Household Energy Consumption

The main objective of the Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS) is to obtain information on energy consumption and energy costs in Latvian households. The survey is carried out every five years and its results are used for the preparation and implementation of energy strategy for Latvia and for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions of Latvia.

The basic unit of the survey is the private household.

The target population of the survey is all private households in Latvia. Collective households (retirement homes for the elderly, boarding schools for disabled children, student hostels, hotels, barracks, hospitals, sanatoriums, penitentiaries, etc.) are not included in the survey.

• Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy statistics.

Statistics database

The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) publishes information on the EU-27 and on a country-by-country basis on its website, in the Energy section's tables:

• Disaggregated final energy consumption in households - quantities (nrg_d_hhq);
• Disaggregated final energy consumption in households - calorific values (nrg_d_hhcv).

Data on household energy consumption are comparable to the 1996, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020 surveys.

EPM397 and MOD23_21

Differences in data between the tables MOD23_21. Renovation measures in the main dwelling – thermal insulation, windows or heating system – within the last 5 years (%) and EPM397. Expenditure on heat per heated area in dwellings which receive heat from an external heat supplier (%, euro/m²) arise from the data collection and compilation methods applied.

In table MOD23_21, data are obtained from the ad hoc module on energy and the environment in the Income and Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC).

In table EPM397, data are obtained from the Survey on Energy Consumption in Households (1-EPM).

Main reasons for differences in the data:

• In table EPM397, information on energy efficiency measures is collected only for dwellings built in 2000 or earlier and is published for dwellings that receive heat from an external heat supplier. The information is used to compare heating costs per square metre of heated floor area and is based on whether energy efficiency measures were implemented in the dwelling during the last five years, distinguished by the number of measures implemented or no measures implemented.
• In table MOD23_21, information on energy efficiency improvements covers all types of dwellings and is derived from respondent responses on whether improvements were carried out and whether they consider that these improvements affected the energy efficiency of the dwelling.

EPM360 and MBI150

Differences in expenditure on energy resources (e.g., between tables MBI150 and EPM360) arise from the data collection and compilation methodologies applied.

In table MBI150, data are obtained from the Household Budget Survey (HBS) and are compiled in accordance with the international Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (ECOICOP/UN COICOP).

Table EPM360 contains data from the Survey on Energy Consumption in Households (1-EPM).

Main reasons for differences in the data:

• HBS is a sample survey conducted approximately once every five years, with the latest available data referring to 2019. The 1-EPM is also a sample survey conducted every five years, with the latest available data referring to 2020.
• In the HBS, consumption expenditure is compiled both in monetary and in-kind terms at current prices of the reference year, whereas the 1-EPM covers monetary expenditure only.
• In the HBS, average expenditure on energy resources is calculated per household member at national level, including households that did not use the respective service.

Data on household energy consumption are collected through a sample survey and participation of households is voluntary. The data sources were:

• 1996, 2001 and 2006 "Household Energy Consumption Survey";
• 2010, 2015 and 2020 "Household Energy Consumption Survey" (form EPM-1).

You can consult the survey forms in the website section Official Statistical Forms. (List of Statistical forms - only in Latvian.)

The sample is evenly distributed throughout the territory of Latvia. The survey covers the household living at a given address.

The sample for the Household Energy Consumption Survey is a two-stage stratified sample.

Final weights are used to obtain the estimates. The final weights are obtained based on the probable inclusion of the sample unit in the sample. The sample is drawn as a two-stage stratified random sample. In the first stage, primary sampling units (PSU) are selected. In the second stage, the sampling units are selected randomly from the selected PSU. This results in design weights, which are the inverse of the value of a sampling unit entering the sample. The resulting design weights are then adjusted for non-response, and finally the weights are calibrated with external information (number of natural gas users and cubic meters consumed). After calibration, the final weights are obtained and used to derive the estimates.

The survey data are generalised to all private households in Latvia.