Average energy consumption in the Netherlands
By Laurens Arends · updated 05-10-2026
What do we mean by average energy consumption?
Based on the CBS figures for 2024, Milieu Centraal gives an average of 1.040 m³ gas and 2.430 kWh electricity supply for homes with an individual central heating boiler or block heating. PBL estimates an average of 928 m³ gas per gas-heated home and 1.747 kWh net electricity per home for 2026. Above all, the reporting year and the difference between gross and net electricity supply explain why these figures diverge.
The average energy consumption that CBS uses is based on net electricity. This means that the solar electricity fed back is deducted. Some sources use the gross electricity supply and state the feed-in separately. The question is also which homes are included in the average. Sometimes, for example, only homes with gas heating are included.
This is done because homes with heat pumps strongly push up the electricity average and cause the average gas consumption to drop sharply. As a result, the figures paint a distorted picture. These are measurement choices that are not a problem in themselves, as long as they are accounted for transparently. In any case, always check the definition before you compare your average electricity consumption or average gas consumption with the figures.
A national average energy consumption is difficult to compare in any case. For example, the average energy consumption of a 1-person household will be lower than the average energy consumption of a 4-person household.
The same applies to the average energy consumption of a new-build terraced house compared with that of a detached villa from the sixties. So always compare with comparable figures and take into account the home type, the number of occupants, the year of construction, the heating system and whether or not solar panels are present.
Average electricity and gas consumption in the Netherlands
The average electricity and gas consumption in the Netherlands gives a first impression, but says little about your personal situation. Energy consumption depends on, among other things, the household size, the home type, the floor area, the year of construction, the insulation and the way in which you heat the home. That is why we break down the Dutch CBS figures further. That way you can compare your consumption with households and homes that better match your situation.
For the tables we do not use foreign household averages. For the Netherlands, detailed CBS measurements are available that already provide in-depth insights. Moreover, the climate, the housing stock and heating systems differ too much per country to compare consumption figures directly with each other.
Foreign research sometimes does look more extensively at, for example, the type of insulation, the heating system and the behaviour of occupants. Such studies can help to explain relationships, but do not form a reliable Dutch standard for the number of kWh of electricity or m³ of gas.
Average energy consumption per household size
The number of occupants mainly affects the average electricity consumption. More occupants use the washing machine, shower, dishwasher and electrical appliances more often. The average gas consumption rises less quickly with more occupants, because space heating depends mainly on the size and insulation of the home. In general, larger families do live in larger homes. Because the average floor area increases with a larger family, the average gas consumption in a larger family is still higher than in a small family.
The table below combines two relevant CBS selections. The electricity column shows the gross electricity supply of all private homes. Gross electricity supply here means the supply from the public grid before deduction of electricity fed back. Solar electricity used directly in the home has not been measured and is therefore not part of this supply. The gas column relates to all homes. That is to say: including homes with district heating or little to no gas consumption.
| Household size | Average electricity consumption per year (gross) | Average electricity consumption per occupant (gross) | Average gas consumption per year | Average gas consumption per floor area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 1.650 kWh | 1.650 kWh | 730 m³ | 8,7 m³/m² |
| 2 people | 2.610 kWh | 1.310 kWh | 920 m³ | 7,9 m³/m² |
| 3 people | 3.170 kWh | 1.060 kWh | 1.010 m³ | 8,4 m³/m² |
| 4 people | 3.710 kWh | 930 kWh | 1.080 m³ | 8,1 m³/m² |
| 5 people or more | 4.070 kWh | 750 kWh | 1.200 m³ | 8,4 m³/m² |
Source: CBS StatLine, Energieverbruik woningen, provisional figures for 2024. Gas consumption has been corrected for temperature and relates to all private homes. The electricity figures are before deduction of feed-in and exclude directly consumed solar electricity.
A single-person household uses relatively much energy per person, because fixed consumers such as the fridge, modem, lighting, kitchen and bathroom are not shared with housemates. A whole home is also heated for one occupant. That is to say: a whole bathroom for one person, a whole kitchen for one person and so on.
This explains the high electricity consumption per person and can partly explain the higher gas consumption per square metre. However, home type, year of construction, insulation and heating behaviour also play a role. In larger households, the fixed consumption is spread over more people, so that electricity consumption per person drops clearly.
Average energy consumption per home type
For gas, the home type usually says more than the number of occupants: the average gas consumption per floor area fluctuates between 7,9 and 8,9 m³/m² for every household size. That is why it is more useful to look at the type of home. A detached house has more external walls and usually more floor area than a flat. As a result, more heat is needed.
