Highlights
- The highest local LQs are for traditional HVAC are found in the state’s largest coastal areas: San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles all have LQs above 2. But even at the local level, very high energy appliance specialization cannot be observed in California—the state does not have LQs above 2 in any energy efficiency vertical. These trends appear to be driven by dynamics in the construction industry, which includes installation and repair and employs roughly half of all employees in the larger energy appliance sector.53 Installation and repair are themselves more locally-serving industries. Regions do not tend to specialize in these jobs as consumers only tend to travel to another region for repair services if they aren’t immediately available nearby. The highest Energy Star and energy efficiency LQ is in San Jose (1.99), which may be influenced by R&D, in part. The location quotient in that region for electrical engineers is 3.69 and for Commercial and Industrial Designers is 1.51, across all industries.54
53 “Energy Employment by State — 2019.” A Joint Project of NASEO & EFI. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a98cf80ec4eb7c5cd928c61/t/5c7f375515fcc0964aa19491/1551841115357/USEER+Energy+Employment+by+State.pdf
54 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, “San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020
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