Mean gas consumption decreased for all dwellings last year

Consumption for F and G rated dwellings 38% higher than A and B rated, CSO figures show

Mean gas consumption decreased last year compared with 2020 for all dwelling types

Mean gas consumption decreased last year compared with 2020 for all dwelling types, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The decrease varied from a 1.5 per cent decrease for detached houses to a 2.7 per cent decrease for semidetached houses.

F and G rated dwellings used 120 kilowatt hours of gas per square metre in 2021 which was 38 per cent higher than the 87 kWh used by A and B rated dwellings.

A detached house used 15,906 kWh of natural gas in 2021 which was 84 per cent higher than the corresponding mean gas consumption for an apartment.

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Separately, the CSO data showed A and B rated dwellings used 42 kilowatt hours of electricity per square metre in 2021 compared with 79 kWh per square metre for D and for E and 67 kWh per square metre for F and G rated dwellings.

Mean electricity consumption decreased in 2021 compared with 2020 for apartments and mid-terrace houses but it increased for end-of-terrace houses, semidetached houses and detached houses.

A detached house used 8,039 kWh of electricity in 2021 which was 70 per cent higher than the corresponding mean electricity consumption for a mid-terrace house.

More energy-efficient dwellings had more floor area. A and B rated detached houses had an average of 230 square metres compared with an average of 89 square metres for detached houses with an F or G rating.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter