Households worldwide use over 2 billion tons of oil equivalents a year

That’s more than 86 billion Gigajoules. Most of this energy still comes from burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels - 83 percent globally.

Households burn oil and coal

The use of energy in all of the world's households is equivalent to burning off 65 tons of oil every second. But it is not only oil. We also burn a lot of coal and gas.

As consumers we consume much more energy

We burn a lot more oil and coal than what is used for energy in our homes. Every time we buy stuff we also use energy because it takes energy to mine, produce, and transport the things we buy.

The future of household energy use?

Household energy use could triple by 2030 compared to 2010 - especially due to power-hungry electronics.

Total global energy consumption could grow 30 percent by 2040 compared to 2018. If nothing changes, mostly by burning more fossil fuels. But green alternatives do exist.

The good news

The potential for renewable energy is huge! The sun could power the world. Easily. In just 80 minutes, the sun provides us with one full year of global energy use.

However, this potential is realized too slowly. The International Energy Agency projects that not before 2035, will solar power be the main source of electricity globally. The use of gas and coal will not peak until after 2030. Global consumption of coal might have already peaked in 2013 but the decline is very limited so another peak could be reached.