Do you need more space for a growing family? One of the tradeoffs to buying a larger home is having to pay more in utility costs for heating, cooling and other appliance use. However, advances in energy efficiency mean that you can offset some of that increased consumption. That means you save money and worry less about your energy use, even if you just bought the mansion you always dreamed of.

Bigger Houses and Bigger Households

We like our homes bigger. The average American home size has grown  20 percent since 1980, and we've been filling those homes with ever more electricity-dependent devices, like televisions, computers and household appliances. Fortunately, over 70 percent of the growth in household and building size has been offset by efficiency improvements, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Total energy use by U.S. households inched up each year between 1980 and 2009, the EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey reports. That is because of various reasons, including more households, larger households and a trend toward bigger houses. However, consumption per square foot actually dropped by 37 percent during that time period -- and if it hadn't, the total increase would have been considerably higher.

Residential energy accounted for 21 percent of total U.S. consumption in 2012 so the cumulative savings are significant. The numbers are astronomical -- residential usage increased from 9.3 quadrillion BTUs (British thermal units) in 1980 to 10.2 quadrillion by 2012 -- and without additional efficiency measures the total would have increased by another 3.6 quadrillion BTUs.

Multifaceted Efficiency Efforts

There are numerous factors driving the efficiency revolution: Stricter consumer appliance standards, local building codes geared toward efficiency and federal tax credits, in addition to awareness outreach programs and labeling efforts like the federal Energy Star program have all contributed to the reduction in consumption per square foot.

If you want to save the most energy, smaller is always better when it comes to houses. There's less space to heat and less to cool. However, if you need the extra space, take heart knowing that technological and behavioral improvements mean that a large house doesn't gobble up nearly as much energy as you might expect.

For more ideas on how to decrease your consumption, ask a home services expert to evaluate your home. He or she can help you find new ways to save no matter the size of your home.

Call local Mister Sparky® for more energy efficiency tips and advice. We're always here to help!

Time to fall back and re-adjust to a new light!  Daylight Savings Time ends on November 2nd and our circadian rhythms may be upset as we are forced to accept the darker mornings.

Don’t despair, a few simple tips will help make for an easy transition.  From landscape to living room, we’ll show you how to adjust your lighting design for the change of season.

3 Surefire Ways to Keep your Circadian Rhythm in Check and Attune your Light to the Season

1.  PERFECT TIMING:  Reset timers on outdoor and landscape lighting.  Timers for outdoor lighting should be set to go on after sunset.  Automated timers may be wall-mounted indoors or on transformers outside.  Newer systems may be powered to photocells which adjust light fixtures automatically for Daylight Savings Time. Photocells are activated by natural sunlight, so that lights will go as soon as it gets dark outset.  For the coming winter months–timers for outdoor lighting should be programmed to go on around 5 pm and shut-off around 3 am.

2.  KEEPING YOUR SPIRIT UP:  Many individuals experience a lack of energy and/or depressed mood during the winter months due to their decreased exposure to sunlight.  Adding daylight bulbs to table or floor lamps will brighten up your interior space and may help to keep your energy and spirit up throughout the day.

Frosted True Daylight lamps from Bulbrite Industries utilize neodymium to replicate sunlight to  help you “see better, feel better” and adjust to seasonal changes.

3.  STAYING IN TUNE TO THE NEW NORMAL:  Studies have confirmed that lighting our homes and offices in tune with our natural circadian rhythms is beneficial to overall performance and well-being.  “Tunable” lighting is the wave of the future.  From setting our lighting designs to be in perfect unison with our sleep-wake-performance schedules to illuminating entire rooms in our favorite colors, we have the technology to change our lighting design according to the season and the ceremony!

Visit with a professional lighting consultant at a Capitol Lighting showroom or 1800lighting.com for personalized attention to your lighting design scheme.  Keep abreast of the latest lighting news at 1800lighting.com.

This time forty-five years ago, history was made as a man stepped onto the moon for the very first time.

Imagine the anticipation as millions of people around the world held their breath and then felt waves of overwhelming relief at the sound of the words: “The Eagle has landed.” The culmination of work of many scientists, engineers, electricians and researchers came together in that single moment as everyone anxiously waited to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic hop from the spacecraft onto the moon. This event, and the following Apollo explorations, drastically propelled the development of modern-day technology. According to NASA, a surprisingly large list of technologies would not exist today without the Apollo explorations.

Freeze-dried foods, like the MREs used by the military and FEMA, were first invented for space travel. The same software of a retail card-swiping machine is similar to software that was designed to manage a complex series of systems on the Apollo capsules.

Medical imaging devices, TV satellite dishes, inner-ear thermometers and cordless power tools are a few more, plus smoke detectors and other fireproof materials. You can also thank NASA for the joystick video game controllers you use for Mario Kart and Nintendo 64, and of course, Pac Man.

Additionally, you can thank Apollo explorations for your laptop. Since more mass converts to more cost on board the spacecrafts, the scientists aimed to make everything as lightweight as possible, including the technology. This same idea translated into technology on earth, and the concept is still relevant today, hence the MacBook Air.

Also, where would the world be without the Moonwalk dance? Michael would have had to come up with another slick move for his music video. Space exploration has also led to world-renown literature and movie series, such as Star Wars and Space Trek. Not only did the moon explorations spark creativity, but they also inspired many people around the world to embark on a career in math and science to further new inventions and explorations and (metaphorically and literally) reach the stars in their goals and dreams.