Why does an inspector note that a circuit serves both indoor and outdoor receptacles?

Outdoor receptacles require ground-fault protection, and when the protection is on a circuit that also serves indoor outlets, a trip outdoors takes the indoor outlets with it. That is not a code violation in itself, but it is a practical concern worth reporting, because outdoor conditions produce nuisance trips: rain and moisture in a device box, a corroded outdoor receptacle, a wet extension cord. The failure mode people notice is the freezer or the sump pump in the basement, plugged into what looks like an ordinary indoor outlet, that has silently been dead since the last storm. The inspector's job is to identify that the circuits are shared, note which indoor outlets depend on the outdoor protection, and let the client understand the consequence. Testing the GFCI and observing what else goes dead is the way to establish it.

Outdoor conditions such as rain and moisture cause ground-fault trips, and where the protection is shared, those trips also kill the indoor receptacles on the same circuit.

Outdoor receptacles require GFCI protection. Where a protected device also feeds indoor receptacles, an outdoor-initiated trip de-energises them too, which can silently disable refrigeration or sump pumps.

The Outside Trips the Inside. Rain on a patio outlet can silently kill the freezer in the basement.

Note specifically whether refrigeration, freezers or a sump pump are on the shared circuit. That is the finding that has consequences for the client.

• •Testing GFCIs without checking what else they protect
• •Treating the shared arrangement as a code violation rather than a practical concern
• •Missing refrigeration or sump pumps on protected circuits