West Lothian and Falkirk households use less electricity than average

The latest Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy figures show the average household in Falkirk consumed 3,763 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2017 – 158 units less than Great Britain’s average. The average household in West Lothian consumed less - 3,636 kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2017.

UK households consumed an average of 3,921 kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2017, which was only a two per cent drop from the previous year. Falkirk and West Lothian also each saw a two per cent drop in its consumption.

A spokeswoman from the Energy Saving Trust (EST)said: “Governments can support and encourage households to cut their electricity use through continual improvements to minimum energy performance standards for new products and buildings, requiring landlords to install efficient heating, and through supporting information campaigns and independent advice services.

“They can also provide financial support to help people pay for improvements to their heating system and the insulation of their buildings.”

There was significant regional variation in the average electricity consumed per household, as it is affected by many factors including the size of property and household, level of disposable income and whether the home and hot water are heated by electricity or another fuel.

In Scotland, households had an average electricity consumption of 4,064 kilowatt-hours in a year. Across Great Britain, the highest electricity consumption was in the Shetland Islands, where each household consumed 9,583 kilowatt-hours in 2017. At the other end, Hackney consumed the lowest at just 2,974 kilowatt-hours.

Domestic electricity consumption accounts for 38 per cent of all electricity consumption in Great Britain.

The EST said people could reduce their electricity use by choosing the most efficient products when buying new appliances and by turning lights and appliances off when not in use.

The spokeswoman added: “The highest home electricity users tend to be people using electric heating systems. People heating their homes with electricity can cut usage by upgrading their heating system and controls, and by insulating their home better so they waste less heat.”