Home Inspections in Shreveport - Bossier City

Lighting: Bulb and Fixture Types

2008-07-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Energy Use in Home Lighting

Lighting accounts for 30% to 50% of a building's energy use, or about 17% of total annual U.S. electricity consumption. Ninety percent of the energy emitted by incandescent bulbs is in the form of heat, and only 10% is in the form of light. This means that not only is money wasted on inefficient lighting, but using incandescent bulbs lights increases cooling costs.

TYPES of LIGHTING

Compact Florescent

Generate 70% less heat, they're safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.

Use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer.

Save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb's lifetime.

Must turn on instantly, produce no sound, and fall within a warm color range or be otherwise labeled as providing cooler color tones, in addition to other quality requirements.

Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.

Where to Use CFLs:

To get the most energy savings, replace bulbs where lights are on the most, such as your family and living room, kitchen, dining room, and porch, with CFLs.

Although they are manufactured for use in recessed light fixtures, some CFLs have trouble operating in enclosed fixtures.

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs are available for different applications.

NOTE: Because they contain small amounts of mercury, CFLs must be disposed of properly.

Halogen

Although they produce significant amounts of heat and cost more than incandescent light bulbs, halogen lights last much longer than incandescents, give high-quality light and are 50% more efficient. Halogen lights are good for task lighting. Task lighting refers to lighting a small area where a particular task will be performed, such as reading.

Halogen Light Bulbs

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Light emitting diodes are a relatively new technology in residential lighting. They emit low levels of heat, consume little electricity and last for tens of thousands of hours.

This LED recessed light fixture had been on for about 5 hours when these photos were taken.

The 12-watt LED fixture in the photos above emitted light intensity comparable to a 60-watt incandescent, will last approximately 50,000 hours and was close to room temperature

Full-Spectrum Bulbs

Full-spectrum bulbs emit light waves which cover a wide spectrum and are meant to simulate natural light. These bulbs may be either compact or tube fluorescent, incandescent or halogen bulbs. They can be recognized by markings reading "Full-Spectrum" or which indicate a Kelvin temperature above 5000.

This is information came from InterNACHI.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspector

Bossier Home Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspectors

Shreveport Home Inspection

Water Heater Explodes

2008-07-20T18:56:00.004-05:00

This is a great video of what can go wrong with water heaters if they are not installed correctly. It also shows what happens without proper maintenance.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspector

Bossier Home Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspectors

Shreveport Home Inspection

New Home Inspector Logo

2008-07-16T16:03:00.006-05:00

I am constantly hearing that a good logo makes you stand out above everyone else. So with this in mind, I recently changed mine. I think it is very eye catching. I am interested in hearing from everyone, does not matter to me if you dislike it or like it. Let me know whatever it is that you feel.

Here it is:

It was designed by Rob at Logorama.com. They are very competitively priced and do great work.

Thanks a lot for any input.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspector

Bossier Home Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspectors

Shreveport Home Inspection

A Little Information About RADON

2008-07-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Radon

This section is meant to provide a short overview only. Those wishing to know more should follow the EPA link at the bottom of the page.

What is Radon?

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas which is a product of the natural decay of uranium located deep underground.

Lighter than air, it rises through cracks and fissures in the ground and can enter a home through cracks, joints and openings in a concrete slab, or move easily through floor, wall and ceiling framing assemblies. Homes with concrete slab floors, basements and crawlspaces are all vulnerable to radon entry.

Although some radon problems can come from water sources, most are from soil gas.

What Are the Health Risks?

Because it's a radioactive gas, radon will eventually decay. When radon decays it emits tiny radioactive particles. If radon has been inhaled and is inside lungs, these particles can strike lung cells, causing abnormal lung cell replication, otherwise known as cancer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls radon the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

No "safe" level of radon exists and the effects may be delayed for years, may affect children more than adults, or may never cause health problems. Generally, exposure to higher levels and longer exposure times increase the odds of developing radon-related health problems.

Where is Radon Found?

Some parts of the U.S. are more likely to have elevated levels of radon than others. The EPA National Radon Map provides great information on U.S. radon levels nationwide.

Radon Measurement

The only way to determine whether a home has levels which may pose a health risk it to have the home tested.

A number of testing (radon-measuring) devices are available, ranging from simple do-it-yourself charcoal canisters found at most hardware stores to sophisticated monitors with security features which provide immediate results at end of the typical 48-hour test.

Testing for real estate transactions should comply with EPA protocols and be performed by a qualified neutral third party. Qualifications may vary by state.

Testing requires "closed house conditions," and under certain conditions, opening windows in upper levels of the home make actually increase radon levels in the home due to "stack effect," or the rising of heated air.

