Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency jobs in the U.S.: 2,381,744 employed (2024)
Every state ranked by energy efficiency employment
Energy Efficiency occupations — national median wages
| Role | SOC | National median | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Engineer | 17-2199.11 | $103,940 | 4 |
| Energy Auditor | 13-1199.01 | $71,400 | 3 |
| Weatherization Installer & Technician | 47-4099.03 | $50,560 | 2 |
Skill profile for energy efficiency roles
Top skills
Critical Thinking3.63
Reading Comprehension3.50
Speaking3.50
Active Listening3.44
Complex Problem Solving3.38
Writing3.38
Judgment and Decision Making3.32
Monitoring3.32
Knowledge
Building and Construction4.03
Engineering and Technology3.64
Design3.57
Mechanical3.57
Mathematics3.56
Customer and Personal Service3.44
Administration and Management3.37
English Language3.18
Core abilities
Problem Sensitivity3.94
Near Vision3.69
Oral Expression3.57
Deductive Reasoning3.50
Oral Comprehension3.50
Fluency of Ideas3.44
Inductive Reasoning3.44
Written Comprehension3.44
Representative tasks for energy efficiency workers
- Clean and maintain tools and equipment. (Core)
- Wrap water heaters with water heater blankets. (Core)
- Test combustible appliances, such as gas appliances. (Core)
- Test or evaluate photovoltaic (PV) cells or modules. (Supplemental)
- Install storm windows or storm doors and verify proper fit. (Core)
- Contact residents or building owners to schedule appointments. (Core)
- Perform thermal, stress, or cost reduction analyses for solar systems. (Core)
- Design or develop vacuum tube collector systems for solar applications. (Supplemental)
- Apply spackling, compounding, or other materials to repair holes in walls. (Core)
- Determine amount of air leakage in buildings, using a blower door machine. (Core)
- Test and diagnose air flow systems, using furnace efficiency analysis equipment. (Core)
- Create checklists for review or inspection of completed solar installation projects. (Core)
Software and tools used in energy efficiency roles
Microsoft Word 🔥
Microsoft Access 🔥
Microsoft Excel 🔥
Microsoft Office software 🔥
Microsoft Outlook 🔥
Microsoft PowerPoint 🔥
Microsoft Project 🔥
Microsoft Visual Basic 🔥
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA 🔥
SAP software 🔥
Microsoft Windows 🔥
Autodesk AutoCAD 🔥
Autodesk Revit 🔥
Google Workspace software 🔥
Bash 🔥
C++ 🔥
JavaScript 🔥
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks 🔥
Linux 🔥
Python 🔥
Structured query language SQL 🔥
R 🔥
The MathWorks MATLAB 🔥
Trimble SketchUp Pro 🔥
Education & training paths into energy efficiency
IM
Job-Related Professional Certification3.1%
Apprenticeship2.4%
OJ
On-the-Job Training14.3%
PT
On-Site or In-Plant Training14.3%
Required Level of Education
Required Level of Education20.0%
Related Work Experience (Years)
Related Work Experience11.1%
Workforce composition of U.S. energy efficiency workers
| Demographic | Share of sector |
|---|---|
| 18 to 29 (%) | 30.3% |
| 30 to 54 (%) | 54.2% |
| 55 and over (%) | 15.5% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native (%) | 2.7% |
| Asian (%) | 6.1% |
| Black or African American, not Indigenous (%) | 8.3% |
| Female (%) | 25.9% |
| Formerly Incarcerated (%) | 1.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (%) | 18.4% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (%) | 1.4% |
| Not Hispanic or Latino (%) | 81.6% |
| Represented by a Union (%) | 13.4% |
| Self-Identification of Disability (%) | 2.9% |
| Two or More Races (%) | 3.4% |
| Unknown Race (%) | 3.7% |
| Veterans (%) | 8.9% |
| White (%) | 74.6% |
Clean-energy technologies × NAICS industry groups (national)
| Technology | Construction (NAICS 23) | Manufacturing (NAICS 32-33) | Other (NAICS 81) | Professional Services (NAICS 51-56) | Wholesale Trade (42-45) | Utilities (NAICS 22) | Mining and Extraction (NAICS 21) | Agriculture (NAICS 11) | Commodity Flows | Pipeline Transportation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced building materials/insulation | 27,856 | 58,851 | 1,124 | 26,320 | 1,320 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Advanced Natural Gas | 10,421 | 2,677 | 843 | 11,730 | 5,522 | 49,375 | — | — | — | — |
| Air sealing | 37,359 | 2,349 | 252 | 12,330 | 18,881 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | 41,225 | 14,294 | 1,154 | 13,408 | 8,727 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bio | 5,864 | 1,096 | 418 | 2,889 | 644 | 2,383 | — | — | — | — |
| Biodiesel fuels | — | 519 | 2 | 4,790 | 410 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Biofuels | 1,040 | — | 54 | 379 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified air-source heat pumps | 28,365 | 14,025 | 821 | 12,422 | 14,921 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Appliances (not including HVAC) | 72,696 | 12,910 | 3,191 | 39,145 | 14,269 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Commercial Food Service Equipment | 15,722 | 3,794 | 674 | 9,169 | 2,135 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Data Center Equipment | 1,577 | 4,829 | 2,304 | 234 | 3,643 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Electronics (TVs, Telephones, Audio/Video, etc.) | 154 | 3,924 | 1,072 | 270 | 1,833 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified ground-source or geothermal heat pumps | 2,691 | 1,542 | 68 | 1,201 | 1,575 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVAC), except for air-source or ground-source heat pumps | 164,338 | 20,997 | 2,373 | 9,043 | 5,968 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Insulation | 101,927 | 7,328 | 201 | 4,781 | 1,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified LED lighting | 60,886 | 14,047 | 2,984 | 55,136 | 19,324 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Roofing | 22,738 | 7,167 | 255 | 2,842 | 1,328 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified water heaters | 15,553 | 420 | 94 | 4,310 | 1,713 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Windows, Doors and Skylights | 14,546 | 1,149 | 424 | 7,930 | 2,104 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coal | 6,441 | 992 | 855 | 23,570 | 5,943 | 22,639 | 44,740 | — | — | — |
