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In 2023, among households using natural gas for heating, the mean rate of gas consumption for F/G rated dwellings was 94 kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m2). This was 36% higher than the mean of 69 kWh/m2 consumed by A/B rated dwellings (See Infographic, Table A, and Table 5B).
Dwelling type had the biggest impact on consumption levels. Detached houses used 12,411 kWh of natural gas in 2023, 87% more than the 6,653 kWh consumed by apartments (See Infographic, Figure 1, and Table 2A).
Within each type of dwelling, the more energy efficient buildings had larger total floor areas. Detached houses rated A/B had a mean floor area of 191m2, compared with a mean floor area of 124m2 in detached houses rated F/G (See Figure 2 and Table 4A).
The larger A/B rated dwellings consumed 8% more gas in 2023 in total than the less efficient F/G rated dwellings (9,032 kWh compared with 8,387 kWh) (See Figure 1 and Table 2B).
Compared with 2022, gas consumption in 2023 fell by 10% in dwellings rated A/B. Similar reductions were seen among dwellings with C ratings (-10%), D ratings (-11%), E ratings (-12%), and F/G ratings (-11%) (See Table 2B).
This release combined networked gas meter consumption with Building Energy Ratings (BER). Only dwellings that had a BER audit and that used natural gas as their main space heating fuel were included in the matching process. The matching of both datasets was done using the Eircode. The analysis is based on 253,082 dwellings (See Table 1A).
Table A Mean Gas Consumption per square metre by Year and Energy Rating 2023 | |||||
Mean kilowatt hours per square metre | |||||
Year | A/B | C | D | E | F/G |
2015 | 89 | 100 | 111 | 121 | 122 |
2016 | 87 | 98 | 109 | 119 | 120 |
2017 | 85 | 96 | 107 | 115 | 118 |
2018 | 96 | 107 | 119 | 127 | 129 |
2019 | 88 | 99 | 110 | 118 | 120 |
2020 | 92 | 104 | 115 | 122 | 124 |
2021 | 90 | 101 | 113 | 119 | 121 |
2022 | 76 | 86 | 97 | 103 | 105 |
2023 | 69 | 78 | 86 | 91 | 94 |
Detached houses had mean consumption of 12,411 kWh in 2023, the most of any dwelling type in 2023 (See Figure 1 and Table 2A). Dwellings rated A/B consumed 9,032 kWh of gas in 2023, 8% more than the 8,387 kWh consumed by F/G rated dwellings (See Figure 1 and Table 2B).
Mean Gas Consumption | |
A/B | 9.032 |
C | 8.465 |
D | 8.639 |
E | 8.836 |
F/G | 8.387 |
0 | |
Apartment | 6.653 |
House (mid-terrace) | 6.897 |
House (end-of-terrace) | 7.725 |
House (semi-detached) | 8.88 |
House (detached) | 12.411 |
Detached houses with A/B ratings had a mean floor area of 191m2, 54% more than the mean 124m2 of those with F/G ratings. Apartments with A/B ratings were 25% larger than those with F/G ratings (91m2 compared with 73m2) (See Figure 2 and Table 4A).
A/B | F/G | |
Apartments | 91 | 73 |
Detached Houses | 191 | 124 |
Gas consumption per square metre in 2023 was lower in dwellings with higher energy ratings: 69 kWh per square metre (kWh/m2) for A/B rated dwellings, 78 kWh/m2 for C rated dwellings (13% more than A/B), 86 kWh/m2 for D rated dwellings (25% more than A/B), 91 kWh/m2 for E rated dwellings (32% more than A/B), and 94 kWh/m2 for F/G rated dwellings (36% more than A/B) (See Table 5B).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (03 September 2024) released Household Gas Consumption by Building Energy Ratings 2023.
Commenting on the release Kevin Hunt, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division, said: "This analysis combines Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) data on domestic Building Energy Ratings (BER) with Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) data on Networked Gas Consumption. It includes only those households with a BER audit where networked gas was the main space heating fuel.
Trends in Household Gas Consumption
Gas consumption decreased in 2023 compared with 2022 in all categories of dwelling: apartments (-11%), mid-terrace houses (-11%), end-of-terrace houses (-11%), semi-detached houses (-11%), and detached houses (-10%) (See Table 2A).
A similar reduction in consumption from 2022 to 2023 was seen across energy ratings: in A/B rated dwellings (-10%), C rated dwellings (-10%), D rated dwellings (-11%), E rated dwellings (-12%), and F/G rated dwellings (-11%) (See Table 2B).
Household Gas Consumption by Energy Rating
Gas consumption per square metre in 2023 was lower in dwellings with higher energy ratings: 69 kWh per square metre (kWh/m2) for A/B rated dwellings, 78 kWh/m2 for C rated dwellings, 86 kWh/m2 for D rated dwellings, 91 kWh/m2 for E rated dwellings, and 94 kWh/m2 for F/G rated dwellings. Buildings with F/G ratings consumed 36% more gas per square metre than buildings with A/B ratings in 2023 (See Table A and Table 5B).
Higher rated dwellings had larger floor areas on average, leading to greater levels of total consumption. Dwellings with A/B ratings consumed 8% more gas overall in 2023 than F/G rated dwellings (9,032 kWh compared with 8,387 kWh) (See Infographic, Figure 1, and Table 2B).
Household Gas Consumption by Type of Dwelling
There was a wider range in gas consumption across dwelling types than across energy ratings (See Figure 1, Table 2A and Table 2B). Detached houses used the most gas of any dwelling type in 2023, with mean consumption of 12,411 kWh. This was 87% higher than the lowest consumption by dwelling type, 6,653 kWh in apartments (See Infographic, Figure 1, and Table 2A).
Household Floor Area by Energy Rating
More energy efficient dwellings had higher mean floor areas. For the largest category of dwelling, detached houses, those with A/B ratings had a mean floor area of 191m2, while those with F/G ratings averaged 124m2. Similarly, in the smallest category of dwelling, apartments with A/B ratings had a mean floor area of 91m2, with apartments rated F/G averaging 73m2 (See Figure 2 and Table 4A).
Household Gas Consumption by Period of Construction
Newer buildings used less gas on average than those constructed in earlier periods. Dwellings constructed between 2005-2023 had a mean consumption of 73 kWh/m2. This was 14% less than the 85 kWh/m2 used by buildings built between 1900-1966, which had the highest mean consumption among construction periods (See Table 5C)."