A bathroom exhaust fan is wired to the light switch with no separate control. How should this be reported?

This item tests report calibration — knowing the difference between a defect, an arrangement worth describing, and something outside scope. A bathroom fan sharing the light switch is an extremely common installation and is not prohibited; it simply means the fan runs only while the light is on, which limits how long moisture is removed after a shower. That is a performance limitation the client should understand, particularly in a bathroom with no window, but it is not a wiring fault and does not require correction. Reporting it as an arrangement, with the consequence stated plainly, gives the client what they need to decide whether to add a timer or separate switch without inflating the report with a defect that is not one.

The correct treatment is to describe the arrangement and note its consequence: the fan operates only when the light is on, so ventilation stops when the occupant leaves. That is accurate, useful and proportionate.

Home inspection standards call for describing and reporting on installed ventilation. Reports distinguish safety hazards and defects from conditions that are functional but limited, and calibrating that distinction is part of professional practice.

Describe, Do Not Dramatize. If it works but works in a limited way, say what the limit is. Save 'defect' for what is actually wrong.

The NHIE tests judgment as much as knowledge. When one option describes accurately and another escalates, the accurate description usually wins.

• •Escalating a common, code-compliant arrangement to an urgent defect
• •Inferring circuit overload from a shared switch
• •Declaring an observable ventilation condition outside scope