Energy facts and figures

• Energy use in Plymouth
• Carbon dioxide emissions
• Energy prices
• Energy efficiency of homes in Plymouth
• Energy efficiency schemes in Plymouth
• Energy units explained

Energy consumption statistics may not mean much if you are not familiar with the units and terms used.

Energy use in Plymouth

Plymouth householders use less energy on average than any other town or city in the south west region. In 2007, 1,785 gigawatt hours of energy was consumed in the housing sector in Plymouth. Of this, 72 per cent was gas and 25 per cent electricity. Coal and other fuels account for the rest.

Nationally, the average annual gas and electricity consumption per household in 2007 was 22,338 kWh. In Plymouth the average was 17,221 kWh, 23 per cent lower than the national average:

• There are 112,700 domestic electricity consumers and 100,600 gas consumers in the city
• About 75 per cent of the energy used in the average household is for heating and hot water
• Average annual energy consumption per customer in Plymouth is 17,221 kWh - 3,916 kWh electricity plus 13,305 kWh gas

An energy survey of Plymouth residents in 2005 found the following levels of appliance ownership in the city:

• 97 per cent have a television
• 90 per cent a washing machine
• 80 per cent a video recorder
• 67 per cent a DVD player
• 65 per cent a fridge-freezer
• 58 per cent a fridge
• 51 per cent a freezer
• 51 per cent a tumble drier
• 45 per cent a digital TV tuner
• 26 per cent a dishwasher

The figures show that many households had a fridge freezer as well as a fridge or a freezer.

Carbon dioxide emissions

Carbon dioxide is the most important 'greenhouse gas'. It makes a substantial contribution to global warming. It is very important therefore that we do everything we can to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Plymouth householders are responsible for less carbon dioxide than the average householder in Britain. Of the 45 local councils in the south west only two have lower carbon dioxide emissions - Exeter and Weymouth and Portland.

• Housing carbon dioxide emissions nationally are 2.53 tonnes per person; the average for the South West is 2.54 tonnes and for Plymouth is 2.53 tonnes
• Average housing carbon dioxide emissions in Plymouth are 4.61 tonnes per household
• In Plymouth housing, gas consumption is responsible for 47.1 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, electricity is responsible for 46.7 per cent, oil 4.8 per cent and solid fuel 1.1 per cent
• Total carbon dioxide emissions in all sectors in Plymouth in 2003 was 1,410,000 tonnes, or about 5.7 tonnes per person; the housing sector was responsible for about 38 per cent of these emissions

Energy prices

A large number of Plymouth residents are paying more for their energy than they need to. The amount that people pay for a unit of gas or electricity varies from one person to another. There are three factors that affect how much we pay:

• How do we pay for energy, eg direct debit; key meter?
• Do we buy gas and electricity from the same supplier?
• Do we buy gas and electricity from an 'out of area' supplier?

The payment method is important. Those who pay by direct debit pay less than someone who pays by prepayment key meter. The energy companies claim that they are narrowing the gap, but the evidence from Government statistics continues to show that direct debit is cheaper per unit of energy than any other payment method.

Having a 'dual fuel' tariff is very important. Discounts are available for people who purchase gas and electricity from the same company.

When the Government privatised the gas and electricity supply industry, they encouraged competition by forcing the 'home supplier' to charge higher prices in their area than anywhere else. The 'home supplier' (technically PES or Public Electricity Supplier) of electricity in the south west was South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) now known as Electricite de France (EDF). The 'home supplier' of gas is British Gas. Thus, if you live in Plymouth and you buy electricity from EDF and gas from British Gas, you are paying more for energy than you need to.

To ensure you are paying the lowest price per unit of energy you should have a dual-fuel tariff with an out-of-area supplier and pay by direct debit. Such a person in Plymouth pays 2.67p per unit of gas and 10.60p per unit of electricity.

