Irish households' carbon emissions 58 pct higher than European average: survey

DUBLIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The level of carbon emissions produced by Irish households is 58 percent higher than the European average, reported local media RTE quoting a survey on Friday.

The survey, just released by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, a government body responsible for the sustainable development of energy in the country, attributed the higher carbon emissions from Irish homes mainly to higher consumption of energy, more use of oil and coal, increased number of households and enlarged size of dwellings.

The survey, presented in a report entitled Energy in the Residential Sector, said that Irish homes are using 7 percent more energy than the European average.

The survey found that oil accounts for 47 percent of all the energy used for heating Irish homes, gas for 25 percent, and energy for heat from solid fuels including coal and turf for 21 percent with the remaining 7 percent to be held by other forms of energy.

The energy consumed by Irish homes for space heating makes up 61 percent of the total energy consumed at Irish homes for different purposes, the survey added.

According to the survey, there are now over 1.7 million households in Ireland, up 40 percent compared with the year 2000.

The size of the dwellings in the country has also expanded by 15 percent since 2000, said the survey, adding that Irish homes are among the biggest in Europe with the fourth largest average floor area per dwelling.

According to the survey, 42 percent of all dwellings in Ireland are detached houses and Ireland has the lowest proportion of people living in apartments in Europe, which stands at just 7 percent.

The bigger the size of the dwellings, the more energy they will consume, said the survey. Enditem