light outlet testers do not identify many of the issues related to poor connections and poorly designed circuits that are responsible for sparking, fires, and can cause damage to sensitive electronics as well as a major source of house fires.

• POLARITY VERIFICATION
• GROUNDING VERIFICATION
• GFCI TEST
• AFCI TEST
• LINE VOLTAGE TEST
• VOLTAGE DROP
• GROUND-TO-NEUTRAL VOLTAGE
• GROUND IMPEDANCE TEST
• FALSE GROUND TEST
• BLADE TENSION TEST

The Electrical Outlet Efficiency Test (EOET) helps home buyers learn just how bad off they are with the older electrical system. Older homes are known for having partially upgraded electrical systems featuring old knob & tube and two wire braided Romex. Add to that the all too common 3 prong outlet upgrade which gives the new buyer a false sense of security thinking that the wiring has been upgraded.

False or bootleg grounds are also common with the 3 prong outlet upgrades. The false ground jumper wire will fool standard three light tester, but the SureTest circuit analyzer used for the EOET identifies false grounds. If you have a mixture of older and newer panels, wiring, and worn outlets, then the EOET can help identify amateur and/or unsafe conditions.

Newer homes bring with them a higher expectation on the part of home buyers. Grounding and polarity verification is not enough to identify overheating wiring, overly long circuits, and poor connections. The Electrical Outlet Efficiency Test (EOET) can help identify poor connections and wiring methods that affect the voltage, grounds, and wiring connections.

On one recent 3 year old home an EOET identified 14 outlets with excessive voltage drop. The worst offender had a line voltage of 93 volts instead of the designed 120 volts. The outlet was faulty, yet tested okay with the standard tester used on a typical home inspection. The EOET testing equipment identified the failing outlet during the testing. The outlet was failing internally and overheating to the touch. This outlet would have been a source of fire if not identified. The EOET identified the issue and the repair was very simple for the licensed electrician.

Here in South Carolina and elsewhere there are many crawl spaces, attics, and basements that have been wired by homeowners who believe that they can do their own electrical wiring. As a result there are often unsafe electrical conditions in the home. Many of these unsafe conditions are fooled by industry standard 2 and 3 light testers. Identifying the unsafe conditions before closing on the home allows home buyers the opportunity to have the seller repair the conditions before the new buyer takes possession of the home.