Stack effect can pull gas out of the soil.

Test Results

Radon levels are measured and described in picoCuries of radon per liter of air, typically shown as "pCi/L". The EPA action limit is the limit at which the EPA recommends that mitigation take place. At this time (2007) this limit is 4 pCi/L.

What is Mitigation?

The process of lowering radon levels is called "mitigation." Mitigation may involve different approaches or combinations of approaches, depending on the situation and severity of the problem. Mitigation is often very successful.

For more information, read "A Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon," an excellent guide by the EPA.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspectors

Bossier Home Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspectors

Shreveport Home Inspection

Now Offering FREE Home Waranty With Inspections

2008-07-08T09:33:00.001-05:00

Included with your home inspection is a 90-day limited home warranty. Effective January 1st, 2007, a warranty is provided by the American Home Warranty Company. Your inspector will hand you your signed warranty form at the inspection. Keep it for your records.
Read the Warranty in PDF format, click…. Warranty
The 90-day limited home warranty is effective from the date of the home inspection for a period of 90 days. If closing should occur after the expiration of the 90-day period, the warranty will extend to 21 days following closing.
What is covered? Drain lines, gas lines, faucets, electrical, heating, air conditioning, poured concrete foundations, water heater, floor joists, framing, roof structure, roof covering, load-bearing walls, garage doors, range, oven, dishwasher, microwave oven. All coverage’s are subject to the exclusions and terms set forth in the warranty in detail.
What if something goes wrong? Send a written notification to the American Home Warranty Company describing the problem. Send a copy of the itemized estimate or repair bill. Send a copy of the inspection report. Send your signed warranty form. Then claims will be processed.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspectors

Bossier Home Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspections

Shreveport Bossier Inspectors

Shreveport Home Inspection

Green Certified Home Inspections

2008-05-02T16:25:00.003-05:00

I am pleased to announce my new certification.

Green Certified Home Inspections

This certification was created through the joint efforts of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc.(InterNACHI), the International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants, Inc. (IAC2) and MoveInCertified.com. MoveInCertified.com's Green Certified is a designation for homes that use design features, technologies and products that:

improve energy efficiency,

reduce pollution,

provide healthier air,

increase comfort,

reduce water usage preserve natural resources,

increase durability,

make a home quieter,

reduce maintenance,

lower monthly costs, and

improve resale value.
Green Certified homes are healthier, more environmentally friendly, and economically smarter that average homes. To find out more information on Green Certified Home Inspections.

Don Rider

EZ Rider Home Inspections

Bossier Home Inspector
Bossier Home Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspectors
Shreveport Home Inspection

10 Ways to raise your site in Google Part 2

2008-04-01T20:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, time for part two.
This is part two of a ten aprt series on how to increase your website rankings on Google. That being said, there are tons of things webmasters can do to help their sites perform better in search, so this list is not by a long shot finished. It is, though, what I think are the top ten strategies for better search engine-and by "search engine" I mean "Google" - placement.

2. Content The order of the Big Three is very debatable, but really they work as parts of the whole; not one of them can be left out if the machine is to work properly. In this case, you probably understand that content should be quality, however that is defined, but it should also be rich in the keywords you are targeting to drive search traffic. That doesn't mean just throwing them in there like you're cooking up a pot of SEO gumbo, though. Keyword use and keyword variation should natural and not overstuffed. For the visual text part of the page, focus on working in the relevant words and phrases you want people to find you for.
More to come.
Don Rider

Bossier Home Inspector
Bossier Home Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspectors
Shreveport Home Inspection

10 Ways to raise your site in Google Part 1

2008-04-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

After recieving a lot of help with my website (it is still not great). I thought it would be good to give some of the infromation I learned to everyone. So here it goes.
This is part one of a ten aprt series on how to increase your website rankings on Google. That being said, there are tons of things webmasters can do to help their sites perform better in search, so this list is not by a long shot finished. It is, though, what I think are the top ten strategies for better search engine-and by "search engine" I mean "Google" - placement.

1. Title tags Listed by others as one of the Big Three (tags, links, and text), we're putting title tags at the top. The words in the title tag appear in the link that pops up in the search result. This is where you tell the search engine (and the would-be visitor) as succinctly as possible what needs to be known: company or publication name; relevant, targeted keyword or keyword phrase taken from the text of the page. Each page should have a title tag as Google ranks each page individually, not the site in its entirety.

Hope this helps someone, and more to follow.
Don Rider

Bossier Home Inspector
Bossier Home Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspections
Shreveport Bossier Inspectors
Shreveport Home Inspection