SYNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 23 JUL 2021

July . 23 . 2021 SYNTH SIS IN @ COVID-19 www.ine.pt page 2/7 Communication Unit | tel: +351 21 842 61 10 | sci@ine.pt More information available at: Energy consumption in households - 2020 (19 July 2021) • Electricity continues to be the main source of energy consumed in households: 46.4% (42.6% in 2010); followed by Biomass, which represented 18.4% of the total (24.2% in 2010 1 ). Natural gas consumption accounted for 12.4% (9.0% in 2010); • Energy use in cooking continued to have the highest share (34.8%; 39.1% in 2010) compared to other types used in households. Household energy consumption in 2020, by type of energy (%) 2.1 4.1 4.4 12.2 12.4 18.4 46.4 Electricity Biomass Natural gas LPG bo�le Piped LPG Hea�ng oil Solar thermal In the last decade, the following changes in the energy consumption habits of the Portuguese stand out: • The average energy consumption per household decreased, despite an increase in the overall average expenditure; • The preponderance of electricity as the main source of energy consumed in households continues to increase, but less intensely than in the periods prior to 2010; • The share of energy consumption in vehicles in the domestic sector decreased compared to 2010; • Biomass consumption continued to decline, remaining the second main energy source; • Natural gas has gained importance and was, in 2020, the third main energy source in the domestic sector in terms of consumption, overtaking LPG gas bottles; • The consumption of solar thermal energy almost tripled, despite maintaining a small weight in the total; • The use of Solar Thermal Systems has increased in water heating; • Diesel continued to be the main fuel used in vehicles, with gasoline having reduced its weight. The reference period for the survey corresponded to the months from October 2019 to September 2020 (a one-year period), to bear in mind seasonal fluctuations in household energy consumption. Thus, sinceMarch 2020, this period coincidedwith the spread to Portugal of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the constraints that the pandemic imposed on the social and economic life of the country have affected household behaviours also concerning household energy consumption. However, it is too early to assess the transitory or permanent nature of the behavioural changes that occurred. In any case, the results seem to be in line with the trends identified from other sources of information, namely the increase in the relative weights of electricity and natural gas in household energy consumption and the existence of efficiency gains, partly associated with the type of equipment used. 1 In 2020, the weight considered refers exclusively to Firewood from all sources, whereas in 2020 Biomass (which includes Firewood, Pellets, Briquettes and Coal) only considers what was effectively purchased.