According to Statistics Finland, the energy consumption for housing in 2022 decreased by approximately 4 terawatt-hours (TWh) compared to the previous year. The high prices during the autumn energy crisis led to conservation measures, coupled with the fact that the year experienced milder temperatures. The combined effect resulted in housing energy consumption falling to just under 65 TWh.
Key Points:
- Space Heating Dominates: Space heating constitutes the largest share of housing energy use, ranging from 64% in warm years to 69% in cold years. Other consumption categories vary less, with water heating accounting for about 15%, household appliances 13%, and sauna heating around 5% of housing energy consumption.
- Highlights:
- Energy use for residential space heating amounted to nearly 43 TWh, representing the largest share at 66% of housing energy consumption.
- Residential electricity consumption decreased by about 1.5 TWh from 2021 to 2022. The share of electricity in housing energy remained constant at around 35%.
- The autumn energy crisis influenced a change in heating methods.
- The proportion of energy produced by heat pumps for residential space heating increased by 3 percentage points from 2021. In 2022, heat pumps accounted for 16% of residential space heating.
- The share of light fuel oil in residential space heating energy decreased by one percentage point from 2021 to 2022. The use of other fossil fuels, such as natural gas, also declined.
Space Heating: About two-thirds of housing energy is consumed by residential space heating. The variation in heating needs is the most significant factor explaining housing energy consumption. In 2022, which had milder temperatures, energy used for residential space heating amounted to just under 43 TWh, representing an 8% decrease from the previous year.
The autumn energy crisis influenced a change in heating methods. The share of energy produced by heat pumps for residential space heating increased by 3 percentage points from 2021. The share of light fuel oil in residential space heating energy decreased by one percentage point from 2021 to 2022. The use of other fossil fuels, such as natural gas, also declined.
The primary energy sources for space heating were district heating (30%), wood (27%), and electricity (24%), accounting for 81% of space heating energy consumption. The next most common energy source was heat pump energy (16%).
Warm Water Use: On average, 15% of housing energy is used for heating warm water. In warmer years, this percentage increases, while it decreases in colder years. In 2022, the share of warm water heating was 16%, with energy consumption reaching around 10 TWh. The main energy sources for warm water heating were district heating (56%), electricity (23%), and heat pump energy (12%).
Household Appliances: On average, household appliance consumption constitutes 13% of housing energy. In 2022, energy consumption was just under 9 TWh. The consumption is divided into cooking, lighting, and other electrical devices. In 2022, consumption shares for living were cooking 1%, lighting 2%, and other electrical devices 10%. Household appliance consumption is almost entirely electricity, with a small amount of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas used in cooking.
Sauna Heating: On average, just under 5% of housing energy is used for sauna heating. Of the approximately 3 TWh used for sauna heating, just under two-thirds was wood, and just over one-third was electricity.
Energy Sources for Housing Energy Consumption: Out of the just under 65 TWh of housing energy consumption in 2022, just over a third was electricity, just under a third was district heating, and around a fifth was wood. The net energy produced by heat pumps accounted for about 16%, and the share of light fuel oil was 3%.