Solar photovoltaic panels generate electricity at an Exelon solar power facility in Chicago, Ill. The 10-megawatt facility located on the city's south side is the largest urban solar installation in the U.S. The 32,292 panels can generate more than 14,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, enough to meet the annual energy requirements of up to 1,500 homes.

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At a Glance

Wealthy Americans contribute 25% more greenhouse gases than poorer people in the country, according to a new study.The study gathered data from 93 million households. The discrepancy is mainly due to the size difference in homes and the energy it takes for lighting, heating and cooling larger houses.

Wealthy Americans contribute 25% more greenhouse gases than poorer people in the country, a new study found, gathering data from 93 million households.

The discrepancy is mainly due to the size difference in homes and the energy it takes for lighting, heating and cooling larger houses. According to the study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, , where people heat their homes for a larger portion of the year. Maine, Vermont and Wisconsin were clocked at the highest, while the three states with the least energy-intensive residences are in the warmer states of Florida, Arizona and California.

CNN reported that researchers also focused on urban areas, specifically Boston and Los Angeles, , as homes in Boston are typically older, and many homes in Los Angeles were built in the 1950s. The data showed a correlation between income and high per capita emissions in both cities, with affluent neighborhoods producing higher emissions, and most districts with comparatively low emissions falling below the poverty line.

The research also found that the most affluent U.S. suburbs as nearby, less affluent neighborhoods, according to The Guardian.

"This is like a tale of two cities in carbon form," , a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study. "Income and greenhouse gases rise together."

About a fifth of U.S. emissions comes from residential power use, with the average U.S. citizen using . Low-income residents still produce significant emissions, as they often can't afford to make their homes energy efficient, Vincent Reina, assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, .

"Although houses are becoming more energy efficient, U.S. household energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions are not shrinking, and this lack of progress undermines the substantial emissions reductions needed to mitigate climate change,” Goldstein said