Energy Use in the Residential Sector

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The Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada has changed the base year from 1990 to 2000. This change was made to ensure that our data reflects developments in trends and structures of Canada’s energy end use and efficiency across sectors. It also synchronizes reporting on Canada’s energy use data with changes recently made by the International Energy Agency.

Highlights

As a result of energy efficiency improvements since 2000, in 2019:
  • Energy efficiency in the residential sector improved 32%, saving Canadians 440 PJ in energy and $8.5 billion in costs in 2019 – averaging $47/household per month.
  • Residential energy use increased 11.0% in 2019, but it would have increased 42.7% without energy efficiency improvements.
  • Energy efficiency helped avoid 18.1 Mt in GHG emissions in 2019.
Energy efficiency improvements include changes to the thermal envelope of houses (insulation, windows, etc.), energy-saving behaviours (washing full loads of dishes and laundry) and increased efficiency of various energy-consuming items in homes such as air conditioners, appliances, furnaces and lightbulbs.

Overview Overview

Key drivers for residential energy consumption

Residential infographic
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Key drivers for residential energy consumption

2000 2019
Household Numbers (million) 11.7 15.1
Living space per household (m2) 129 146
People per household 2.6 2.5
Appliances per household 18 25
Occupied floor space cooled (%) 33 49

Canadians spent $29.8 billion on energy in their homes in 2019. Most of the energy (81%) was used for space and water heating. Predominant fuels were natural gas, electricity, and home heating oil. Other fuels included wood and propane.

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Distribution of residential energy use by end use, 2019

Residential energy use Percentage
Space heating 64
Water heating 17
Appliances 14
Lighting 4
Space cooling 2
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Distribution of residential energy use by energy source, 2019

Energy source Percentage
Natural gas 48
Electricity 40
Wood 7
Heating oil 4
OtherFootnote * 1
Note: The changes in distribution of residential energy use by source, from reference year 2018 to reference year 2019, were due mainly to (1) changes in residential wood use, and (2) changes in Statistics Canada Report on Energy Supply and Demand residential energy use. Changes in household numbers and floor space were minimal.
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Residential energy intensity per household and floor space, 2000–2019

Energy intensity per household (GJ/household) Energy intensity per floor space (GJ/m2)
2000 119 0.92
2001 112 0.87
2002 115 0.89
2003 116 0.89
2004 115 0.87
2005 112 0.85
2006 107 0.80
2007 114 0.85
2008 113 0.84
2009 109 0.81
2010 105 0.76
2011 110 0.79
2012 104 0.74
2013 107 0.77
2014 108 0.76
2015 105 0.74
2016 100 0.70
2017 102 0.70
2018 104 0.71
2019 102 0.70
Note: The changes in residential energy intensity by household and by floor space, from reference year 2018 to reference year 2019 were due mainly to (1) changes in residential wood use, and (2) changes in Statistics Canada Report on Energy Supply and Demand residential energy use. Changes in household numbers and floor space were minimal.

Energy use per household and per unit of floor space has decreased significantly, which was driven by energy efficiency improvements across various residential energy end uses and energy sources.

Energy efficiency Energy efficiency

Without energy efficiency gains, energy use would have increased 42.7% instead of 11.0%.

Energy efficiency improvement is measured by estimating the difference between the change in residential energy use and the impacts of the residential sector’s growth, changes in the composite of houses by type (structure effect), the rising number of appliances and electronics, the weather, and other factors.

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Impact of activity, structure, service level, weather and energy efficiency on the change in residential energy use, 2000–2019

