Did you have a good summer? In a country where winter seems to stretch from October to April, the months in between are a welcome respite. The longer, brighter days and mostly drier, warmer weather is the boost we need before facing winter again. Once the last stinker of a winter energy bill hits your inbox in April, your bank account is ready for a break. You’ll get a breather on some bills until November if you’re lucky.
The Jumper Games
Those who grew up pre-noughties might be familiar with the fun family game “Let’s see how long we last before switching the heating on”. It was played alongside “How many scratchy jumpers can you wear at once?” Someone usually cracked by mid-November. The heating got cranked up and so did the bills.
The energy crisis means a whole new generation has come to know these games. The average annual gas bill for a three-bed house is €1,482, according to price comparison website Switcher.ie. The average annual electricity bill is €1,755.
Daylight savings?
But back to summer, the season that is all about savings: daylight savings should mean money savings.
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It turns out that “inefficient energy behaviour remains broadly unchanged between summer and winter” – that’s according to Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) data comparing summer 2023 with the preceding winter.
Use of heating in summer was much less prevalent, as expected, according to the SEAI’s Behavioural Energy and Travel Tracker, an online survey that ran from May to September 2023. Most people did not heat their homes throughout the study period.
One in 10 participants, however, continued to use some form of heating on any given day across summer 2023. One in five used heating in July and August. Central heating was the most common option, followed by stoves and fires.
Those who lived alone and apartment dwellers were less likely to heat their homes in the summer, while people under 35 were more likely to.
We were a bit confused about the cost, too. More than three in five participants incorrectly believed electricity was cheaper at off-peak times for anyone with a smart meter.
About three in 10 believed that setting the thermostat to a higher temperature would make a room heat up faster. Nope.
[ It’s summer, but winter is coming. Act on this advice now to make it less costlyOpens in new window ]
In hot water?
Taking multiple showers or baths, taking a long shower of more than 10 minutes or running a full bath is regarded as inefficient use of hot water. Some 12 per cent of participants did at least one of these things on any given day, winter or summer. Women and the under-35s were more likely to use hot water inefficiently.
Wind savings?
There is nothing more satisfying than a line of washing in summer, right? Tumble-dryer use was lower in summer but still prevalent, according to the SEAI data. More than a quarter of participants who did a wash on a given day last summer used their tumble dryer.
Do we walk more in summer?
Summer should mean more walking and less driving, too. Turns out we use our cars in much the same way whatever the season. Last summer, seven in 10 journeys continued to be taken by car and one in five participants travelled by car for a short journey on any given day.
The factors most associated with travelling by car for journeys under 2km were higher income, being female, aged over 35, living in rural areas and living as a family.
Shopping or errands was the most common purpose of short car journeys under 2km. Over the summer months, social/leisure/sport activity was the second most common purpose. In the preceding winter, the second most common purpose of these shorter journeys was bringing children to school or activities.
The study doesn’t offer solutions, but safer walking routes and more family friendly policies in general might make walking or cycling more feasible.
While most of us feel we are already making an effort to use energy sustainably, there is room for improvement, says the SEAI. Last summer comprised a hot June, a wet July and a stormy August, according to Met Éireann. But it wasn’t exactly winter.
Summer isn’t over yet. Maybe we can try our best for the rest of it and do better again next year.