82.9% reduction in energy consumption in holiday homes over Easter weekend– recent concerns unfounded

Additional ‘lodgers’ in family homes leads to 12.4% increase

45.8% drop in consumption amongst students and young renters as they migrate home

The latest Savills-Pinergy Energy Monitor has revealed that, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, compliance with COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland remains high.

The study, which is a joint initiative between property advisor, Savills and smart energy company, Pinergy, highlights significant evidence of families coming together, and professionals working from home, during the ‘lockdown’ period.

Key findings (year-on-year):

• Energy consumption amongst families is up 12.4%, as many households witness an increase in ‘lodgers’, with adult children moving home for the lockdown period.
• Unsurprisingly, consumption amongst professionals is up 13.4%, with the majority of office-based employees now working from home. The first spike in consumption amongst this category was seen on the 12 March, when all 8,000 of Google’s staff in Ireland were instructed to work from home.

• Consumption in suburban and rural homes is up 10.7%, likely again driven by adult children returning home from city locations
• Amongst city renters, consumption is up slightly by 4.7%
• However, young renters and students are down 45.8%, reflecting the migration of the young adult population back home – either in Ireland or overseas
• In addition, recent concerns regarding members of the public travelling to holiday homes during the Easter break, appear to be unfounded, with an 82.9% reduction in energy consumption in holiday homes throughout Ireland over the Easter Weekend when compared to the same time in 2019.

Sharyn McAndrew, Head of Energy and Sustainability at Savills Ireland comments:

“Despite concerns about members of the public flouting current Government guidelines, it appears, on the whole, that compliance remains high. However, we do expect a significant change in energy consumption patterns over the next month, as the Government’s five phase plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions begins.”

Peter Bastable, Director at Pinergy comments:

“The energy consumption patterns over the past 9 weeks have been fascinating, with the normal usage curves that we track have changed significantly, as many people moved home – or just stayed and worked from home.

Naturally, there will be concerns because of higher volumes of electricity usage, however, our smart metering technology enables our customers to see what they are using and when, which is particularly helpful at the moment. We know that if homes can see their usage data, they can better control and reduce their consumption, by changing small habits.”