According to the CBS measurements, a gas-heated detached house used more than twice as much gas as a gas-heated flat in 2024 (1.440 m³ compared with 630 m³). That also has a lot to do with the size of the home. The average gas consumption per floor area fluctuates less strongly, namely between 7,6 m³/m² and 8,9 m³/m².
| Home type | Average electricity consumption per year | Average gas consumption per year | Average gas consumption per floor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | 1.830 kWh | 630 m³ | 8,9 m³/m² |
| Mid-terrace house | 2.530 kWh | 880 m³ | 7,6 m³/m² |
| End-of-terrace house | 2.730 kWh | 1.010 m³ | 8,6 m³/m² |
| Semi-detached house | 3.140 kWh | 1.150 m³ | 8,5 m³/m² |
| Detached house | 4.040 kWh | 1.440 m³ | 7,9 m³/m² |
Source: CBS StatLine, Energieverbruik woningen, provisional figures for 2024. Electricity relates to all private homes. Gas has been corrected for temperature and relates to all private homes. The values have been rounded to tens.
Note that a flat has a higher average gas consumption per floor area than a detached house. This is counter-intuitive and can have various causes. However, it does not automatically mean that flats are on average less well insulated.
In a small home, for example, the gas consumption for hot water and cooking is spread over fewer square metres. This shows that floor area alone is not yet a good yardstick for explaining differences in gas consumption. That makes comparing the average gas consumption between home types very difficult.
Average energy consumption per year of construction
The year of construction gives a first impression of the original insulation and building requirements. It does not say exactly how energy-efficient a home is now. This is because CBS does not change the registered year of construction after a renovation. A home from 1930 that has roof insulation, HR++ glass and a heat pump after a thorough renovation remains a home from the period before 1946 in the statistics.
The following table therefore distinguishes between all homes and homes that are actually heated with an individual central heating boiler or block heating on gas. Unlike in the previous tables, it is therefore not about all homes. This improves the comparability between years of construction.
| Construction period | Electricity supply gross per year | Electricity supply net per year | Gas all homes | Gas gas-heated homes | Gas per m² with gas heating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1946 | 2.640 kWh | 2.110 kWh | 1.170 m³ | 1.220 m³ | 11,1 m³/m² |
| 1946 to 1965 | 2.400 kWh | 1.840 kWh | 1.010 m³ | 1.060 m³ | 11,0 m³/m² |
| 1965 to 1975 | 2.460 kWh | 1.830 kWh | 980 m³ | 1.080 m³ | 9,9 m³/m² |
| 1975 to 1992 | 2.410 kWh | 1.720 kWh | 890 m³ | 980 m³ | 9,4 m³/m² |
| 1992 to 2006 | 2.700 kWh | 1.870 kWh | 800 m³ | 950 m³ | 7,8 m³/m² |
| 2006 to 2015 | 2.630 kWh | 1.960 kWh | 640 m³ | 850 m³ | 7,3 m³/m² |
| 2015 to present | 2.890 kWh | 1.800 kWh | 330 m³ | 770 m³ | 6,6 m³/m² |
Source: own selection from CBS StatLine, Energieverbruik woningen, provisional figures for 2024. Gas has been corrected for temperature. Gross electricity is the electricity supplied to the home from the grid. Net electricity is that supply minus the electricity fed back. Directly used solar electricity and collective electricity consumption of, for example, lifts and gallery lighting have not been measured. Within this measurement, the last row covers homes from 2015 up to and including 2024 (CBS speaks of “present” when they mean 2024).
What can you conclude from these figures?
In gas-heated homes, consumption per square metre falls from 11,1 m³ in the oldest construction period to 6,6 m³ in homes from 2015 onwards. That is a difference of about 41 percent. The increasingly strict insulation and energy performance requirements are a plausible explanation for this.
The average gas consumption of all homes falls even more sharply, from 1.170 to 330 m³. That difference of about 72 percent is not only due to better insulation. Of the homes from 2015 onwards, 19,3 percent had district heating in 2024 according to the same CBS table. Moreover, newer homes are increasingly heated with a heat pump. Such homes use little or no gas and therefore pull down the average of the entire construction period.
This is not clearly shown in the table above, because the table only includes individual central heating boilers or block heating on gas. In reality, the difference in average gas consumption across the different years of construction will therefore be even greater. For a comparison of the structural performance, the gas consumption of gas-heated homes is nevertheless more useful.
1946
Homes from before 1946 were built before thermal insulation became an important building requirement. According to Milieu Centraal, homes from before 1975 were not insulated or barely insulated when completed. Solid walls, single glazing and uninsulated roofs and floors were common. Yet this construction period does not consist exclusively of small, poor homes. According to CBS and the Kadaster, the remaining stock from before 1945 consists for the most part of multi-family homes.
