Home heating is an energy story that starts with two bits of good news!

Thanks to building codes that demand more insulation and better windows and more efficient boilers (furnaces), energy demand for heating has dropped by up to 70% since the 1990s.³

To boot, use of the dirtiest fuels has plummeted. Before WWII, 75% of US homes (and similar shares in Europe) relied on coal. Then oil took over. Fast forward to the past 20 years: in 2000, 26% of EU homes still used oil, now just 15% do. And only 4% still use coal.

And that adds up to a sharp drop in GHG emissions! But a huge challenge remains: in Europe, natural gas still supplies 39% of residential space heating and many old homes are still terribly inefficient. So, staying warm still counts for about 14% of total emissions.

While techies and governments work the big picture challenges, we can all do little things to reduce consumption – without giving up comfort.