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The figures for 2020 may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A detached house used 16,054 kilowatt-hours of natural gas in 2020 which was 82% higher than the corresponding mean gas consumption for an apartment (see Table A and Table 2A).
Semi-detached houses used 11,739 kWh followed by end-of-terrace houses (10,094 kWh), mid-terrace houses (9,059 kWh) and apartments (8,808 kWh).
"A" and "B" rated dwellings used a mean gas consumption in 2020 of 11,483 kWh which was 4.7% higher than the 10,965 kWh mean gas consumption for "F" and "G" rated dwellings in 2020 (see Table 2B).
In terms of consumption per square metre, "A" and "B" rated dwellings used a mean of 89 kWh of gas per square metre in 2020 compared with 122 kWh of gas per square metre for "F" and "G" rated dwellings (see Table 5B).
More energy-efficient dwellings had more floor area. "A" and "B" rated detached houses had an average of 194 square metres compared with an average of 124 square metres for detached houses with an "F" or "G" rating (see Table 4A).
The mean gas consumption in 2020 for all dwelling types built in 2005-2020 was 10,681 kWh which was 10.2% below the mean for dwellings built in 1900-1966 of 11,890 kWh (see Table 2C).
Mean gas consumption increased in 2020 compared with 2019 for all dwelling types varying from a 3.5% increase for apartments to a 5.6% increase for semi-detached houses (see Table A and Table 2A).
The CSO is preparing similar releases for households and enterprises using electricity as their main space heating fuel. These releases are part of work being done by the CSO to develop environmental social statistics in relation to topics such as climate impact, energy poverty, and a Just Transition.
| Mean Gas Consumption | |
| A/B | 11.483 |
| C | 11.146 |
| D | 11.475 |
| E | 11.767 |
| F/G | 10.965 |
| Apartment | 8.808 |
| House (mid-terrace) | 9.059 |
| House (end-of-terrace) | 10.094 |
| House (semi-detached) | 11.739 |
| House (detached) | 16.054 |
| A/B | F/G | |
| Apartments | 92 | 75 |
| Detached Houses | 194 | 124 |
| Table A Mean Gas Consumption by Year and Type of Dwelling 2020 | |||||
| Mean kilowatt hours | |||||
| Year | Apartment | House (Mid-terrace) | House (End-of-terrace) | House (Semi-detached) | House (Detached) |
| 2015 | 7,501 | 8,884 | 9,853 | 11,320 | 15,548 |
| 2016 | 8,406 | 8,738 | 9,738 | 11,057 | 15,216 |
| 2017 | 8,256 | 8,479 | 9,508 | 10,844 | 14,858 |
| 2018 | 9,118 | 9,402 | 10,444 | 12,149 | 16,672 |
| 2019 | 8,509 | 8,669 | 9,693 | 11,118 | 15,481 |
| 2020 | 8,808 | 9,059 | 10,094 | 11,739 | 16,054 |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the release Dympna Corry, Statistician in the Environment and Climate Division, said: "The Central Statistics Office receives and publishes data on Networked Gas Consumption and Domestic Building Energy Ratings. This is the first time these two datasets have been combined to provide greater insight into factors that influence gas consumption such as household type and BER rating. As Ireland's national statistical office, the CSO is uniquely placed to provide such analysis. Two further releases are planned in this series that will examine how actual electricity consumption varies by type of household and by type of non-domestic premises (offices, retail, etc.).
This analysis examined households that had a BER and that used networked gas as their main space heating fuel. The CSO matched 210,500 BER audits with the gas meter file using an Eircode.
Average gas consumption per dwelling varied considerably more by household type than by energy efficiency rating. The mean gas consumption by detached houses was 16,054 kWh in 2020. This was 82% higher than the mean gas consumption by apartments of 8,808 kWh (see Table 2A).
Looking at the data, "A" and "B" rated dwellings consumed more gas than "F" and "G" rated dwellings. In 2020 "A" and "B" rated dwellings used a mean gas consumption of 11,483 kWh compared with 11,146 kWh for "C" rated dwellings, 11,475 kWh for "D" rated dwellings, 11,767 kWh for "E" rated dwellings, and 10,965 kWh for "F" and "G" rated dwellings (see Table 2B).
"F" and "G" energy-rated dwellings had the lowest mean gas consumption figure in 2020 indicating that factors other than energy ratings, such as disposable income, whether the house was adequately heated, and use of secondary heating fuels may have had an impact.
Lower gas consumption due to improved energy ratings was partially offset by a larger floor area for dwellings with "A" and "B" ratings. Detached houses with an "A" or "B" rating had an average floor area of 194 square metres compared with 124 square metres for detached houses with an "F" or "G" rating. This trend of larger floor areas for more energy-efficient dwellings was evident for all household types (see Table 4A).
The mean gas consumption was higher in 2020 than in 2019 for all household types indicating a possible Covid-19 effect from people spending more time at home. A cold spell in February and March 2018 may have caused that year to have the highest mean gas consumption figures for all household types across the six-year period (see monthly temperature table in the Background Notes).
Dwellings with better energy ratings consumed less gas per square metre. Mean gas consumption varied from 89 kWh per square metre for "A" and "B" rated dwellings in 2020 compared with 122 kWh per square metre for "F" or "G" rated dwellings in 2020 (see Table 5B)."