In 2017, households accounted for 27.2% of final energy consumption in the European Union (EU). Most of the EU final energy consumption in the households is covered by natural gas (36.0%) and electricity (24.1%). Renewables account for 17.5%, followed by petroleum products (11.2%) and derived heat (7.6%). A small proportion (3.3%) is still covered by coal products (solid fuels).
Energy consumption in households by type of end-use
In the EU, the main use of energy by households is for heating their homes (64.1% of final energy consumption in the residential sector). Electricity used for lighting and most electrical appliances represents 14.4% (this excludes the use of electricity for powering the main heating, cooling or cooking systems), while the proportion used for water heating is slightly higher, representing 14.8%.
Main cooking devices require 5.6% of the energy used by households, while space cooling and other end-uses cover 0.3% and 0.9% respectively. The heating of space and water consequently represents 78.9 % of the final energy consumed by households.
For more information, including statistics for EU individual Member States, take a look at the Statistics Explained article on energy consumption in households.
To contact us, please visit our User Support page.
For press queries, please contact our Media Support.