Top energy officials in the state of New Jersey — everyone from utility executives to the governor — have been preaching energy efficiency to residents and business owners for some time.
It’s one of the easiest ways to control costs — and our carbon footprint, they say.
So, how is the state doing?
OK.
WalletHub, in connection with National Energy Awareness Month (who knew there was such a thing?) ranked the states on basis of energy efficiency.
New Jersey ranked No. 15, with a score of 67.32.
As it always the case with rankings such as these, the devil is in the data details.
In order to gauge the impact of doing more with less energy, WalletHub measured the efficiency of auto and home energy consumption in 48 U.S. states. Due to data limitations, Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from the analysis.
The state ranked 25th overall for home energy efficiency and 11th for auto efficiency.
And, while that is better than most, it is not necessarily better than most of the state’s Northeast neighbors.
Massachusetts (86.57) ranked No. 1, followed by New York (83.39) and Rhode Island (82.10).
Connecticut (at No. 9) and New Hampshire (at No. 14) also were ahead of New Jersey.
Maine was right behind at No. 16; Pennsylvania came in at No 21.
The South was by far the least energy efficient, as it took eight of the lowest 10 spots, including the bottom two: Alabama (29.93) and South Carolina (22.99).
