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We all need electricity. And not just to power our lights, computers, TVs and fridges. Business and industry rely on it too to help deliver the products and services we use every day. But exactly how much electricity do we consume and how? The answers are here.
Electricity is essential to our everyday lives and is used by everybody, from large industrial manufacturers to householders. Final consumption of electricity in 2010 was 328,318 gigawatt hours.
How much electricity we use depends on a range of factors, such as the economy, weather, and electricity prices. However, in the long term electricity consumption has been steadily rising, increasing 52% since 1980. It is likely that electricity consumption will continue to grow in future, especially as electricity is used in more applications, such as electric cars.
The two largest groups of electricity consumers are domestic customers (31%) and industrial users (27%), such as chemicals, paper, metals and food manufacturers. Shops, offices and the public sector account for 25% of electricity consumption. A small proportion of electricity is used in transport and agriculture. These figures exclude the relatively small quantity of electricity that is used by the energy industry itself.
Demand for electricity varies throughout the day, week and year. On a daily basis, demand follows our routines – rising as we wake up, flattening out when we get to work, peaking as we return home and turn on lights and appliances, and falling away again during the evening and as we go to sleep. Electricity demand is highest in the winter, when more electricity is used for heating, lighting and running appliances. Last winter, the peak GB demand was 60.3 GW. To ensure security of supply, there has to be more generating capacity available than the maximum demand.
Using energy more efficiently is a key component of EU and UK energy policy. A number of schemes exist to encourage businesses and householders to use less energy, such as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme for large, non-energy intensive businesses or supplier-led energy efficiency programmes for householders. The Energy Saving Trust can provide you with information on effective ways to reduce your energy consumption and carbon emissions.