German households have reduced electricity consumption nearly ten percent since 2020
Clean Energy Wire
Households in Germany increasingly save electricity by using appliances more efficiently, a survey by the Federation of German Water and Energy Industries (BDEW) has found. Average household consumption has dropped by nine percent between 2020 and 2025, with single-person households cutting use by 18 percent on average.
More than two thirds (69%) of the over 7,500 households surveyed said that using electricity efficiently is important to them. The highest share of electricity (29%) went to information and communication devices, including mobile phones, computers, speakers, routers and televisions. Lighting, washing, cooling and cooking each accounted for under 14 percent.
The survey also examined the subgroup of electricity prosumers – households with a solar PV installation that also feeds electricity back into the grid. Prosumers were far more likely to own their home and to live in a single-family house, and far more likely to use dynamic electricity tariffs than non-prosumers, although only 12 percent of prosumers said they do so, compared to just two percent of regular consumers. More than half of all people surveyed said they would be interested in dynamic tariffs that reduce bills by offering lower prices at times of little demand.
“Electricity use in private households is evolving,” said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae. “Digitalisation, working from home, prosumer options and flexible consumption are becoming increasingly important in everyday life.” She said it is a positive sign that most consumers actively seek to reduce demand and are open to more flexible consumption patterns.
Following the energy crisis fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the German government encouraged citizens to save energy, particularly natural gas. While an energy shortage ultimately could be avoided and supply since has become secure again, many people stuck with more frugal consumption levels after the crisis. Germany also has one of the highest household power prices in Europe, which provides additional incentives to save energy.