If you plan on buying a home in the Tallahassee area in 2025, you undoubtedly understand the importance of getting a professional home inspection before finalizing the sale. However, you may not realize that a home inspection doesn’t necessarily include a comprehensive examination of your prospective home’s electrical system. That is, a detailed inspection to ensure the electrical system’s capacity, efficiency, safety, and adherence to code. This is especially important if you are in the market for an older Florida home, as those built before the 1980s may have outdated electrical systems with knob-and-tube wiring, aluminum wiring, and/or Federal Pacific electrical panels that may need replacing.

The electrical experts at Meeks Electrical Services in Tallahassee will advise you that you do not want to be stuck with the bill for expensive repairs or electrical upgrades because you failed to conduct an electrical inspection before your home purchase. A professional electrical inspection goes far beyond a standard home inspection to ensure that your home will efficiently and safely meet all your electrical needs. Here are more reasons why you should always insist on an electrical inspection before purchasing a Florida home and what a professional inspection covers.

The Importance of Electrical Inspections

A primary, though sometimes overlooked, factor in purchasing a home is whether its electrical system can handle current and future electricity demands. Today’s households typically need 220-volt systems to deliver at least 200 amps through 20-30 circuits. An electrical inspection will inform you whether the home is underpowered and how much an electrical upgrade might cost. With this information, you can negotiate a better purchase price or back away from making an offer.

An electrical inspection can expose system faults or safety risks that a standard home inspection might miss. For example, an electrician can uncover any overloaded circuits or faulty wiring without having to manually conduct load testing by powering up appliances and devices. During the inspection, your electrician will check the system and wiring for hidden corrosion resulting from Florida’s humidity and frequent storms. They will also check for correct splicing, routing, grounding, and adherence to local code.

In short, your electrical inspection will provide a comprehensively assess all elements of your prospective home’s electrical system. If it uncovers system faults or safety issues, your electrician can advise you on how much it might cost to correct them. Such information is invaluable when you consider that the cost of rewiring a 2,000-square-foot home ranges from $12,000 to $24,000, depending on numerous variables.

What a Professional Electrical Inspection Covers

An electrical inspection typically begins with an assessment of the electrical panel’s capacity, functionality, and adherence to code. Your electrician will ensure that the panel’s circuits are correctly labeled, have the correct amperage for their usage, and that multiple circuits power high-load areas of the house. If the home relies on a fuse box rather than a panel or the home is powered by a Federal Pacific electrical panel, your electrician will recommend its replacement. Installed in millions of homes between 1950 and 1980, Federal Pacific circuit breakers have an extremely high failure rate and have been linked to thousands of electrical fires. Your electrician will inspect the wiring to ensure it was properly installed and not outdated and that all outlets and switches are functional and properly grounded. Other elements of a professional electrical inspection include:

• Determine whether there are power surges or dips.
• Test fire and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Identify any potential fire hazards.
• Check that major appliances are working properly.
• Assess the quality of any disclosed repairs or upgrades.
• Check for unusual electrical noises, heat, or odors.
• Determine whether everything complies with code.
• Assess the safety of outdoor wiring.
• Inspect whole-house surge protection systems.
• Assess the functioning and capability of the emergency generator.

When to Get an Electrical Inspection

If you’re in the market for a Tallahassee-area home, we suggest you always consider a pre-offer inspection for older homes or houses with obvious or owner-disclosed electrical issues. Otherwise, you can include the electrical inspection as a contingency clause in your purchase agreement.

Contact Tallahassee’s Meeks Electrical for Your Home-Buying Electrical Inspection

Meeks Electrical Services technicians have conducted thousands of electrical inspections for Tallahassee home buyers for over 50 years. If you’re in the home-buying market, secure your peace of mind by letting one of our electrical contractors inspect the electrical systems of your prospective home purchases. For the most comprehensive home purchase electrical inspections in the Tallahassee area, contact the professionals at Meeks Electrical Services at (850) 575-3201.