Bumps keys are used to access pin-tumbler locks using keys other than the ones originally produced for the lock.  Inspectors should know how they work, and should inform their clients that they may need to upgrade their exterior door locks for added security.  Click  here to read “Bump Keys and What Inspectors Should Know About Them.”

You inspect electrical elements of homes, but do you have any idea where electricity comes from? Do you know why homeowners in Hawaii and Maine pay more than those in Idaho or West Virginia? In our new article on the origin, consumption and cost of electricity, we explain these things and more.

Inspectors spend a lot of time in dark places.  Find out the best ways to inspect in the dark.  CLICK HERE to read our new article titled Inspectors Working in the Dark.

Someday, perhaps in just a few years, you may inspect homes that have windows that double as solar panels. Called organic solar collectors, an MIT research team has developed a way to turn ordinary glass into a solar collector, concentrating the suns rays onto solar cells that lie in the window pane. It’s an idea that’s been around for decades but only now have researchers found a way to make it work. To find out more, check out our new article on organic solar concentrators.

Do you know how to protect your assets so you won’t lose everything if you ever get sued? There are effective ways to safeguard your assets from creditors, but they must be done before you get into financial trouble and they must be done legally. To find out more, check out our new article on asset protection for inspectors.

Renters, low-income residents and homeowners who lack sunny, south-facing roof space are pretty much cut out of the solar energy movement, right? Not anymore! With the passage of a new bill, Colorado residents will be able to own shares in solar gardens, or community-owned solar arrays, as well as enjoy the subsidies and net metering that make solar an attractive option. Similar ideas are emerging in other states, as well as the U.S. senate. To find out more about these developments, take a look at our new article on Solar Gardens.

It isn’t a bad idea to recommend clients invest in energy-efficient appliances to reduce their energy bills as well as the nation’s runaway energy consumption. But be forewarned that the mark meant to identify such products – the coveted EnergyStar logo – might not be all it’s cracked up to be. A recent federal audit revealed that 15 of 20 bogus products submitted to the program were accepted, leading investigators to believe that no one at EnergyStar actually tested the items. The senator who called for the study, Susan Collins of Maine, accused EnergyStar of being “extraordinarily easy to defraud.”  To find out more about the study and its findings and what it means to you as an inspector, check out our new article on EnergyStar criticisms.