Petajoules
Total change in energy use 152.0
Activity effect 490.7
Structure effect -10.5
Service level effect 77.3
Weather effect 34.2
Energy efficiency effect -439.8
  • Activity effect – A 30% increase in the number of Canadian households and a 14% increase in the average floor space resulted in an increase of 490.7 PJ in energy use and 20.2 Mt in GHG emissions.
  • Structure effect – The structural change for the residential sector reflects mainly changes in the composite of different house types. For the 2000–2019 period, the share of single attached houses in Canada increased 1.6 percentage points, while the shares for other house types decreased. This structural change resulted in a decrease of 10.5 PJ in energy and 0.4 Mt in GHG emissions.
  • Service level effect – An increase in appliances, including electronics (e.g. home computers, video consoles and home entertainment systems) resulted in an increase of 77.3 PJ in energy and 3.2 Mt in GHG emissions.
  • Weather effect – In 2019, the winter was among the coldest in 20 years and the summer was much hotter than in 2000. As a result, the weather conditions resulted in an increase of 34.2 PJ in energy use and 1.4 Mt in GHG emissions.
  • Energy efficiency effect – The 32% improvement in energy efficiency saved 439.8 PJ in energy use, $8.5 billion in energy costs and avoided 18.1 Mt of GHG emissions.

The energy efficiency savings of 440 PJ offset nearly 90% of the impact of higher levels of activity and service.

Residential energy use, with and without energy efficiency improvements, 2000–2019

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Residential energy use, with and without energy efficiency improvements, 2000–2019

Energy use with energy efficiency improvements Energy use without energy efficiency improvements
2000 1,384 1,384
2001 1,328 1,351
2002 1,380 1,438
2003 1,412 1,488
2004 1,422 1,503
2005 1,413 1,523
2006 1,362 1,485
2007 1,485 1,593
2008 1,488 1,633
2009 1,467 1,669
2010 1,406 1,603
2011 1,489 1,664
2012 1,421 1,633
2013 1,492 1,737
2014 1,510 1,812
2015 1,481 1,780
2016 1,430 1,784
2017 1,480 1,842
2018 1,541 1,919
2019 1,536 1,976

Space heating Space heating

Canadians used the most energy for space heating, accounting for 64% of the total residential energy use, and over half (55%) of the total energy use for space heating was natural gas. The greater penetration of high-efficiency natural gas furnaces (34.1% of all heating systems in 2019 versus 8.8% in 2000) contributed significantly to the sector’s large energy efficiency improvement.

Homes have also undergone significant improvements in insulating and sealing building envelopes and managing energy use through:
  • Installing weather-stripped doors and double-glazed windows
  • Keeping insulated basements, walls, ceilings and attics
  • Using programmable thermostats
  • Stringent building code for new construction
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Residential space heating by energy source, 2019

Fuel type Percentage
Natural gas 55
Electricity 27
Wood 11
Heating oil 5
OtherFootnote * 2
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Space heating energy intensity and heating degree-day index, 2000–2019

Space heating energy intensity Heating degree-day index
2000 0.59 0.96
2001 0.53 0.88
2002 0.55 0.93
2003 0.56 0.96
2004 0.55 0.95
2005 0.52 0.92
2006 0.48 0.85
2007 0.54 0.93
2008 0.53 0.95
2009 0.52 0.96
2010 0.47 0.87
2011 0.49 0.90
2012 0.45 0.84
2013 0.48 0.93
2014 0.48 0.98
2015 0.46 0.92
2016 0.43 0.89
2017 0.44 0.92
2018 0.45 0.95
2019 0.44 0.98
Space heating energy intensity (energy use per unit of floor space, GJ/m2) improved 24.7% from 2000 to 2019.

Water heating Water heating

Water heating was the second largest residential energy end use. A shift from oil-fired water heaters to more efficient natural gas heaters and more stringent energy standards for water heaters helped to lower energy use per household. Canadians have also altered energy consumption in water heating by switching to efficient practices such as:

  • Switching to tankless water heaters
  • Installing low-flow fixtures on showerheads and faucets
  • Using dishwashers and clothes washers in full loads
  • Using cold water
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Water heating energy use by fuel type, 2000 and 2019 (petajoules)

2000 2019 Growth/decrease
Electricity 72.5 68.9 -4.9%
Natural gas 162.3 184.0 21.8%
Heating oil 18.2 6.0 -67.2%
Wood 2.8 3.8 34.7%
OtherFootnote * 0.7 1.3 72.7%

Energy use for residential water heating increased from 256.5 PJ in 2000 to 263.9 PJ in 2019, due to rising households numbers.