| Combined Heat and Power | 4,228 | 1,976 | 183 | 19,248 | 4,144 | 1,607 | — | — | — | — |
| Compressed NG | 53 | 26 | 0 | 385 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Corn Ethanol | — | 9,572 | 108 | 2,884 | 6,959 | — | — | 16,552 | — | — |
| Crude Oil | 427 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electric Power Generation Total | 303,682 | 108,685 | 43,216 | 205,662 | 83,064 | 189,490 | — | — | — | — |
| Energy auditing services | 1,364 | 0 | 132 | 1,191 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Energy Efficiency Total | 1,297,543 | 327,716 | 42,991 | 503,139 | 210,354 | — | — | — | — | — |
| EPTD Total | 488,025 | 66,618 | 13,370 | 130,290 | 43,195 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| EV Charging | 1,324 | 182 | 166 | 641 | 579 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fuels Total | 22,939 | 239,977 | 1,999 | 179,447 | 143,664 | — | 429,858 | 36,486 | — | — |
| Geothermal | 5,312 | 282 | 27 | 1,921 | 430 | 1,007 | — | — | — | — |
| Land-based Wind | 43,801 | 24,089 | 2,757 | 35,945 | 13,946 | 11,336 | — | — | — | — |
| LNG | 484 | 260 | 11 | 313 | 198 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Low Impact Hydropower | 1,894 | 3,215 | 68 | 4,379 | 2,555 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mechanical | 103 | 1,422 | 13 | 446 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Micro Grid | 12,299 | 3,651 | 552 | 3,246 | 1,722 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles (Aggregate of Vehicle Technologies) | — | 290,671 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 54,356 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles Component Parts | — | 710,911 | — | — | 377,263 | — | — | — | 110,298 | — |
| Motor Vehicles Total | — | 1,001,582 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 431,619 | — | — | — | 110,298 | 0 |
| Nat Gas | 11,016 | 3,474 | 1,070 | 8,623 | 3,514 | 19,578 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear | 0 | 1,731 | 0 | 76 | 2,494 | 40,100 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear Fuel | — | 2,794 | 0 | 5,779 | 947 | — | 440 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Natural Gas | — | 5,424 | 29 | 13,467 | 167 | — | 3,176 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Petroleum | — | 41,201 | 760 | 10,089 | 1,727 | — | 35,753 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Wind | 356 | 170 | 30 | 539 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oil and Other Petroleum | — | 5,312 | 132 | 4,430 | 2,147 | 454 | — | — | — | — |
| Onshore Natural Gas | — | 40,129 | 137 | 25,026 | 30,144 | — | 134,931 | — | — | — |
| Onshore Petroleum | 22,939 | 104,254 | 538 | 60,323 | 60,063 | — | 210,818 | — | — | — |
| Other | 31,125 | 40,672 | 3,025 | 19,067 | 4,904 | 4,703 | — | — | — | — |
| Other Biofuels | — | 162 | 25 | 4,124 | 1,159 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Ethanol/Non-Woody Biomass, including Biodiesel | — | 2,784 | 71 | 10,251 | 5,837 | — | — | 2,756 | — | — |
| Other Fossil Fuel | — | 2,960 | 106 | 5,422 | 7,897 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Gas | 280 | — | 0 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Grid Modernization | 17,410 | 2,056 | 268 | 2,952 | 276 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other LED, CFL, and efficient lighting | 116,334 | 40,494 | 538 | 40,217 | 24,478 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Liquid Fuel | 53 | — | 0 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other renewable heating and cooling (geothermal, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) | 53,164 | 4,745 | 128 | 16,962 | 5,006 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Storage | 155 | — | 0 | 41 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pumped Hydro | 3,983 | 2,602 | 78 | 1,545 | 315 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Recycled building materials | 44,742 | 10,910 | 2,817 | 17,762 | 3,279 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Reduced water consumption products and appliances | 58,835 | 7,500 | 1,283 | 21,813 | 5,849 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Gas) | 464 | — | 217 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Liquid) | 414 | 278 | 225 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Renewable diesel fuels | — | 542 | 1 | 3,764 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smart Grid | 12,380 | 1,678 | 185 | 11,350 | 1,627 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Solar | 181,671 | 46,513 | 35,852 | 58,487 | 31,700 | 16,333 | — | — | — | — |
| Solar thermal water heating and cooling | 16,530 | 2,666 | 656 | 8,426 | 3,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Storage Total | 49,743 | 19,057 | 1,833 | 17,171 | 9,355 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Thermal | 748 | 174 | 82 | 379 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trad Transmission and Distribution | 365,840 | 43,302 | 12,108 | 84,539 | 37,639 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| Traditional HVAC goods, control systems, and services | 330,635 | 31,799 | 17,046 | 166,352 | 63,484 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Traditional Hydropower | 9,353 | 13,162 | 237 | 9,006 | 6,357 | 19,975 | — | — | — | — |
| Transmission, Distribution, and Storage Total | 537,767 | 85,675 | 15,203 | 147,461 | 52,550 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 57,047 |
| Waste fuels | — | 154 | 4 | 4,356 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woody Biomass/Cellulosic Biofuel | — | 4,670 | 44 | 10,833 | 1,049 | — | — | 17,178 | — | — |