As the COVID-19 lockdown continues, British households are using 15% more heating than usual.
A new study by smart heating company tado° found that as people remain inside all day, they have been heating their homes much more than a regular March, causing consumption to increase.
So despite temperatures being only 1°C different from March 2019, 15% more heat has been used throughout March 2020 in Britain.
The impact of the lockdown on the use of heat is more pronounced in other European countries that have been living with such restrictions for a longer period of time, offering a glimpse at a potential longer term impact for Britain.
In Italy for example, lockdown was implemented on 9 March and it saw heating use increase by 41% throughout the month. Similarly in Spain, lockdown measures were brought in on 14 March, and the use of heating increased by 42%.
Britain only officially brought in lockdown on 23 March, however in the run up many companies had already started remote working, helping to account for the impact on heating.
The demand profile in the UK for electricity has also been noticeably changed by the COVID-19 lockdown, being consistently lower than this period last year due to factories and offices shutting. Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, for example, the UK saw two demand records hit according to Drax Electric Insights.
