European Union households consumed 9.54 million terajoules of energy throughout 2024, according to Eurostat, marking a marginal decline of 0.2 per cent from the 9.57 million terajoules recorded in 2023.

The latest data highlights that residential energy use has now fallen for three consecutive years, following a record peak of 10.98 million terajoules in 2021.

The residential sector currently accounts for 26 per cent of the total final energy consumption across the European Union.

Natural gas remains the primary fuel source for EU households, representing 29.4 per cent of consumption, followed closely by electricity at 26.9 per cent.

Renewables and biofuels make up a significant portion of the energy mix, contributing 22.8 per cent to total household usage.

The majority of this energy is dedicated to thermal comfort, with space heating alone accounting for 61.5 per cent of all residential consumption.

Water heating represents the second largest requirement, consuming 15.6 per cent of the total, while lighting and electrical appliances account for 14.8 per cent.

Minor shares of energy are allocated to cooking at 6.4 per cent, with space cooling and other miscellaneous uses making up 0.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.

When compared with 2023 figures, energy dedicated to space heating saw a reduction of 1.2 per cent, while consumption for cooking fell by 0.9 per cent.

In a marked contrast, energy demand for space cooling experienced a notable increase of 15.3 per cent.

Similarly, power used for lighting and electrical appliances saw a rise of 2.6 per cent during the same period.