You may have heard that New Jersey is one of the leading states on solar power. Now it has a chance to lead on home energy management systems as well, as Verizon has announced a pilot program for its new home energy management system that will debut in exclusively in the Garden State, starting in January.

According to the company, its Home Monitoring and Control service will allow home owners to access to lights, thermostats, appliances and monitoring systems at home, anytime and anywhere, via smartphone, computer or FiOS TV. Starting in the New Year, New Jersey homes selected for the program will receive an energy reader, smart appliance switches and thermostats, a smart power strip, a smart door and window locks, motion sensors, an advanced pan-and-tilt camera, and a fixed indoor and outdoor camera–the kind of gear we can expect to see more of as the dream of the futuristic ”smart home” becomes a reality.

Eric Bruno, vice president of product management for Verizon, sees this service as a way for customers to cut their bills and their energy footprint at home by remote control. ”The concept of the connected home has been discussed for many years, and now Verizon’s high-IQ networks are making that concept a reality by converting customers’ homes into bandwidth-rich ecosystems that enable a wide variety of customizable options,” he said, in a statement.

For those who live outside New Jersey, Verizon will debut its new Home Monitoring and Control service at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 6-9.

Reprinted with permission from EarthTechling