Those who are getting the worst deal buy gas and electricity from different 'in-area' companies and pay by prepayment key meter. In Plymouth these people pay 3.62p per unit of gas and 18.31p per unit of electricity.

For a household consuming 17,221 kWh per year the person with the best deal would pay £770, whilst the person with the worst would pay £1,198 - over 35 per cent more!

There are some differences between what people in Plymouth pay per unit of energy than people elsewhere. For example, the average direct debit electricity tariff (2008 figures) is 11.39p (UK) and 11.98p (Plymouth). This is explained in part by the fact that a high proportion of Plymouth residents have not switched from the former public electricity supplier.

The Plymouth energy survey (2005) indicated that those on the lowest incomes were paying the highest prices. For example, people on benefits are much more likely to pay by prepayment key meter than direct debit.

• 55 per cent of Plymouth householders have a dual-fuel tariff
• 57 per cent pay by direct debit
• 24 per cent pay by cash or cheque
• 9 per cent pay by prepayment key meter
• 5 per cent pay by budget plan
• Only 3 per cent of homeowners pay by prepayment key meter, compared to 18 to 23 per cent of tenants

Energy efficiency of homes in Plymouth

The Home Energy Conservation Act (1995) required local authorities to calculate the measures required to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock by 30 per cent over a 10 to 15 year period from April 1996. Councils - known as 'Energy Conservation Authorities' - are required to provide a Progress Report every year that explains how this target is being achieved and what progress has been made.

By April 2006 the energy efficiency of the housing stock of about 106,000 dwellings has improved by about 18 per cent. We have until 2011 to achieve the 30 per cent improvement.

Download a copy of the tenth annual Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) progress report from the documents table below.

The HECA is likely to be reviewed by parliament later in 2009. This page will be updated to reflect any changes made.

A measure of the energy efficiency of housing is the Government-approved Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating. The current version - SAP 2001 - provides a rating on a score from 0 (zero) to 120, where zero is very poor and 120 is very good. Average SAP ratings in Plymouth are:

• Council rented: 78
• Housing association rented: 65
• Homeowners: 60
• Private rented: 57

For comparison, the average SAP in England is 51 (council rented) and 58 (private sector).

Energy efficiency schemes in Plymouth

There are three main schemes providing grants and discounts for energy efficiency measures in Plymouth.

Energy units explained

Gas and electricity is sold in units of 'kilowatt hours' (kWh). A kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts used for one hour. A 100 watt light bulb left on for ten hours will use 1 unit - kWh - of energy. If you look around your house you will see that most of your electrical appliances will have a plate that shows how much energy they consume in watts. Typical wattages of appliances are:

• Electric shower - 8,000W
• Dishwasher - 3,000W
• Immersion heater - 3,000W
• Tumble drier - 2,500W
• Washing machine - 2,500W
• Kettle - 2,000W
• Iron - 1,200W
• Microwave oven - 800W
• Television - 70W
• CD player - 15W

You can work out roughly how much it costs to run each of the appliances in your home. You might be surprised by some of them! At the moment a unit of electricity (kWh) costs about 12 pence. The arithmetic is wattage/1,000 x time in minutes/60 = kWh.

Example 1

Run a 2,500W tumble drier for 50 minutes: 2,500/1,000 x 50/60 = 2.08 kWh
The cost of this is:2.08 x 12 = 24.96 pence

Example 2

Boil a kettle of water in 5 minutes: 2,000/1,000 x 5/60 = 0.167 kWh
The cost would be:0.167 x 12 = 2.004 pence

What these examples demonstrate is the importance of the time we use appliances for. Although the kettle uses not much less energy than the tumble drier, it is only on for five minutes and therefore the cost is considerably less.

A kilowatt hour (kWh) is 1,000 watts for one hour. A gigawatt hour (GWh) is 1,000 kilowatt hours.

For comparison, a litre of fuel oil is equivalent to 11.69 kWh.

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