7. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RESIDENTIAL HEATING

Figure 7.2 Energy intensity in IEA countries, 2016

Energy consumption per capita (TFC/capita)

Energy

Ireland has the lowest energy consumption per GDP, but is close to the median in terms of energy consumption per capita among IEA countries.

Notes: Energy intensity in final energy consumption, not including the energy transformation sector. For a discussion of the methodological issues with measuring Ireland’s economic growth, see the chapter on “General energy policy”.

Source: IEA (2018), World Energy Balances 2018, www.iea.org/statistics/.

Energy consumption by sector

Ireland’s energy consumption has been stable in recent years. Transport consumes the largest share, followed by the industry, residential and commercial sectors. The transport sector was assessed in Chapter 6 on “Energy and climate”. This chapter will focus on energy efficiency in the other sectors.

Industry

Ireland’s industry sector consumed 2.7 Mtoe in 2016, which accounted for 25% of the TFC. After peaking in 2006, industrial energy consumption declined by 25% in 3 years until 2009 due to the financial crisis (Figure 7.3). However, energy consumption in industry has picked up in recent years, and the level in 2016 was the highest since 2008. Electricity accounts for 32% of final consumption in the sector; oil, natural gas, coal and peat together represent 60% of energy demand. The remaining 8% is biofuel and waste (including primary solid biomass, biogases, municipal waste and industrial waste).

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7. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RESIDENTIAL HEATING

In the last decade, energy consumption has shifted from oil to electricity and natural gas. Oil consumption in the industrial sector fell by 50% from 2006 to 2016, whereas natural gas increased by 44% and electricity by 13%. Biofuels and waste consumption increased by 31% since 2006. The increase of biofuel consumption was due to the use of biomass in the wood processing industry and the use of the renewable portion of waste in cement manufacturing (SEAI, 2017a).

Figure 7.3 TFC in industry by source, 1973-2016

Industry energy consumption has decreased over the last decade, and there has been fuel switching from oil to natural gas and electricity.

Note: Includes non-energy consumption.

Source: IEA (2018), World Energy Balances 2018, www.iea.org/statistics/.

Ireland’s industrial energy consumption is spread out over several sectors. Non-ferrous metals were the largest energy consuming industry in 2016 (including for non-energy- related purposes), representing 20% of the total industry consumption, followed by food and tobacco (19%) and non-metallic minerals (18%) (Figure 7.4).

Figure 7.4 Energy consumption in manufacturing industry sectors, 2016

Metals, food and minerals industries account for over half of industry energy consumption.

* Other industries include construction, textile and leather, paper, transport equipment and non-specified industries. Source: IEA (2018), World Energy Balances 2018, www.iea.org/statistics/.

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7. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RESIDENTIAL HEATING

Residential and commercial

The residential and commercial sectors together consumed 4.2 Mtoe in 2016, which accounted for over one-third of the TFC (Figure 7.5). This was 16% lower than in 2006, despite a slight increase in recent years. Oil is the dominant fuel and accounts for a third of energy consumption in the two sectors. This is because many dwellings in rural areas are not connected to the gas grid and use oil-fired boilers for space and water heating (SEAI, 2017a).

Electricity is the other main energy source used in the sectors, with nearly 32% of the TFC. Peat and coal consumption have declined in the last decade, but still accounts for 9% of consumption in 2016, whereas renewable energy sources represent only 2%. District heating (DH) is not widely used in Ireland, with only a handful of communal or localised DH systems in use.

Figure 7.5 TFC in residential and commercial sectors by source, 1973-2016

Oil and electricity are the main energy sources in the residential and commercial sectors; the shares of peat and coal are larger than the share of renewables.

* Negligible.

Note: The commercial sector includes commercial and public services, agriculture, forestry and fishing. Source: IEA (2018a), World Energy Balances 2018, www.iea.org/statistics/.

Figure 7.6 Residential energy consumption by end use, 2016

Space and water heating account for over 80% of the total residential energy demand.

Source: IEA (2018b), Energy Efficiency Indicators 2018, www.iea.org/statistics/.

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