A person changing the temperature on a thermostat

In 2022, EU households used 10.1 million terajoules of energy, the lowest amount recorded since 2016.

The 2022 figure means that there was a decrease of 7.7% from the 11 terajoules recorded in 2021. 

Households, or the residential sector, represented 25.8% of final energy consumption or 18.1% of gross inland energy consumption in the EU in 2022. Most of the EU’s final energy consumption in households was covered by natural gas (30.9%), electricity (25.1%) and renewables and biofuels (22.6%). 

Space heating is the main reason for household usage

Energy consumption in EU households, 2022. Pie chart. For more information click dataset below.

Source dataset: nrg_d_hhq

In the EU, the main use of energy by households is for heating homes (63.5% of the final energy consumption in the residential sector), followed by water heating (14.9%). The heating of space and water consequently represented 78.4% of the final energy consumed by households in 2022.

Lighting and most electrical appliances represent 13.9% (this excludes the use of electricity for powering the main heating, cooling, or cooking systems). Other end use (0.9%) and space cooling (0.6%) had the lowest share.  

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Methodological notes

  • Electricity produced from renewable sources (e.g. hydro, wind, solar photovoltaic) is included under electricity and not shown as renewables. In this context, renewables include only those sources that are directly consumed by households, such as solid biofuels (e.g., firewood, wood pellets), biogas, solar thermal energy from active systems and ambient heat captured by heat pumps.
  • The category “other end uses” refers to all other end uses not included in the presented categories. This category covers any other energy consumption in households such as use of energy for the outdoors and any other activities not included in five major energy end-uses mentioned above (e.g. lawn mowers, swimming pool heating, outdoor heaters, outdoor barbeques, saunas, etc).

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