Natural Resources Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Office of Energy Efficiency Links

 

Office of Energy Efficiency

Menu

2003 Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU) – Summary Report


This is an archived version of this report. Please refer to the latest version of the
2007 Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU-2007) – Summary Report.

Residential Heating

Households use energy primarily for space and water heating, space cooling, the operation of appliances and lighting. Of these activities, space heating utilizes the most energy in the residential sector. It accounted for 60 percent of the total residential energy consumed in 2003.15

As a result, SHEU-2003 examined the types of heating equipment used by households, as well as the characteristics of the equipment, usage tendencies, supplementary heating equipment and prevalence of energy-saving heating equipment.

Main Heating Systems

In 2003, the majority of Canadian households, 63 percent, used a furnace as their main heating system (see Chart 26). Over 80 percent of these furnaces were hot-air systems, and the remaining furnaces were hot-water systems. Among the other types of heating systems used by Canadian households, electric baseboards were the most popular, with a penetration rate of 26 percent. The rest of the market was divided among heating stoves (4 percent), heat pumps (4 percent) and other equipment (3 percent).

Main Heating Systems of Households.

A regional analysis reveals that each region, with the exception of the Atlantic region, had one type of heating system that the majority of households used in 2003 (see Chart 27). In Quebec, electric baseboards were used by over 60 percent of households for their main heating system. In regions west of Quebec, the majority of households used hot-air furnaces. In contrast to these regions where the majority of households used one specific type of system, the Atlantic region had an almost equal proportion of households using electric baseboards (33 percent) or hot-air furnaces (31 percent) to heat their dwellings.

Chart 27
Main Heating System by Region
Region Heating System Penetration Rate
Atlantic Electric baseboards 33%
  Hot-air furnace 31%
Quebec Electric baseboards 61%
Ontario Hot-air furnace 76%
Prairies Hot-air furnace 82%
British Columbia Hot-air furnace 50%

Energy Source for Heating

The regional differences observed with main heating systems are once again found with the energy source used by heating systems, as each region, again with the exception of the Atlantic region, had one energy source in particular that the majority of households used (see Chart 28). In Quebec, electricity was used by almost 75 percent of households to power their main heating system. In regions west of Quebec, the majority of households used natural gas. And once again, in contrast to the other regions where the majority of households used one specific heating energy source, the Atlantic region had an almost equal proportion of households using oil (39 percent) or electricity (38 percent) as their main heating energy source.

Chart 28
Main Energy Source by Region
Region Energy Source Penetration Rate
Atlantic Oil 39%
  Electricity 38%
Quebec Electricity 73%
Ontario Natural gas 68%
Prairies Natural gas 78%
British Columbia Natural gas 52%

For Canada as a whole, more households used natural gas to run their main heating system (46 percent) than any other energy source (see Chart 29). Other sources used by households for their main heating system were electricity, used by 33 percent of households; oil, used by 9 percent; and wood, used by 3 percent. Additionally, 6 percent of households used a combination of two sources of energy to power their main heating system. Over 50 percent of these dual-heating-source households used a combination of electricity and natural gas.

Main Energy Source for Household Heating.

Supplementary Heating

One quarter of Canadian households used a secondary heating system to complement their main heating system during 2003 (see Chart 30). Interestingly, over 80 percent of these households which used a supplementary heating system did not have any common walls with another dwelling. As was previously discussed in "The Stock of Dwellings in Canada" section, a common wall can reduce the demand on a household's main heating system and, therefore, its need for supplementary heating. This relationship can be observed by comparing the penetration rates of supplementary heating systems for dwellings with and without common walls.

Penetration Rate of Supplementary Heating Systems by Dwelling Type.

Dwellings without any common walls, such as single detached houses and mobile homes, had high penetration rates for supplementary heating systems (31 percent and 35 percent respectively). Double/row houses, which normally have at least one common wall, had a lower penetration rate (19 percent) and low-rise apartments, which normally have at least two common walls, had the lowest penetration rate (8 percent).

Another relationship that could be assumed is that the need for supplementary heating systems would diminish for more recently constructed dwellings since the quality of construction materials and practices, dwelling insulation and main heating systems have all improved over time. As shown in Chart 31 (on page 18), this assumption is accurate when the penetration rate of supplementary heating systems for dwellings built before 1946 (33 percent) is compared with the rate for dwellings constructed during 1946-1969 (24 percent). However, this assumption does not hold true for dwellings built since 1946, as their penetration rate has remained steady (around 25 percent).

Penetration Rate of Supplementary Heating Systems by Year of Construction.

Energy-Conserving Heating Equipment

Programmable Thermostats

Programmable thermostats automatically adjust a dwelling's temperature setting, allowing households to save energy while they are away or sleeping. This energy-saving technology has become more common among Canadian households that have control over their dwelling's temperature (see Chart 32). The penetration rate for programmable thermostats has increased, from 28 percent for dwellings with temperature control that were constructed during 1970-1979 to 32 percent for those built during 1980-1989 and finally peaking at 39 percent for those built during 1990-2003. This emerging trend has resulted in 31 percent of all Canadian households with temperature control using this technology in 2003.

Penetration Rate of Programmable Thermostats Among Households With Temperature Control, by Year of Construction.

Even though this increasing penetration rate is beneficial towards reducing total residential energy consumption, its effects are somewhat diminished since nearly one out of every four programmable thermostats was not programmed in 2003 (see Chart 33). A programmable thermostat must be programmed in order to realize its full energy-saving potential.

Proportion of Programmable Thermostats That Were Programmed.

Condensing Furnaces

Condensing furnaces are the most energy-efficient furnaces available on the market today. This is especially true if their energy source is natural gas or propane, as these furnaces can use 33 percent to 38 percent less energy than old furnaces and 10 percent less energy than a standard-efficiency furnace.16 Conversely, a condensing oil furnace has the potential to be only marginally more efficient than a well-designed mid-efficiency oil furnace.17 In 2003, condensing furnaces were used in 37 percent of all households that used a furnace fuelled by natural gas, propane or heating oil.

Since these high-efficiency furnaces are a relatively new technology – having appeared on the Canadian market over the last 20 years18 – it is not at all unexpected to see that the penetration rate for this technology was higher for recently built dwellings (see Chart 34). The penetration rate among dwellings constructed during 1990-2003 that used a natural gas, propane or oil furnace was 62 percent. This was extremely high compared with dwellings constructed during 1970-1979 and 1980-1989, which had penetration rates of 28 percent and 29 percent respectively. Given these results, it is interesting to note that dwellings constructed before 1946 and during 1946-1969 also had higher penetration rates (35 percent and 33 percent respectively) than those constructed during 1970-1979 and 1980-1989. A possible explanation for this finding is that furnaces in older dwellings have likely been replaced in recent years, and a condensing furnace can easily be installed as an energy-efficient replacement.

Penetration Rate of Condensing Furnaces Among Households That Used a Natural Gas, Propane or Oil Furnace, by Year of Construction.

15 Natural Resources Canada, Energy Use Data Handbook – 1990 and 1997 to 2003, p. 22.

16 Natural Resources Canada, Choose the Right Condensing Gas Furnace (fact sheet) – EnerGuide, Ottawa, 2003, p. 1.

17 Natural Resources Canada, Heating with Oil – EnerGuide, Gatineau, 2004, p. 35.

18 Natural Resources Canada, Heating with Gas – EnerGuide, Ottawa, 2004, p. 32.

Previous PageTable of ContentsNext Page