What is a spotlight? What is a floodlight? Knowing the difference between the two is important for properly lighting any application. Before you can understand the difference, you must know what a beam pattern is. Beam angle or pattern is a measurement of the angles that are formed between a cone of light’s brightest point (the center) and the points on both sides of the center where the light’s intensity is 50 percent as bright.

PAR30 bulb that is available with a spot or flood beam pattern.

Fixtures, such as retrofit LED can lights may also look similar to one another while functioning as either spotlights or floodlights. Some light bars are even capable of emitting flood, spot, or combination beams. There are, however, certain fixtures that we imagine when we think of floodlights and spotlights.

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!

It is true that most of the electrical problems you have in your home will need to be taken care of by a licensed electrician. However, there are various smaller problems that you can easily and safely troubleshoot. Here are just a few:

This can be quite bothersome and yet pretty easy to troubleshoot. Begin by checking that the bulb has been screwed in correctly. It needs to be in all the way. If that is in order, check to see that the wattage is correct for the fixture in which it has been fixed. If the wattage is not right, that can be causing overheating and it can even lead to a fire. In the event that the wattage is correct, just replace the old bulb with a new one. If the light is still flickering, then it is possible that the electrical outlet or the cord has a problem.