In 2024, natural gas was the most used fuel to heat homes for those in urban locations, at 48%, and kerosene was the most used for those in rural locations, at 41%.
In total, seven in ten people reported having some form of additional heating in 2024. Half of respondents reported relying on either an open fire or a stove as an additional heat source.
Almost 7% of people reported using peat on open fires as a source of additional heating in 2024.
Over a third of people have at least one energy efficiency technology installed in their home in 2024. For owner occupied homes this rose to 40% compared with 21% for those in rented accommodation.
Approximately one in nine people reported having the capability to generate their own electricity in 2024, with a higher proportion of rural dwellers exporting or selling electricity generated in the home back to the grid than urban dwellers.
Around 41% of people reported being unlikely to purchase an electric vehicle when they next purchase a vehicle compared with 30% being likely.
Almost half of all people reported being on standard electricity tariffs. Those aged 60 years or over had the highest share of those on a standard tariff, at 63% or almost two in every three respondents.
Electricity was the most widely used fuel for cooking (71%) across all regions in the country in 2024.
This release is based on a CSO survey carried out in 2024, focusing on individuals’ habits on energy usage in the home. Questions focussed on primary and secondary fuel use, installations of energy efficiency technology in homes, electric vehicles in the home and information on electricity tariffs and consumer behaviour.
For more information on the survey design and methodology, please see Background Notes.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 November 2025) published Household Environmental Behaviours - Energy Use 2024. This release follows a similar release Household Environmental Behaviours - Energy Use Quarter 3 2021 published in 2021.These findings will contribute to the development of knowledge around energy usage for heating and cooking in the home, home installations linked to energy efficiency, electric vehicle ownership levels and sentiment and habits around electricity tariffs.
Commenting on the release, Dr. Robert Stapleton, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division, said: “This report presents the results of a survey of 3,916 people conducted in 2024 aimed at growing our understanding around primary and secondary fuel use, installations of energy efficiency technology in homes, electric vehicle ownership and sentiment and information on electricity tariffs and consumer behaviour. The findings can inform the general public, researchers, and policy makers by providing insight into these key areas.
Main Fuels or Energy Sources for Heating
At 33%, natural gas was the most common fuel or energy source used to heat homes (See Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). The use of natural gas varied between urban locations, where it was the main fuel used for 48% of people, and rural locations where just 5% of people reported its use. In rural locations, kerosene at 41% was the most common fuel or energy source used to heat homes. This contrasted with 18% of people in urban locations reporting using kerosene as their main fuel for heating.
Nationally, 26% of people report using kerosene as the main heat source. Regarding other fuels or energy sources as the main heating source, 8% used electricity and 7% used heat pumps.
Considering different characteristics of the home, in rented properties 16% of people use electricity as their main fuel or energy source for heating compared with 4% of those in owner-occupied dwellings. Kerosene, diesel/gas oil or liquid petroleum gas was the main fuel or energy source for heating for half of those living in detached houses compared with 30% in semi-detached houses and 19% of those in terraced houses. More than 40% of those living in flats or apartments used electricity as the main fuel or energy source for heating.
Respondents were also surveyed on additional heating in the home. Overall, around 70% of people reported using some form of additional heating. More people in rural locations, at around 85%, reported having a supplementary heating source compared with around 60% of those in urban locations.
Half of all people reported having either a stove or an open fire as an additional source for heating. Individually, stoves were used as an additional heat source by 32% of people and open fires by 21% with some reporting having both. Plug-in electric heaters were used by 16%. Differences were evident between rural and urban dwellers with 70% of all people in rural locations reporting having an open fire or stove as an additional heat source compared with around 40% of urban dwellers.
Among the 21% of those reporting using an open fire as an additional heat source, 69% use wood logs as fuel, 62% use coal and around a third use peat. This peat usage in open fires varied regionally with 48% of those relying on open fires as an additional heat source in the Northern & Western region (includes counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon and Sligo) using peat as a fuel compared with 19% in the Southern region (includes counties Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford) and 32% in the Eastern & Midland region (includes counties Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow). Nationally, this equates to just under 7% of all people using peat on open fires as a source of additional heating.
Fuels for Cooking
Electricity was used as the main cooking fuel by 71% of people with 12% using a combination of electricity and gas, 11% using natural gas and 4% using liquid petroleum gas. Electricity was the main cooking fuel in all regions. Analysing characteristics of the home identified a higher proportion of people in flats or apartments (88%) reporting electricity as their main cooking fuel compared with those in terraced houses (73%), semi-detached houses (72%) and detached houses (66%).
Home Energy Installations
As part of the survey, people were asked about installations in the home linked to energy efficiency. Around 11% of people reported having heat pumps installed, 10% reported having photovoltaic solar panels and 8% reported having thermal solar panels. Batteries for storing electricity were reported as being installed by 4% of respondents. The most widely reported energy efficiency installation was smart heating controls with around one in six reporting having them installed.
There were some differences between urban and rural locations with 14% of rural dwellers reporting having heat pumps compared with 9% of urban dwellers. Most installations were more common in rural than urban locations except for smart heating controls. Following this, 15% of people in rural locations reported having the ability to generate electricity compared with 10% of urban dwellers. Similarly, a higher proportion of rural dwellers, at 13%, reported exporting or selling electricity generated in the home back to the grid than urban dwellers, at 7%.
Electric Vehicles
Participants were asked questions regarding access to electric vehicles in the household, charging habits and likely future vehicle purchases. Overall, 11% of people reported having an electric vehicle in the household with figures higher in the Eastern & Midland region, at 12%, and Southern region, at 11%, than the figure of 7% reported in the Northern & Western region. Around four out of every five people with access to an electric vehicle reported charging their vehicle most often at home. Further, around 70% of those who charge their vehicle at home normally do so at night.
Nationally, a higher proportion of people reported being more likely to purchase a petrol or diesel vehicle (41%) than a non-plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (13%), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (10%) or battery electric vehicle (8%) for their next car purchase. Those in urban locations (33%) were more likely to report potentially purchasing an electric vehicle when they next purchase a car than those in rural locations (26%).
Electricity Tariffs and Consumer Behaviour
Questions on electricity tariffs, changing tariffs and changing electricity usage behaviours to avail of cheaper rates were included in the survey. Overall, almost half of people reported having a standard electricity tariff. The proportion on a standard tariff broadly increased with age. For example, 31% of those aged 16 to 29 years reported being on a standard tariff with this increasing to 63% for those aged 60 to 69 years and those aged 70 years or over.
Around a quarter of people (24%) reported changing tariffs in the last year, 62% did not and 15% did not know. Overall, one in every ten people changed their electricity consumption patterns to take advantage of different electricity price rates at different times of day.”