Amsterdammers save 8 percent on heating costs, discount for old houses | Amsterdam
NewsAs a result of the sky-high energy prices, households in the Amsterdam region are using about 8 percent less natural gas than last year. According to new research, the year of construction of the houses appears to have a major influence, just as it also plays a role if residents are elderly or on benefits.
From the moment gas prices rose at the end of last year, households in and around Amsterdam immediately started burning less, according to an analysis by the municipal statistics bureau O&S. This suggests that they will save more in the course of the year, because the energy bill continued to rise.
The study also shows that households saved more, their older home had a poorer energy label. In homes with energy label A, B or C, the average income fell by about 7.5 percent. The reduction was strongest in residential blocks with lost energy labels, with just under 10 percent less gas consumption than in 2021.
Worse insulated
It is a well-known phenomenon that more gas is burned in older houses and in houses with a lower energy label. It is certain that they are minimally insulated. The O&D figures once again show that homes built after 2000 use up to half as much gas as in pre-war homes.
The researchers further looked at the age of residents and their financial capabilities to play a role. The influence of this is much smaller. The higher the share of over-65s within residential blocks, the higher the savings. In neighborhoods where many residents receive benefits, energy consumption actually falls less than average.
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The differences are ‘subtle’, as O&SA researcher Joris Klingen calls it, and therefore difficult to confuse. In neighborhoods where about 20 percent of the residents are on benefits, there will be less room to invest in saving measures. Another possibility is that they used the stove little before the energy prices went through the roof.
O&S was able to draw on figures from network manager Liander for the analysis. These provide data down to the level of city blocks on gas consumption in the ‘Metropool region’ around Amsterdam. These figures are not suitable for comparing neighborhoods with each other. Especially in Amsterdam they are strongly influenced by the many companies that, like households, have a small consumer connection.
Landsmeer saved the most
Other O&S figures show that within the region there are large differences between municipalities, again due to the age and size of homes. In Almere, for example, gas consumption fell least by 6.9 percent. That the houses there are relatively new must be the explanation. In Amsterdam, 8.5 percent less gas was used than in previous years, while the savings in Landsmeer were the greatest at 11.9 percent.
For the whole of the Netherlands, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) registered a decline of no less than 25 percent in gas consumption in the first half of 2022. This was also attributed to the high gas price, but mainly due to savings by the industry (30 percent). and power plants (-28 percent). According to Statistics Netherlands, households use 16 percent less natural gas.
Weather influences
The difference with the O&S figures for Amsterdam and the surrounding area is largely explained by the fact that the Liander data are forecasts for the whole of 2022 that are based on weather influences. In the CBS figures, savings by households are extra high because the mild spring of 2022 is compared to that of 2021, with a downright cold April and ice fun in February.
It is precisely the intention of E&SA to identify as many structural savings as possible. The European Union wants gas consumption to be about 15 percent lower this winter. That target figure was also mentioned for Amsterdam at the beginning of this year by then alderman Marieke van Doorninck when, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they convened companies, government and social organizations to quickly save more gas. About 15 percent of Dutch gas consumption came from Russia.
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