Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar: Career Overview
Design, develop, or evaluate energy-related projects or programs to reduce energy costs or improve energy efficiency during the designing, building, or remodeling stages of construction. May specialize in electrical systems; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; green buildings; lighting; air quality; or energy procurement.
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What Do Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar Do?
The core tasks performed by energy engineers, except wind and solar include:
- Identify and recommend energy savings strategies to achieve more energy-efficient operation.
- Conduct energy audits to evaluate energy use and to identify conservation and cost reduction measures.
- Monitor and analyze energy consumption.
- Monitor energy related design or construction issues, such as energy engineering, energy management, or sustainable design.
- Inspect or monitor energy systems, including heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) or daylighting systems to determine energy use or potential energy savings.
- Advise clients or colleagues on topics such as climate control systems, energy modeling, data logging, sustainable design, or energy auditing.
- Analyze, interpret, or create graphical representations of energy data, using engineering software.
- Verify energy bills and meter readings.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Top energy engineers, except wind and solar draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Related Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Alternative Energy Engineer
- Carbon Analyst
- Carbon Specialist
- Certified Green Building Engineer
- Energy Conservation Engineer
- Energy Efficiency Engineer
- Energy Engineer
- Energy Infrastructure Engineer
Job Outlook
There are roughly 213,575 energy engineers, except wind and solar working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +6.7% over the projection horizon.
Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $59,756 |
| Hourly median | $28.73 |
| 10th percentile | $38,947 |
| 25th percentile | $49,352 |
| 75th percentile | $70,160 |
| 90th percentile | $80,564 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $167,270 |
| Alabama | $146,480 |
| New Mexico | $142,520 |
| Virginia | $142,110 |
| Wyoming | $139,010 |
| Maryland | $135,990 |
| Alaska | $132,410 |
| Massachusetts | $132,020 |
| New Jersey | $131,960 |
| Rhode Island | $131,830 |
| Idaho | $131,390 |
| California | $128,830 |
| Oregon | $125,920 |
| Colorado | $125,330 |
| Washington | $125,080 |
| Hawaii | $120,330 |
| Connecticut | $119,220 |
| New Hampshire | $118,630 |
| South Carolina | $117,980 |
| Minnesota | $116,660 |
| Texas | $115,950 |
| Georgia | $115,790 |
| Maine | $114,610 |
| Ohio | $113,880 |
| New York | $113,380 |
| Utah | $113,290 |
| Mississippi | $112,100 |
| Oklahoma | $111,230 |
| Vermont | $110,640 |
| Arizona | $110,160 |
| Illinois | $109,380 |
| Wisconsin | $107,400 |
| North Carolina | $106,960 |
| Indiana | $106,040 |
| Florida | $103,920 |
| Michigan | $103,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,580 |
| West Virginia | $103,400 |
| Nevada | $101,660 |
| Iowa | $100,200 |
| Tennessee | $97,990 |
| Louisiana | $95,550 |
| Missouri | $93,020 |
| Kentucky | $89,650 |
| Guam | $89,440 |
| North Dakota | $88,100 |
| Montana | $87,130 |
| Delaware | $85,530 |
| South Dakota | $82,970 |
| Nebraska | $76,910 |
| Arkansas | $75,000 |
| Kansas | $69,210 |
| Puerto Rico | $58,710 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for energy engineers, except wind and solar differ across the country. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $127,455 | 22.6% | 1.41 |
| Middle Atlantic | $127,069 | 15.3% | 1.60 |
| New England | $124,655 | 4.3% | 0.92 |
| Rocky Mountains | $120,932 | 3.4% | 0.87 |
| Southwest | $117,599 | 10.1% | 0.89 |
| Southeast | $111,896 | 28.2% | 1.65 |
| Great Lakes | $108,385 | 12.1% | 1.08 |
| Plains States | $95,614 | 3.6% | 0.55 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $162,610 | 7,950 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $157,770 | 3,490 |
| Lexington Park, MD | MD | $157,330 | 1,090 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $156,140 | 5,060 |
| Charlottesville, VA | VA | $152,840 | 70 |
| Wilmington, NC | NC | $148,580 | 90 |
| Huntsville, AL | AL | $148,430 | 3,120 |
| Albuquerque, NM | NM | $143,050 | 1,080 |
Top Industries Employing Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar
The bulk of energy engineers, except wind and solar are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 37,330 | $112,040 |
| Manufacturing | 36,850 | $107,590 |
| Wholesale Trade | 6,470 | $103,760 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 6,030 | $95,040 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 5,210 | $122,930 |
| Information | 3,800 | $159,700 |
| Construction | 3,520 | $81,570 |
| Utilities | 2,970 | $118,630 |
Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C++ (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Project management software: Microsoft Project (hot technology)
- Process mapping and design software: Microsoft Visio (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: Python (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: R (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
The on-the-job environment of energy engineers, except wind and solar reflects the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Contact With Others
Getting Started in This Career
Most energy engineers, except wind and solar positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
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- Biomass Power Plant Managers (Primary-Short)
- Hydroelectric Production Managers (Supplemental)
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers (Primary-Long)
- Wind Energy Development Managers (Primary-Short)
- Water/Wastewater Engineers (Supplemental)
- Electrical Engineers (Primary-Long)
- Environmental Engineers (Primary-Long)
Where to Study
Future energy engineers, except wind and solar typically earn programs in:
Engineering
29 programs across 24 majors
- General Engineering
- Systems Engineering
- Other Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Robotics Engineering
- Construction Engineering
- Engineering Science
- Architectural Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Biological Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Geoscience Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Ocean Engineering
- Engineering Mechanics
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Biochemical Engineering
- Surveying Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electromechanical Engineering
- Forest Engineering
- Paper Science & Engineering
- Engineering Chemistry
Engineering Technologies and Engineering-Related Fields
2 programs across 2 majors
Health Professions and Related Programs
1 programs across 1 majors
About the Data
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 17-2199.03 (Engineers, All Other).