It's common for a home inspector to call out the breaker that goes to the AC unit for being too large. This leads to someone, usually the homeowner/seller, calling out an electrician, paying their fee, and often, being told there is nothing incorrect about the setup.
This obviously is frustrating to the seller due to possible wasted time and money. The buyer is concerned because their trusted inspector stated it was incorrect, and not someone else is claiming it isn't.
To begin with, a good home inspector is not here to cause unnecessary issues or concerns. We are generalists
and not specialists in any of these areas, so we have to be aware of that, and only state the facts that we can see, or believe we see. An electrician, on the other hand, is a specialist and hopefully knows much more about the topic of electricity and its components than we do.
As a home inspector, we are required to go by what the Manufacturer of a unit, AC in this situation, states are best or required. So, when we see a label on the unit that states the "Maximum allowed breaker/fuse size is XX amps", that is what we are required to look for. Since we are not licensed electricians, we are not qualified to determine if a breaker size other than what is recommended on the label is safe to use, so it is marked as incorrect on our end. This doesn't mean that the electrician who came out and called it "ok" is incorrect. If he is qualified and knows what he is talking about, maybe he has a reason to state that...he is the specialist anyway.
I have electricians claim that the NEC (National Electric Code) states that they are allowed to supply the AC with a breaker size one size up from what the label states as the "Max allowed". If they know this to be true or believe it to be true and want to take responsibility for placing or leaving the larger breaker in, they are free to do that.
Electricity is a tricky thing, so it is best to have a well-qualified electrician inspect your system and answer your questions. We have a company we call that we believe has a good understanding of the Code and chooses to not just understand it but follow it as well. On the Hub City Home Inspection Trusted Partners page, you will companies in all different fields to help with your life and home projects.
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