Mainly gas and electricity…
In 2016, households in the European Union (EU) accounted for a quarter of the total final energy consumption. Most of the energy consumed was natural gas (36.9%) and electricity (24.4%). Renewables counted for 15.9% of energy consumption, petroleum products for 11.6% and derived heat for 7.8%, while a small proportion (3.3%) was still covered by solid fuels.
The picture varies across the EU Member States.
Gas made up more than half of the final consumption energy of households in the Netherlands (72%), the United Kingdom (63%), Italy and Slovakia (both 53%). On the other hand, Malta (70%) and Sweden (51%) mainly used electricity.
Renewable energies (mostly solid biofuels) made up at least 40% of the households' final energy consumption in Croatia (47%), Slovenia (46%), Estonia (41%) and Romania (40%). The highest share of solid fuels in final consumption of energy of households was recorded in Poland (33%), while Ireland (38%), Cyprus (37%), Greece (30%) and Belgium (29%) used the highest proportions of petroleum products.
... and essentially for heating purposes
As is to be expected, households mainly used energy for heating their homes: this represented around two-thirds (64.7%) of their final energy consumption. In addition, the energy used for water heating accounted for 14.5%, meaning that overall, the heating of space and water accounted for 79.2% of the final energy consumed by households. Energy used for lighting and the use of most electrical appliances accounted for 13.8% of the energy used by households, while the main cooking appliances represented 5.4%, air conditioning 0.3% and other end-uses 1.3%.
Further information on energy consumption and use by households can be found in our dedicated Statistics Explained article.
For more information please contact us: estat-user-support@ec.europa.eu.