The Standards of Practice of both the national home inspector associations require an inspector to examine a “representative number” of wall switches in a home, not all of them. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) defines a representative number as “one component per room for multiple similar interior components such as windows and electric receptacles; one component on each side of the building for multiple similar exterior components.”  The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) uses a simpler definition: “A number sufficient to serve as a typical or characteristic example of the item(s) inspected."

    Click on any of the links below to read other articles about what is required to be included, or not, in a home inspection:

AFCI •• Air conditioner •• Ants •• Appliance recalls •• Appliance testing •• Attic •• Awnings •• Barns and ag blgs. •• Bathroom exhaust fan •• Bonding •• Carpet •• Ceiling fans •• Central vacuum •• Chimneys •• Chinese drywall •• Clothes dryer •• Dryer exhaust •• CO alarms •• Code violations •• Condemn a house •• Crawl space •• Detached carport •• Detached garage •• Dishwasher •• Docks •• Doors •• Electrical •• Electrical panel •• Electromagnetic radiation •• Fences •• Fireplaces  Furnace •• Garage door opener •• Garbage disposal •• Generator •• GFCIs •• Gutters •• Ice maker •• Inspect in the rain •• Insulation •• Insurance •• Interior Finishes •• Grading & drainage •• Lead paint •• Level of thoroughness •• Lift carpet •• Low voltage wiring •• Microwave •• Mold •• Move things •• Help negotiate •• Not allowed •• Outbuildings •• Paint •• Permits •• Pilot lights •• Plumbing •• Plumbing under slab •• Pools •• Questions won't answer •• Radon •• Range/cooktop •• Receptacle outlet •• Refrigerator •• Reinspection •• Remove panel cover •• Repairs •• Repair estimates •• Retaining walls •• Roaches •• Rodents •• Roof •• Screens •• Seawalls •• Septic loading dye test •• Septic tank •• Sewer lines •• Shower pan leak test •• Shutters •• Sinkholes •• Smoke alarms •• Solar panels •• Specify repairs •• Sprinklers •• Termites •• Toilets •• Trees •• Troubleshooting •• Wall air conditioners •• Walk roof •• Washing machine •• Water heater •• Water pressure •• Water shut-offs •• Main water shut-off •• Water softener •• Water treatment systems •• Well •• Windows •• Window air conditioners •• Window blinds •• Wiring 

 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about ELECTRICAL SWITCHES:

• Can you use a light switch for a water heater disconnect? 

• Are wall light switches required be "up" for "on" and "down" for "off”?

• Why is there a wall switch next to the furnace or indoor unit of the air conditioner in the garage?

 • What are those strange looking wall switches in houses from the 1950s and 1960s?

• What is the switch on the wall with two pushbuttons? 

• How can I figure out what a mystery wall switch does?

 • What is a three-way switch?

 • Are light switches required to be grounded? 

• Why does the bedroom have a light switch but there is no light in the ceiling?

• How does a three-way switch work?

• What is minimum code requirement for switched lighting in a house? 

• Which rooms in a house require switched lights per code?

• What is a three-way switch used for? 

• What is the average life expectancy of a wall switch?

• What is the red switch for in my mobile home? 

     Visit our ELECTRICAL SWITCHES and "DOES A HOME INSPECTOR…?” pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.