Henderson and Las Vegas Real Estate

This educational info is provided by Paul Donohue and Spectrum Inspection Group.

Have you ever previewed a home and noticed that there is no light fixture in the ceiling of the room but there is a wall switch on the wall?  

Chances are pretty high that the wall switch controls a "Half-hot" electrical receptacle.

But how do you know which receptacle the switch controls?  

Normally (well normally in Las Vegas) electrical receptacles are installed with the ground prong down.  Refer to the photograph to the right for further clarification.

Half-hot electrical receptacles are generally inverted in orientation from the rest of the receptacles in the room.  The half-hot receptacle has the ground oriented toward the top of the receptacle.  See the photograph to the left.   In electrical terminology when a component has live power present it is referred to as being "Hot."  In a half-hot duplex receptacle one side of the plug receptacle always has power and the other plug receptacle is controlled by the wall switch; hence the term "Half-hot." In one room of the home the top portion of the receptacle may be controlled by the wall switch while in the adjoining room the lower portion of the receptacle is controlled by the wall switch.  Rarely will an entire home be oriented the same way.

When a room has multiple wall switches installed, a properly wired home will have the first switch closest to the entry door serve the half-hot receptacle to provide illumination for the room. To ascertain whether it is the top or the lower portion of the receptacle that is controlled by the wall switch, all you need to do is  ensure that your home inspection firm provides the level of detail necessary to appropriately mark both the receptacle and the switch.

SPECTRUM INSPECTION GROUP inspectors identify the half-hot outlets and the corresponding wall switches in the course of their inspections. We provide the prospective homeowner with an explanation of half-hot receptacles both verbally and in the report. In our orientation we explain not only the issues found but disclose to the prospective buyer information about the positive features found in the home.  This would also include whether or not: A water softener is installed A reverse osmosis is installed Properly sized air conditioner breakers are installed The age of the water heater The main electrical panel is properly bonded and grounded. Air conditioner differential temperatures And more than two dozen other informative disclosures.