Natural gas makes up nearly 30 per cent of EU household energy use

Brussels – Natural gas remains the main source of energy for European households. This is particularly true in Italy, where it accounts for half of final energy consumption. According to data released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, energy consumption has fallen for three consecutive years. In 2024, EU households consumed 9.54 million terajoules, a slight decrease (-0.2 per cent) from 9.57 million terajoules in 2023 and in line with the steady decline following the historic peak of 10.98 million terajoules reached in 2021. 

In 2024, the residential sector accounted for 26 per cent of final energy consumption, with natural gas (29.4 per cent), electricity (26.9 per cent), and renewables and biofuels (22.8 per cent) as the primary fuels. Petroleum products (10.4 per cent) and derived heat (8.5 per cent) accounted for smaller shares, whilst a small share was still covered by coal products (solid fossil fuels) (1.9 per cent).

 In 2024, the Netherlands (61 per cent), Italy (49.2 per cent), Hungary (46.3 per cent), and Luxembourg (46 per cent) relied on natural gas for over 45 per cent of their residential energy needs. Meanwhile, Malta (78.8 per cent), Bulgaria (56.6 per cent), and Sweden (48.9 per cent) relied mainly on electricity. Renewables and biofuels were most widely used in Estonia (50.2 per cent), Croatia (43.1 per cent), Slovenia (40.3 per cent), and Latvia (40.2 per cent). Petroleum products accounted for 41.9 per cent of household consumption in Ireland, while solid fossil fuels accounted for 18.4 per cent in Poland. Denmark relied mainly on waste heat.

 The main uses for energy are for space heating (61.5 per cent) and water heating (15.6 per cent). These two uses accounted for 77.1 per cent of final household energy consumption. The remainder was used for lighting and household appliances (14.8 per cent), cooking (6.4 per cent), other uses (0.9 per cent), and cooling (0.8 per cent). Compared to 2023, energy consumption for space heating fell by 1.2 per cent and for cooking by 0.9 per cent. Conversely, space cooling and lighting, and household appliances increased by 15.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively, from 2023.

The lowest percentages of energy used for space heating were recorded in Malta (20 per cent), Portugal (28.8 per cent), and Cyprus (30.9 per cent), while the highest were in Luxembourg (76.5 per cent), Estonia (73 per cent), Belgium (71.2 per cent), and Hungary (69.6 per cent). In Italy, consumption for space heating reached 64.1 per cent and for water heating 11.1 per cent. This was followed by 13 per cent for lighting and household appliances, 8.2 per cent for cooking, and 2.3 per cent for cooling. 

More specifically, in 2024, electricity covered 100 per cent of the energy needs for lighting and space cooling in the EU, but also 52.2 per cent for cooking. Natural gas played a key role in space and water heating (34.7 per cent and 38.9 per cent, respectively) and in cooking (31.8 per cent). Renewable energy sources covered 32.3 per cent of the energy demand for space heating, 15.9 per cent for water heating, and 4.6 per cent for cooking. Petroleum products still accounted for 12.7 per cent of energy demand for space heating, 11.2 per cent for cooking, and 11.2 per cent for water heating. 

Five of the 27 EU countries sourced over 54 per cent of the energy needed to heat their homes from renewable sources. These are Portugal (86.6 per cent), Croatia (61.9 per cent), Malta (61.7 per cent), Bulgaria (60.2 per cent), and Slovenia (57.5 per cent). Meanwhile, the Netherlands (70.3 per cent), Italy (57.8 per cent), and Hungary (53.2 per cent) are the EU countries with the highest proportions of gas used for space heating. In three EU countries, petroleum products were used primarily for space heating: Cyprus (62.9 per cent), Ireland (56.6 per cent), and Greece (43.4 per cent). Finally, in two EU Member States, Sweden (51 per cent) and Denmark (42.2 per cent), waste heat was used predominantly for space heating, while Poland relied mainly on solid fuels (26.9 per cent).