Virginia ranked 43rd out of 48 states in energy efficiency in a recent study by WalletHub, a personal finance website.
States were graded on their efficiency in home energy consumption and car-related energy consumption, the two largest components of energy usage in the United States.
The study authors calculated home-related energy efficiency by dividing total consumption per person by degree days, an environmental calculation of the energy required to heat or cool a home on a given day. Virginia ranked 35th in this category.
They determined the car-related energy efficiency factor by measuring how many miles Virginians drive annually and how many gallons of gasoline they consume, essentially the state’s average miles per gallon. Virginia ranked 35th in this category as well.
October is National Energy Awareness month, used by some groups to inform Americans of ways they can reduce their individual energy usage and more broadly to encourage investment in clean energy on a national level.
According to WalletHub, Americans spend more than $2,200 a year on energy costs, half of which goes to heating and cooling.
Second-year College student Vijay Menon lives in a house on 14th Street with 17 roommates. Menon said energy and utilities costs are a large portion of their monthly housing payment.
“[We pay] probably $50 or $60 a month per person on utilities,” Menon said. “Guys in my house are always trying to cut down that bill.”
Menon and his roommates, like many other University students, actively try to reduce energy usage.
“There are signs all over the house reminding [people] to turn off the lights,” Menon said.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, keeping the temperature slightly cooler in the winter, turning off lights when they’re not in use, and getting a home energy audit to identify leaks can go a long way toward reducing an energy bill.
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