The share of detached houses is considerably higher in the stock from before 1945 than in the total housing stock. It is mainly the large old detached houses that have been preserved; the old terraced houses have been demolished more often. That can partly contribute to the higher absolute gas consumption of this construction period. At the same time, it is precisely these homes that have often already been renovated. The current average of 1.220 m³ with gas heating is therefore not a measurement of the home as it was originally completed.
to 1975
After the Second World War, the Netherlands had to solve a large housing shortage quickly. In the period 1945 to 1965, many standardised terraced houses, walk-up flats and other system-built homes were therefore built. According to CBS, the majority of the housing stock from 1945 to 1965 consists of terraced houses. Within the wider construction period 1965 to 1985, the share of terraced houses only increases further.
Especially in the expansion districts from the sixties and seventies, large numbers of similar family homes were built. Insulation still had little priority in this period. Concrete facade elements, limited insulation layers and thermal bridges can increase heat loss. Renovation programmes, new glazing and retrofitted insulation did later improve some of these homes. That helps explain why the measured gas consumption is lower than you would expect based on the original build quality.
to 1992
From the mid-seventies onwards, homes were insulated better as standard. Milieu Centraal describes homes from 1975 to 1983 as moderately insulated in the roof and cavity wall. Homes from 1983 to 1992 usually had moderate insulation in the roof, facade and floor. Double glazing and mechanical ventilation also became more common. That improvement is visible in the CBS figures. The gas consumption of gas-heated homes drops to an average of 980 m³ and 9,4 m³ per square metre.
to 2006
With the Building Decree of 1992, national requirements for, among other things, the thermal resistance of the building envelope became more important. Milieu Centraal rates homes from 1992 to 2000 as reasonably insulated and homes from 2000 onwards as reasonably to well insulated. From 1996, the energy performance coefficient, the EPC, was also used to limit the total building-related energy performance of new builds. The requirement started at 1,4 and was then tightened step by step.
The EPC looks not only at insulation, but also at heating, ventilation and installations. Many Vinex districts were built in this period. Within the wider stock from 1985 to 2005, about 45 percent consists of terraced houses. This is shown by the figures from CBS and the Kadaster. The relatively large Vinex family homes partly explain why the absolute gas consumption is still fairly high at 950 m³. Per square metre, consumption falls more clearly to 7,8 m³.
to 2015
From 2006, a maximum EPC of 0,8 applied to new homes. As of 1 January 2011, this requirement was tightened to 0,6. As a result, homes got better insulation, more economical heating systems and more often energy-efficient ventilation. The average of all homes from this construction period is only 640 m³ gas.
This is partly caused by the share of homes with a different heat supply. For example, according to CBS, a considerable part of these homes has district heating. Among exclusively gas-heated homes, the average is 850 m³ and 7,3 m³ per square metre.
From 2015: strictly insulated and increasingly gas-free
From 2015, an EPC of at most 0,4 applied to new-build homes. As of 1 July 2018, the regular obligation to connect new builds to natural gas then lapsed. As a result, in most cases new builds had to use a heat network, heat pump or other heat supply. Since 1 January 2021, the requirements for nearly energy-neutral buildings, the BENG requirements, have applied. These set separate limits on the energy demand, the fossil energy use and the share of renewable energy.
That is why low gas consumption in new builds goes hand in hand with higher gross electricity consumption. Heat pumps, electric cooking and other electrical installations shift part of the energy demand from gas to electricity. At the same time, 57 percent of the homes from 2015 onwards had registered solar panels in 2024. Newer homes are moreover relatively often flats.
The low gas demand of the newest category is therefore due to a combination of stricter requirements, smaller homes, a different mix of home types and different heating systems. Bear in mind that the figures in the table only relate to homes that are actually heated with an individual central heating boiler or block heating on gas.
Renovations make the year of construction less predictive
In general, we observe a decrease in gas consumption per m² the more recent the home is. Recently, this goes together with higher electricity supply due to the rise of heat pumps. The difference is smaller than the original building requirements would suggest. This is a result of renovations.
In other words, the year of construction is a useful first indication for anyone who wants to compare their average energy consumption, but it does not say everything either. The renovations carried out, the home type and the heating system give a much better prediction of your actual energy consumption.
What does an average energy consumption cost per month?
According to CBS, energy costs an average household at the January 2026 price level about € 1.993 per year. Rounded, that is € 166 per month. CBS calculates with the PBL estimate of 928 m³ gas and 1.747 kWh net electricity and incorporates supply, taxes, grid management, fixed costs and the energy tax reduction.
Milieu Centraal uses an average of 1.040 m³ gas and 2.430 kWh electricity per year. These figures relate to homes with an individual central heating boiler or block heating. Fully electrically heated homes and homes with a heat network are not included.
If we calculate this consumption with the average CBS price components for January 2026, we arrive at about € 2.320 per year or € 193 per month. However, this figure is less representative than the CBS figure, because no account is taken of the deduction of feed-in.
