The cost of home energy rose dramatically in 2022, making heating homes over winter more expensive than usual for UK households.
The price cap, a maximum unit price UK consumers can be charged for energy in their homes set by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), has risen since the start of 2022. It means the average annual bill for households has increased from £1,277 to £4,279, although government support means average costs for consumers will remain at £2,500 a year until April 2023.
These price rises have contributed to higher living costs for many households, particularly during winter. Across Great Britain, 6 in 10 adults (60%) said they were somewhat, or very, worried about keeping warm in their home over winter, and around a quarter (24%) said they had been occasionally, hardly ever or never able to keep warm in their home in the last two weeks. This is according to the latest data from our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey covering 7 to 18 December 2022.
Over half (56%) of adults said they were reducing their energy use because of rising costs, and almost half (47%) said they were finding it very or somewhat difficult to pay energy bills.
How a home is heated affects energy costs and what financial support is available. Census 2021 data show how heating sources vary across England and Wales.
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Percentage of households by central heating type, by geographical area, England and Wales, 2021
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Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021
We have looked at how homes are heated across thousands of small geographical areas known as Middle-layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs). We refer to these as neighbourhoods, or use specific names created by the House of Commons Library.
Mains gas central heating was by far the most common way that households heated their homes. Around three in four households (74%) in England and Wales said it was their only central heating source.
However, there were some places where people depended far more on other heating sources. The latest Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) fuel poverty data covering 2020 show that households in England with a main fuel source other than mains gas, such as electricity, oil and coal, had higher average fuel costs. This predates the large rises in energy prices seen since 2021.
More than half of households in some neighbourhoods said they relied solely on electricity for their central heating, while in others more than half only used oil.
The number of households with no central heating also outnumbered those centrally heated by renewable energy only in the vast majority of neighbourhoods.
Electric heating most common in and around cities
Census 2021 found that around 2.1 million households across England and Wales said they had electric-only heating, around 9% of all households.
That made it the third-most common heating type, after mains gas and those with a mix of central heating types (excluding renewable energy).
Our previous analysis found that, once other important factors such as the age and type of property were accounted for, homes with electric heating were more likely to have a lower Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating than those with mains gas.
Greater Manchester had 4 of the 10 neighbourhoods most reliant on electric-only heating
Percentage of households by central heating type, by geographical area, England and Wales, 2021
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Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021
Many of the places where a high percentage of households had electric-only heating were in urban areas. The highest was in Manchester’s Castlefield and Deansgate neighbourhood, where 84% of households had it as their only heating source.
According to the latest BEIS data covering England in 2020, households who had electricity as their main fuel type faced higher average fuel costs than the average for all main fuel types. They were also more likely to be fuel poor, meaning they had a low EPC rating and their disposable household income fell below the official poverty line after paying for housing and energy costs.
More than half of households in some neighbourhoods heat their homes only with oil
Across England and Wales, 865,940 households said oil was their only source of central heating.
While that only accounts for around 3% of all households, the percentage was much higher in some neighbourhoods, especially in parts of the East of England.
7 out of the 10 areas where oil-only heating was most common were in the East of England
Percentage of households by central heating type, by geographical area, England and Wales, 2021
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Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021
Parts of Wales were also reliant on oil for central heating, with 68% of households in Llan-non, Cross Hands and Pen-y-groes in Carmarthenshire using just oil – more than any other neighbourhood.
Homes heated by mains gas and electricity are covered by the Energy Price Guarantee, which limits the amount consumers can be charged per unit of energy used and came into effect in October 2022.
Homes using any alternative heating fuels such as oil, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), coal and biomass are not covered by the Energy Price Guarantee, but are eligible for an Alternative Fuel Payment of £200.
The three neighbourhoods where having no central heating was most common were in the South West
A minority of households in England and Wales (1%) did not have any central heating, although that still amounted to 367,130 homes.
In around 6,500 out of 7,260 neighbourhoods (89%), there were more households with no central heating than those centrally heated by renewable energy only. Overall, less than 1% of households in England and Wales said their central heating was powered by renewables only.
While households without central heating may have other ways of heating their homes, a lack of central heating is one of the characteristics used in our Census 2021 data to identify potential household deprivation.
The Isles of Scilly had the highest percentage of households with no central heating (18%), although its small population means that relatively few households could represent a large percentage.
That was followed by St Just and Land's End in Cornwall (8%), while several other neighbourhoods in the county had relatively high percentages of households without central heating.
Around 8% of households in St Just and Land's End had no central heating
Percentage of households by central heating type, by geographical area, England and Wales, 2021
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Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021
Many other neighbourhoods with the highest percentages of households with no central heating were in cities, including parts of Leeds, Birmingham and London.
Relatively few homes are centrally heated with renewable energy
Only 98,730 households in England and Wales said their central heating was powered completely by renewable energy, less than 1% of the total.
However, a further 134,650 (also less than 1% of all households) had multiple sources of central heating, including renewables.
5 of the top 10 areas for renewable-only heating were in Cornwall
Percentage of households by central heating type, by geographical area, England and Wales, 2021
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Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021
The neighbourhoods with the highest percentage of homes centrally heated by renewables were mostly in the East of England and Cornwall.