Very sharp drop in French electricity and gas consumption in 2022 according to a study Hello Watt Linky Gazpar

Thanks to its free Conso Monitoring application, Hello Watt was able to collect and decipher the data presented in this article, in order to offer you a barometer of electricity and gas consumption in France, in 2022.

This first edition of our barometer shows a significant drop in energy consumption over the year 2022, for both gas and electricity. Several causes can be attributed to this reduction in consumption:

1. 2022 was a year of mild temperatures, having recorded heat records in May, June, October and November. These temperatures have thus enabled individuals to turn on their heating late and therefore consume less energy;
2. whether the Government introduced, in October 2021, a tariff shield to protect consumers from soaring energy prices, linked to the current energy crisis; some French people were still able to bear the brunt of increases in their energy bills. The result is a constraint, for some households, to reduce their consumption, in order to achieve some energy savings;
3. finally, to encourage the French to energy sobriety, a government campaign to raise awareness of eco-gestures was launched in October 2022. A campaign that seems to have an effect, if we are to believe the trends deciphered in this article.

Reminder: what were the consumer trends in France in 2021?

Before studying the evolution of consumption over the whole of 2022, let's recall the trends for 2021.

According to the RTE 2021 report (Electricity Transmission Network), the year 2021 saw an increase in both production (+4,5%) and electricity consumption (+1,7%) compared to compared to the year 2020.

This increase could be partly explained by the covid-19 crisis, which had drastically reduced household production and consumption in 2020.

The figures for 2021 then correspond more to those of the year 2019: a “return to normal” was therefore observed. But has this trend run its course in 2022? We take stock!

Electricity consumption in France: what are the development trends observed in 2022?

So, how has the average electricity consumption of French people changed over the year 2022? To find out, we analyzed the data collected from a sample of users registered on the Hello Watt application.

Total electricity consumption, per month, all dwellings combined

Of the 69 households studied, the data collected allow us to observe a drop in the average monthly electricity consumption of individuals over the year 175, in comparison with the year 2022. The trend is then reversed, compared to the years 2021 to 2020, when energy consumption was on the rise.

We note in particular a sharp drop in the months of October and November 2022, with a reduction in consumption of the respective order of -23,86% and -27,78%!

Although the average electricity consumption of the group studied is down overall, it remains substantially the same over certain periods, namely the months of February, June, July, August and September 2022.

Thanks to the data collected, we were also able to establish that the observed trend (decline or similarity depending on the time of year) is identical for dwellings heated with electricity and for dwellings not equipped with electric heating.

In the same way, if the data for the month of December are not yet available, we can still predict that the trend will remain downward in view of the data observed in the months of October and November.

In addition, the evolution of the price of electricity, which has risen sharply since 2021 despite the introduction of a tariff shield by the Government, is forcing the French population to reduce its consumption so as not to see its energy budget soar...

Another cause may also come into play: since October 17, 2022, the Government has set up a mass advertising campaign, aimed at raising awareness among the French about energy sobriety. The government campaign I lower, I turn off, I shift indeed encourages households to consume less energy, in order to avoid the risk of potential short cuts, announced by RTE.

Electricity consumption after correcting for weather effects, per month

In November 2022, out of the 28% drop in consumption observed compared to the previous year:

• 16% are due to changing consumer behavior;
• and 12% at milder temperatures.

This 16% should be compared with the figures announced by RTE (7%) and EDF (10%): here we see the benefit of having a good tool for monitoring and analyzing consumption based on Linky, such as the Hello Watt consumption monitoring application, to save even more.

Electricity consumption for heating only, per month

According to figures from Climat Air et Énergie, heating represents 66% of the electricity consumption of an apartment (or a house). It is therefore relevant to take an interest in the evolution of the heating consumption of French households registered on the Hello Watt application and heated with electricity in 2022; this in order to assess the trend in electric heating consumption for all French households.

In fact, decomposition algorithms specially created to isolate the heating-only figures run on the Hello Watt consumption tracking application. We can thus determine what is the share of heating on the total consumption of a household. We take stock!

According to the data observed on this sample of 3 households, households heated by electricity have revised their heating consumption downwards over the year 563, and in particular in the months of October and November. We indeed observe a drop in consumption of around -2022% in October and -75,41% in November, in comparison with the year 57,13!

Several causes can be attributed to this general reduction in electrical heating consumption:

1. first of all, the mild temperatures of 2022 have enabled households to delay the heating period, and therefore reduce their consumption of electric heating. This trend can be observed in particular in the months of October and November 2022, which broke heat records (+4°C and +3°C respectively in October and November 2022, compared to 2021) and where notes a sharp drop in consumption compared to 2021;
2. another reason: the inflation of energy prices, which forces many households to lower their heating, or even not to heat themselves, so as not to end up with exorbitant electricity bills…;
3. finally comes the government campaign, launched since October 17, which encourages individuals to consume less, in particular by communicating to them set temperatures of 19°C for living rooms and 17°C for the rest of the dwelling, rooms included.

Gas consumption in France: what are the trends observed in 2022?

As for electricity, we analyzed the data of a sample of users of the Hello Watt application, in order to know the evolution of the average gas consumption among the French from the year 2021 to 2022.

Total gas consumption, per month, all dwellings combined

Here too, we observe an overall drop in monthly gas consumption in the sample of 13 French households studied over the year 377. However, we note a slight increase in gas consumption in the months of June and of July 2022, compared to the same months of the previous year. This may in particular be due to:

• household water heater consumption. Indeed, with the heat observed during these two summer months, individuals may have taken more showers or baths to cool off;
• to the fact that this period is possibly less subject to departures on vacation.

The data we collected also enabled us to note that the consumption trends observed according to the periods (decrease or correspondence with the year 2021) are the same for gas-heated dwellings as for those with another means. of heating.

Also, and in the same way as for electricity, estimated gas consumption for the month of December 2022 should follow the downward trend observed over the rest of the year. This assumption is based on the data available for the months of October and November 2022, during which gas consumption experienced a sharp reduction, of the order of -60,42% in October and -32,77% in november.

In fact, since 2021, natural gas bills have also increased, a direct consequence of the current energy crisis and the evolution of gas prices, which have risen sharply following the geopolitical conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.

Consequently, many households have had to restrict their consumption to keep control of their gas bill, despite the price shield put in place by the Government since October 2021.

Gas consumption for heating only, per month

As seen for electricity, heating accounts for the majority of a household's energy consumption (66% according to figures from Climat Air et Énergie).

Thanks to the decomposition algorithms developed for our application, we can determine the part that heating represents on the whole of the energy consumption of a household. Let us therefore now look at the evolution of the share of heating on the overall gas consumption of private individuals in France.

Data is not yet available for the months of November and December 2022.

The graph above, which takes into account data from 1 households registered on the Hello Watt application and heated exclusively by gas, once again demonstrates an overall drop in gas consumption by individuals in France, from the year 778 to 2021.

Although the data for the months of November and December 2022 are not yet available, we can nevertheless expect a regularity in the trend observed, and therefore a reduction in consumption as well. This forecast is in fact based on the sharp drop observed in October, where the reduction from 2021 to 2022 was around -76,43%!

Here again, this reduction in consumption can be a consequence:

• the energy crisis and increases in the price of gas, which are forcing some households to consume more cautiously and to reduce their heating consumption in order to find their way financially;
• the mild temperatures of the current year, which has made it possible to delay the switching on of heating systems and therefore to lower the winter consumption of gas-heated fireplaces;
• the awareness campaign disseminated by the Government, which has potentially encouraged the French to consume more responsibly.