As we venture further into the era of climate change, humans are constantly searching for ways to decrease energy consumption and increase efficiency. Unfortunately, there's no silver bullet. Truly reducing our impact on the global climate requires a combination of an increase in renewable power generation, behavioral changes to decrease consumption and increasing the efficiency of our homes and appliances. Even as we strive for improvement, sometimes we fall short. According to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, for example, a federal Weatherization Assistance Program is not bringing in the expected efficiency benefits.

Looking for the Win-Win

Investments in home efficiency are usually considered win-win scenarios. Reductions in energy consumption lessen the impact on the environment and reduce energy bills at the same time. Many upgrades, like replacing an outdated refrigerator with a new Energy Star-certified model, will eventually pay for themselves in energy savings.

However, not every savings promise comes through. The Berkeley study looked at 30,000 households in Michigan that upgraded their home systems with new insulation, weather stripping, HVAC equipment and more. The federal government paid up to $5,000 per house for the improvements, but the average household only realized $2,400 in savings during the lifespan of their new efficiency features. That's not a great return on investment.

Ancillary Benefits

The households saved 10 to 20 percent on their energy costs, on average, which is only about 40 percent of what they were projected to save. The results are discouraging for consumers who are striving to implement any cost-saving measures they can find. Electricians and home service technicians can help you upgrade your home systems, but the changes will only go so far.

There were other benefits to the weatherization program outside the raw financial data, of course. The investments were aimed at low income households, so the money saved helped reduce poverty in the area. Plus, the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere from the program has additional economic benefits. Nevertheless, the disappointing result could be a blow to the willingness of the government to make similar investments in the future.

Let the Buyer Beware

The big lesson for the consumer? Don't believe just any claim about energy efficiency, and do your due diligence before investing in a big-ticket upgrade. You can and should make efforts to reduce your energy consumption, but be careful not to blow your investment dollars on items that don't give you a good return.

"This underscores the value of field-testing," paper author Michael Greenstone said to Vox. "Particularly in a world where economy-wide carbon pricing does not look feasible, we should be redoubling our efforts to find those CO2 reduction measures that have the biggest bang for the buck."

If you need advice on how to get the best return when it comes to energy efficiency, find an experienced electrician who can help you invest your dollars wisely and steer you away from less effective purchases.

This is the final post in our four-part series, "The Secret Guide for Super Moms” — tips, tricks and hacks for busy moms who need to know everything that’s happening in their house.

If you believe Pinterest, every home repair or improvement project can be a do-it-yourself job. Apparently, if every blog is to be believed, moms and dads around the country are remodeling bathrooms, rebuilding old houses and refurbishing vintage furniture -- and they do it all the time! And they look great doing it! And they have plenty of time to take lots of photos!

Maybe some people really are able to do it all (and write about it, too). Most of us are too busy and simply don’t have the training to do more than the basics around the house. When it comes to potentially dangerous repairs, a super mom knows that she needs a professional. When the time comes to fix, rewire or repair her home’s electrical needs, she knows she needs an electrician.

Electrical wiring is complicated and can be dangerous -- and it's tough to spot signs you need an electrician. An amateur electrical job may cause poor wire connections, overloaded circuits or faulty grounding. These situations are hazardous to you, your family and your property. While it may be tempting to try saving money by doing it yourself, or trusting your spouse or a friend to help, you're better off spending the money to have the job done right.

Let's take a fairly common scenario: your fuses keep blowing, or your circuit breakers keep tripping. Yes, you can keep replacing the fuses, but do you know whether they're the right type? Screwing in a 20- or 30-amp fuse as a replacement for a 15 is tempting—no electricians needed, right?—but now you've created a fire hazard by overloading your wiring. The smarter move: call a professional, certified electrician to wire a new circuit.

Like fuses, circuit breakers are meant to prevent circuit overload and the risk of fire, but we use much more electricity than people of our parents' or grandparents' generation. As you upgrade and add appliances and gadgets, you may need to upgrade your circuit breaker panels to adequately supply your home with power. Hire an electrician to do the job, not your brother-in-law who swears he did the same kind of work in the navy. The work is extremely complicated and should not be attempted by an amateur.

Breaker boxes or commonly called electrical panels are the modern day replacements for fuses boxes.  Breakers are the electrical devices that go into a panel or breaker box.  Breakers can easily be reset by flipping there switch versus having to unscrew and completely replace a fuse.  A circuit breaker can automatically open or trip upon an overload or a short circuit protecting the circuit and the appliances plugged into the circuit from possible damage.  For larger equipment such as those used in commercial or industrial applications switchgear is commonly used to protect and control equipment.

There is a lot of brands of breaker boxes or electrical panels on the market with some better than others.  Most breakers boxes on the market have been proven to be reliable and operate correctly and safely.  Brands such as Seimens, Square D, and Cutler-Hammer offer superior products and can provide the best protection possible with installed correctly.

Most brands that we currently know have safety and fire hazards have been pulled off the market.  However a lot of these brands that have been pulled off the market are in thousands and in some cases hundreds of thousands of homes across the nation.  One of the worst brands of electrical panels we see in the Des Moines market is Federal Pacific brand breaker boxes.  Federal Pacific panels were most commonly uses from 1960’s to the 1980’s.  These panels have circuit breakers that simply do not trip or open the circuit properly to provide the necessary protection.  Federal Pacific panels have been linked to countless fires and have even resulted in death.  If you have a Federal Pacific breaker box in your home we highly recommend it be replaced by a licensed electrician as soon as possible.  Another brand we advise immediate replacement on is Zinsco panels.  Certain types of Zinsco panels have been linked to several fires.  If you own a Zinsco panel we recommend it be replaced by an licensed electrician.

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.