Senior Home Safety
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Safety switch behind panel on furnace missing – is this a home inspection defect?
Question by eat fish: Safety switch behind panel on furnace missing – is this a home inspection defect?
Last month I had a home inspection done on my house and the furnace was missing the safety switch behind the panel. This is a switch that automatically shuts the system off to prevent people from getting electricuted when the panel is opened.
The furnace and AC work fine – cools and heats up the house well and the master switch works fine as well. Since the system is operational without any problems, is the missing safety switch a defect that the homeowner needs to fix for the homebuyer?
Best answer:
Answer by Don’t ask me…
The safety switch you are speaking of is there to momentarily shut of the electrical connection needed in order for the furnace to ignite upon “demand” . Without this feature, someone can be seriously harmed or killed. Therefore, yes, it is a defect in the proper functioning in the safeguard of this particular home.
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Tags: behind, defect, furnace, home, inspection, missing, panel, safety, switch, This
This is found in NEC or National electrical code from memory I think it states ‘A shut off must be located within 36″ of the access panel…” Not 100% but I believe that is what it says.
But as to the part of who is responsible to pay to add it in is dependent on when the last repair or maintenance was done to the unit. If you read your inspection report it should have some sort of disclaimer absolving the inspector of any thing.
Do you mean the safety on the blower door? They are easy to install.
And yes, it is a safety so I would think the homeowner needs to have it fixed and the buyer would want it there. If it is the standard one I am thinking of, it is there to prevent you from getting your fingers chewed up by a moving fan.
But when you go to deal with the inspection profile THAT is when you horse trade and it should be fixed or you should be compensated.
But you can assume any liability with an “as is” sale.
But they say with the inspection is when the buyer should try to get all they can. And they usually don’t. I have seen all sorts of requests. One insisted a dead tree be removed.
BUT it was the neighbor’s tree! LOL!