As American homes have gotten larger over the past century, the amount ofcarbondioxide released from homes has also grown, a new study says.

"As U.S. homes are getting bigger and bigger, the team at set out to check how this trend impacts our energy consumption and corresponding CO2 emissions," Andra Rus, communications specialist for Property Shark, told weather.com. "Our research resulted in rankings of U.S. states by both overall emissions and emissions per home."

To reach their ,the teamlooked at heating and cooling energy consumed and correlatedthat with the average home size in each stateusing data from the.

How each state ranks in CO2 emissions by home.

(Property Shark)

They found that the top states in total CO2 emissions for the housing sector are Texas, which emits 32 million tons of CO2 yearly, New Yorkat 28 million tons, and Florida, which emits 22 million tons. California, which is the largest state in the U.S., ranks 6th with 17 million tons.

The highest emissions per home are found in the New England states, where consumers rely heavily on fuel oil, while the lowest are found in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., where the smallest homes in the nation are located, and the West Coast states, where renewable energy is the most prevalent.

The researchers found that the states with the lowest emissions per home are characterized by milder climate and smaller average home size.

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Top 10 by state.

(Property Shark)

Over the past century, new homes are 74 percent larger but the average household size has decreased. According to Property Shark, personalliving space has grown 211 percent in the past century.

The average U.S. individual living in a new home enjoys 957 square feet of personal space, which isexerting "even more pressure on the environment," the study notes.

The researchers concluded that building smaller homes averaging1,200 square feet would reduceCO2 emissions, behindhuman-caused climate change, by 38 percent.

Total CO2 emissions per state.

(Property Shark)

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