Appliances Appliances

The introduction of minimum energy performance standards under the Energy Efficiency Act has contributed significantly to the dramatic energy efficiency improvement of major appliances and electronics used in the home.

Energy efficiency improvement has been observed for all appliances. However, energy savings from major appliances were more than offset by rising energy use from minor appliances, such as electronics.

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Residential energy use and appliance stock index by appliance type, 2000 and 2019

2000 2019
Major appliance energy use (petajoules) 132 115
Minor appliance energy use (petajoules) 45 95
Major appliance stock index 1.00 2.03
Minor appliance stock index 1.00 1.33
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Unit energy consumption of new major electric appliances, 2000 and 2019 (kilowatt-hours per year)

2000 2019 Growth/decrease
Refrigerator 640 471 -26.3%
Freezer 391 324 -17.0%
Dishwasher 172 71 -58.6%
Clothes washer 113 25 -78.3%
Clothes dryer 910 591 -35.0%
Range 760 548 -27.8%
Major appliances – higher energy efficiency, lower energy use

A dishwasher purchased in 2019 was nearly 60% more energy-efficient than one manufactured in 2000. A clothes washer purchased in 2019 required less than one quarter of the energy needed for one manufactured in 2000. While the number of major appliances used in households increased 33%, energy consumption decreased 18%.

Minor appliances – fast growth of higher efficiency products

The energy used to power smaller appliances, such as televisions, computers and mobile phones more than doubled in the past 20 years, as the effect of lower energy use per unit only partially offset that of rising numbers of minor appliances.

For the 2000 – 2019 period, the number of mobile phones used in Canada is estimated to have almost quadrupled from 8.7 million to 34.4 million. For the same period, the number of households with internet access more than doubled, from 6 million to 13.4 million.

The 58 PJ increase in minor appliances energy use was partially offset by the 18 PJ decrease in major appliances energy use.

Space cooling Space cooling

Between 2000 and 2019, the energy used to cool homes increased from 13 PJ to 25 PJ. This increase would have been higher without more efficient room and central air conditioners.

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Space cooling system stock and energy use, 2000–2019

System stock Energy use
2000 1.00 1.00
2001 1.06 1.66
2002 1.12 2.02
2003 1.19 1.56
2004 1.28 1.22
2005 1.38 2.45
2006 1.52 1.92
2007 1.56 1.99
2008 1.63 1.49
2009 1.64 1.25
2010 1.69 2.39
2011 1.73 2.39
2012 1.76 2.68
2013 1.80 1.88
2014 1.84 1.74
2015 1.88 2.21
2016 1.92 2.79
2017 1.95 2.12
2018 1.99 2.85
2019 2.03 1.89

Along with the increase in the number and size of households, more Canadians have air conditioners at home, increasing energy use for cooling significantly. Meanwhile, cooling energy use was very volatile because of drastic changes in weather conditions. However, the following actions by Canadians helped offset some of the energy consumption:

  • Using ENERGY STAR ™ certified room or central air conditioners
  • Using programmable thermostats

In 2019, compared to 2000, the stock of room and central air conditioners was 41% and 32% more efficient, respectively.

Lighting Lighting

The increased use of energy-saving light bulbs, such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes), led to a decrease in lighting energy use per household.

Despite the increase in the number of households between 2000 and 2019, lighting energy use per household decreased 25% from 4.7 GJ to 3.6 GJ per household, because of the following practices:

  • Using LED light bulbs
  • Using outdoor lights with motion detectors
  • Using timers for holiday lights
  • Turning off unnecessary lights
  • Using task lighting instead of ceiling lights
  • Choosing light bulbs with a wattage that matches the purpose of the room/area
  • Using multiple switches and light dimmers
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Total Canadian light bulbs by type and number of bulbs per household, 2019

Number of light bulbs Bulbs per household
Incandescent 239,386,562 15.87
CFL 96,154,843 6.37
Halogen 26,862,540 1.71
Fluorescent 37,585,467 2.49
LED 82,609,788 5.48
Total Stock 481,599,200 31.92