Almost 70 percent of Tipperary households still rely on high carbon fuels for home heating

Ireland’s move away from high carbon fuels is lagging significantly, with the number of homes using oil for home heating increasing, combined with continued reliance on solid fuels.

That’s according to a report published by Liquid Gas Ireland (LGI), examining national trends in home heating energy sources based on CSO Census data from 2011–2022.

‘The role of liquid gas in providing accessible lower carbon heating for Irish homes’ reveals how 69% of all households in Tipperary currently rely on high carbon fuels including oil, peat, and coal.

As the representative body for companies operating in the LPG and BioLPG industry, LGI argues these trends put key objectives of the National Residential Retrofit and Climate Action Plans at serious risk.

Key findings from LGI’s analysis of Census data include: 

46% of all households nationally rely on either oil, peat, or coal;

The total number of households in Tipperary using oil for home heating has increased since 2016 by 1,882 to 37,325 (60%). Consequently, there are now more houses in Tipperary which rely on oil for central heating than there were in 2011;

Four percent of Tipperary households continue to use peat, while five percent rely on coal;

188,981 households nationally are occupied by a person aged 65 years and older living alone. Of this group, 86,057 (46%) rely on oil for central heating, 9,818 (five percent) use peat, and 9,587 (five percent) rely on coal.

Only 39% of Ireland’s housing stock – 827,634 homes – had a valid energy efficiency (BER) rating at the end of 2022 and less than 20% had ratings of B2 or above.

The average age of Ireland’s housing stock presents another challenge to achieving the Government’s retrofitting targets, with 65% of all houses built before 2001. This equates to just over 1.2 million homes, which are typically less energy efficient and more costly to heat.