Determining the best megapixel setting on your digital camera is not easy.  Bigger is not always better; especially when the photos are going into a document such as an inspection report or on a website.  Photos that are displayed smaller than their actual size on websites will not look as good as they would if they were displayed at their actual size.  Photos that are too large will bloat the file size of inspection reports.  A large number of oversized photos that are being displayed smaller than their actual size can cause PDF software to distort or otherwise incorrectly display the photos.

You can avoid these problems by selecting the proper megapixel setting on your camera for the desired photo size.  The BestInspectors.Net Digital Photo Calculator makes it easy to determine the best setting.  The program includes both a calculator and reference charts so you can see the relationship among the three key variables: physical size, megapixels, and resolution. 

Download

Some browsers will nota allow the download of an executable file. If you have trouble downloading the executable above, download the ZIP file instead: Digital Photo Calculator

NEW!
Version 20
November 2011

Most home inspectors and many experienced electricians guess at the electrical service size requirements using rules of thumb (usually involving only square footage).  With the rapid growth in the number of electrical appliances and electronic equipment during the past few years, making a guess could be a costly mistake. 

The Residential Electrical Service Size Calculator takes the guesswork completely out of determining the electrical service size requirement.  The Calculator requires no special knowledge of electrical systems or codes.  All you do is make basic observations about the house and fill in the blanks.  The Calculator lets you enter electrical loads in either Amps or Watts.  the required information can almost always be found on the nameplates of appliances and mechanical equipment.

The Calculator will tell the "Demand Load" (a trade term, different from "connected" load), the nearest standard size panel and main breaker, the conductor (wire) size and the conduit size.    

The Calculator's worksheet can be filled out in about three to four minutes and can be included with any inspection in PDF format.      

Features of the Calculator:
-Automatically calculates the total demand load for a residential single family dwelling
- provides the demand load in both volt-amperes and Amperes
- Automatically adds the minimum of small appliance and laundry branch circuits
- Automatically determines the heating and air conditioning demand load
- Determines the standard service panel size for the system
- Determines the service wire gauges in both aluminum and copper
- Calculations are based on the National Electrical Code (optional method)
- NEC section references under each heading

NOTE: This worksheet is intended to be used as a general guide.  It does not account for all possible factors involved in determining the size of an electrical service. Consult a qualified electrician or the NEC® for additional information.

Electrical CD

The entire collection of electrical calculators on CD

Member:
FREE

Digital download
EXE file

Digital download
ZIP file

or
Purchase
The entire collection of electrical calculators on CD

$9.⁹⁹

The calculator is essentially an Ohm's Law calculator.  The difference between the BestInspectors.Net  Voltage, Current and Power calculator and most Ohm's Law calculators is that Ohm's Law calculators are usually geared toward electronics, not power systems.  This calculator is for power distribution systems.  The calculator has a Power Factor component to it.  Most Ohm's Law calculators do not.  Calculations can be performed quickly and easily using name plate data or actual measurements.

The calculator is also a training calculator.  There is a list of relevant electrical terms and units of measure on the screen at all times.  Every time you enter a value, the related terms are highlighted.  Once you have entered the values needed to complete the calculations, the remaining input fields are blacked out so you don't inadvertently enter a conflicting value.  For example, if you have entered Voltage and Wattage values, the Current input field is blacked out so you can't insert an invalid value.  The Current in this case would be among the calculated values in the results section.

Digital download