At EnergieAanbieding.nl we work with a fixed calculation basis of 2.300 kWh electricity consumption, 900 m³ gas and 1.500 kWh feed-in per year. This is not a statistical average, but a realistic comparison profile for a gas-heated home with solar panels. By calculating every contract with the same consumption and the same feed-in, we can compare deals fairly.
The fixed calculation basis also makes it possible to follow price developments between different years without a changed national average distorting the outcome. It is also the case that annual figures are often only calculated a few years later. For 2026, for example, the provisional figures for 2024 are the most recent data.
Due to the net metering scheme, our own calculation basis leaves a net 800 kWh in 2026: 2.300 kWh consumption minus 1.500 kWh feed-in. With the average CBS price components of January 2026, the energy bill comes to about € 1.710 per year or € 143 per month before feed-in charges.
If we also calculate with the average feed-in charges of € 0,126 per kWh fed back that CBS used in January 2026, € 189 is added. The indicative total then becomes € 1.899 per year or € 158 per month. This is in line with the average for 2026 calculated by CBS of € 166 per month.
| Source or calculation basis | Annual consumption | Feed-in processed? | Costs per year | Costs per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS/PBL forecast 2026 | 928 m³ gas and 1.747 kWh net electricity | Yes, in the net consumption | About € 1.993 | About € 166 |
| Milieu Centraal | 1.040 m³ gas and 2.430 kWh gross electricity supply | No | About € 2.320 | About € 193 |
| EnergieAanbieding.nl, before feed-in charges | 900 m³ gas, 2.300 kWh consumption and 1.500 kWh feed-in | Yes, net 800 kWh remains | About € 1.710 | About € 143 |
| EnergieAanbieding.nl, including average feed-in charges | 900 m³ gas, 2.300 kWh consumption and 1.500 kWh feed-in | Yes, plus € 189 feed-in charges | About € 1.899 | About € 158 |
Table: indicative energy costs at the January 2026 price level. The amounts incorporate the average supply rates, energy tax, fixed supply charges, grid operator charges and energy tax reduction from the CBS calculation. For the last row, the average CBS feed-in charges of € 0,126 per kWh fed back were used. The figures from Milieu Centraal relate to homes with an individual central heating boiler or block heating and use electricity supply before deduction of feed-in.
This is not a prediction of your advance payment. Your contract and supplier can clearly make a difference. In January 2026, CBS calculated a difference of € 196 per year for gas and € 123 for electricity between relatively cheap and expensive contracts. So compare the current energy prices and separately check the gas price.
If you have solar panels, feed-in charges may also apply. CBS did not include these in the average € 1.993. That too is something to take into account. Always look on your current energy bill separately at your consumption, feed-in, supply rates and fixed costs. Do you pay more than a similar household? Then it may well pay off to switch to a cheaper energy supplier.
Are you above it? Check the big consumers
Consumption above the average does not automatically mean that something is wrong. Only compare with a home and household that really resemble your situation. Moreover, you may score higher on average electricity consumption, but lower on average gas consumption. A heat pump, for example, increases electricity consumption, but reduces or replaces gas consumption.
Heating
According to Milieu Centraal, on average 72 percent of gas consumption goes to space heating. A high thermostat setting, poor insulation or heating unused rooms can therefore weigh heavily. So take a look at our tips to save on heating.
Hot water
According to Milieu Centraal, the remaining gas consumption goes mainly to hot water and only a small part to cooking. With high gas consumption, therefore look at the shower time and the number of showers. Read on this website how you can save on hot water.
Tumble dryer and appliances
Appliances that produce heat or are on for a long time can greatly increase your average electricity consumption. Check in particular the tumble dryer, electric supplementary heating, water heater, air conditioning, pond pump and a second fridge. Take a look at our saving tips per appliance.
Frequently asked questions about average energy consumption
What is an average energy consumption for 1 person?
According to CBS, a home with 1 person received an average of 1.650 kWh of electricity from the grid in 2024. A gas-heated single-person home used an average of 840 m³ of gas, corrected for temperature. The home type and insulation can greatly increase or decrease your average energy consumption.
What is an average gas consumption?
For 2026, according to CBS, PBL estimates an average gas consumption of 928 m³ per household. Milieu Centraal gives 1.040 m³ per year on its current consumption page. The difference arises partly because the same housing population and measurement method are not always used.
Is my consumption too high?
Compare your consumption with the same household size, the same home type and the same year of construction. Are you clearly above the values in these tables? Then it may be a good idea to insulate and to look at where you can save energy. Take into account your personal situation and whether it concerns net or gross values.
What does an average household spend on energy per month?
According to CBS, at January 2026 prices an average household pays about € 1.993 per year for energy, or, rounded, € 166 per month. This amount is based on average contract prices and an estimated annual consumption. Your supplier, contract, grid operator and any feed-in charges can make the amount higher or lower.