When we receive our monthly electricity invoice, we focus primarily on the amount of the invoice, and partly on the number of kilowatt hours (kWh) we have consumed, and only when the amount of the invoice differs drastically from the amount of previous electricity invoices do we start to think about what makes up the total electricity consumption of our home.

By analysing your home’s electricity consumption, you can discover who the biggest consumers are and sometimes find electrical appliances that you had no idea consumed electricity before. The experience of the specialists at the Elektrum Energy Efficiency Centre has shown that, from time to time, it is discovered during consultations that, for example, there is an unused fax machine in the basement of a customer’s home that is still on and consumes a portion of the home’s total electricity consumption.

Consumption is, of course, highly individual – it depends on the size of the living space (a larger home will require more energy to heat or cool it), the energy efficiency of the building, the number of household members (the more people in the household, the higher the energy consumption), the number of electrical appliances, their energy efficiency, the frequency of use and the geographic location of the home.

This is also confirmed by the material created by the specialists of the Elektrum Energy Efficiency Centre in accordance with the Eurostat 2021 study on energy consumption in households, reflecting the main types of consumption in Europe and Latvia, as well as providing an overview of the most important energy sources according to each type of consumption.

Distribution of energy consumption in Europe

In the European Union, households mainly use energy for heating – 64.4% of final energy consumption is in the residential sector. Electricity used for lighting and most electrical appliances accounts for 13.6% (excluding electrical appliances used for heating, cooling or cooking), while the proportion used for water heating is slightly higher – 14.5%. 6.0% of the energy consumed by households is used for cooking, while 0.5% and 1% is used for cooling space and other final consumption.

Overall, heating of premises and water consumes the largest share of the final energy consumption of households – 78.9%.

How do we consume energy in Latvia?

The distribution of final energy consumption in Latvian households varies slightly. However, as in Europe, we spend most, 64.5%, of our electricity on heating, and 19.2% on water heating. Compared to Europe, we use almost 5% less energy for lighting, and 8.7% for electrical appliances. However, compared to Europe, we use more energy for cooking – 7.1% of total final energy consumption.

What energy sources do we use?

Another aspect that we do not think about so often in our daily lives, although it is becoming more and more important in the context of the European Green Deal and the geopolitical situation – what energy do we use and from what sources? What is the situation in Latvia?

It is worth mentioning that almost half, 49.2%, of the energy we produce for the heating of premises comes from renewable sources, with central heating accounting for 39.2%. According to this Eurostat study, 7.8% of our energy for heating premises comes from natural gas, while 3% comes from petroleum products, and the least, 0.8% and 0.1% from electricity and solid fossil fuels.

Central heating is the main source of water heating, accounting for 49.2%, with renewable energy sources and biofuels as the second largest energy source with 24.5%. It should be noted that electricity is used more for water heating than the heating of the premises, accounting for 13.4%, but natural gas also has a significant share – 9.4%. As an energy source, petroleum products account for 3.5% of the total, and solid fossil fuels for 0.1%.

Use energy efficiently

Analysing your energy consumption, identifying the biggest or even hidden electricity consumers in your home, adapting and also introducing new daily habits are the keys to using energy efficiently and achieving an overall reduction in your home’s electricity consumption. The specialists at the Elektrum Energy Efficiency Centre offer some tips on how to reduce energy consumption for heating premises and water heating, which are the main forms of energy consumption in our homes.

Heating of the premises:

• When heating a room with a heater, make use of its temperature control. Initially, use the maximum heating level to warm up the room quickly, and later adjust it to a lower level. Heating of the premises will be much more efficient and wallet-friendly! Besides, lowering the heater temperature by just 1° will reduce the electricity consumption by 5%.
• The recommended indoor temperature during the heating season is between +20 and +22 °C during the day, while at night it is advised to reduce it by 3-4 °C, thus ensuring better sleep and boosting immunity.
• Curtains are a good thermal insulator, so keep them open during the day to let the warmth of the sun into your home and close them in the evening. Also, keep radiators free of curtains and furniture and clean them regularly. When dust builds up on radiators, it prevents good air circulation and hinders the flow of heat.

Water heating:

• Place the storage water heater or boiler as close as possible to where the water is used.
• Set the water heating temperature for the storage water heater or boiler between +55 °C and +59 °C. Exceeding this temperature, limestone begins to be released more actively, thus the heating element scales faster and its electricity consumption increases.
• Have the water heater or boiler serviced at least once a year, during which the heating element is cleaned, the inside of the heater is thoroughly rinsed, and the condition of the anode is assessed. If the anode is broken, it must be replaced. Otherwise, the heating element will scale faster, increasing the water heater’s electricity consumption.
• Install a water-saving aerator nozzle on your taps to mix water with air, thus reducing water consumption by 50%. At the same time, it should be remembered that there are taps that already have an aerator built in.
• Prefer showering to bathing. Showers require an average of 25-50 litres of water per wash, while baths require at least 100 litres. Likewise, reduce the time spent in the shower, thus saving up to 20 litres (using a standard shower tap) of water per minute.
• Consider buying a dishwasher if you do not already have one in your household. A dishwasher uses low-temperature water and much less (6–12 l) than washing dishes by hand (50 l). In addition, the dishes are steamed at the end of the cycle, thus reducing the energy needed to heat the water and increasing the time you can devote to yourself and your family.

Visit Energy Efficiency page for more useful tips on how to use energy more efficiently!