# Average energy consumption of a Dutch household

> Dutch households use 2,430 kWh and 1,040 m³ of gas a year (CBS, 2024). How to estimate your own annual usage for an energy contract as a new arrival.

Signing an energy contract in the Netherlands begins with a question most new arrivals cannot answer: how much energy will you use in a year? Every supplier, and every comparison tool, asks for an annual consumption figure – your *jaarverbruik* – split into kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and cubic metres (m³) of gas. Dutch households answer it by copying the totals from last year’s annual statement. If you have just moved here, you have no Dutch statement, no meter history and, in most cases, no idea what the previous occupant used.

The good news is that the figure does not need to be exact. Your annual consumption determines your *termijnbedrag* – the fixed monthly instalment you pay in advance – not what your energy ultimately costs. Once a year the supplier compares your instalments with your actual metered use and settles the difference in the *jaarafrekening*, the annual bill. Estimate too low and you face a bill; estimate too high and you get money back. What you need, then, is a defensible estimate: a number you can justify, and adjust once real data arrives.

## The national average, and why it says little about your home

The average Dutch household used **2,430 kWh of electricity and 1,040 m³ of gas** in 2024, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) published by [Milieu Centraal](https://www.milieucentraal.nl/energie-besparen/inzicht-in-je-energierekening/gemiddeld-energieverbruik/).

Treat that as a reference point, not a prediction. It is a single number covering flats and detached houses, single occupants and families of five, homes built in 1910 and in 2022. Around 80% of Dutch homes are heated with gas or with *blokverwarming* (block heating, a shared boiler serving an entire building); all-electric homes with a heat pump and homes connected to a heat network sit outside this average altogether. Real households cluster widely around the mean in both directions, and the spread between a poorly insulated terraced house and a recently built flat is larger than most newcomers expect.

For its own comparisons, Energievergelijker.nl uses a standard profile of 1,350 kWh at the standard rate plus 900 kWh at the off-peak rate, and 950 m³ of gas, at an example address in Zwolle. That profile exists so that offers can be ranked on a like-for-like basis – it is not a recommendation for what you should enter.

## What actually determines your consumption

**Insulation and construction year carry the most weight**, particularly for gas. Space heating dominates gas use in a typical Dutch home, and how much heat escapes through walls, roof, floor and glazing is decided almost entirely by when the building was constructed and whether it has been renovated since. A pre-war house with single glazing and an uninsulated floor can consume several times the gas of a comparable-sized modern flat. Dutch listings quote an energy label (A to G); it is a rough guide, but a useful one when you have nothing else.

**Property type and floor area** come next: more volume to heat, and more external wall surface, means more gas. A mid-terrace house is shielded by neighbours on both sides; a detached house or a top-floor flat is not.

**The number of occupants** drives electricity more than gas – lighting, cooking, laundry, showers, devices. Hot water use scales fairly directly with people in the house.

**The heating system** changes the shape of your consumption entirely. A *cv-ketel* (the standard gas-fired central heating boiler) burns gas. A heat pump does not. A heat network delivers heat measured in a different unit again.

**Lifestyle factors** then adjust the total: working from home means heating a house all day rather than in the evenings; an electric car can add more electricity than the rest of the household combined; solar panels reduce the electricity you draw from the grid, and you should enter your expected net consumption where the form asks for it.

## Typical consumption by household size and property type

| **Living situation** | **Electricity** | **Gas** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-person apartment | 1,800 kWh | 600 m³ |
| 2-person terraced house | 2,800 kWh | 1,000 m³ |
| Family in corner house | 3,500 kWh | 1,200 m³ |
| Family in detached house | 4,500 kWh | 1,600 m³ |

These are indicative figures for orientation, not measured averages: what your own home uses depends mainly on insulation, construction year and how it is heated. If you have your annual statement to hand, use your own figures instead – they give a far more accurate comparison.

## All-electric homes and heat pumps

A growing share of newly built and deeply renovated Dutch housing is all-electric: no gas connection at all. Heating and hot water come from a heat pump, and cooking from an induction hob. These homes use **no gas whatsoever, but considerably more electricity** than a gas-heated home of the same size. If you enter the national average electricity figure for an all-electric home, your monthly instalment will be far too low. When you compare contracts, select the electricity-only option and estimate your electricity generously.

## Homes on a heat network

If your building is connected to a *warmtenet* (a district heating network), heat is delivered as hot water from a central source and billed in **gigajoules (GJ)**, not in cubic metres or kilowatt hours. Heat network tariffs are regulated separately and you generally cannot choose your heat supplier – the network operator serving your address is the only option. In that situation you are only comparing electricity contracts, as our page on [district heating in the Netherlands](https://www.energievergelijker.nl/en/district-heating-netherlands) explains.

## Standard rate and off-peak rate

Many Dutch homes have a *dubbele meter* (dual-tariff meter), which records electricity separately at the *normaaltarief* (standard rate, roughly weekday daytime hours) and the *daltarief* (off-peak rate, evenings, nights and weekends). When you enter your consumption, you will often be asked for the two figures separately. Check your meter: if it shows two readings, usually marked 1 and 2 (or *laag* and *normaal*), you have a dual meter. A single-tariff meter shows one reading and one field to fill in.

## Making an estimate when you have just arrived

1. **Find the energy label and construction year** of the property – the letting agent, the landlord or the sales listing will have both.
2. **Start from the national average** and adjust: older and poorly insulated pushes gas up, a well-insulated flat pushes it down.
3. **Adjust electricity for occupants** and for anything unusual – home working, an electric car, solar panels.
4. **Check whether there is a gas connection at all.** Look for a gas meter. No gas meter means all-electric or a heat network.
5. **Ask the landlord or estate agent** what the previous occupants used. They are not obliged to tell you, but they often know, and one real figure beats any estimate.
6. **Read your meters on the day you move in** and note the readings. This is the baseline for everything that follows.

With those numbers in hand you can [enter your estimate and see what the different suppliers would charge](https://www.energievergelijker.nl/en/compare-energy-providers-netherlands). If you have not yet registered with a supplier at all, start with [the steps for getting energy connected at a new address](https://www.energievergelijker.nl/en/arranging-energy-when-you-move).

## Correcting your estimate once you have real data

An estimate is a starting position, not a commitment. After a few weeks you can see how fast the meters are actually running, and after a few months the pattern is clear. Every supplier lets you adjust your monthly instalment through their customer portal, and it is worth doing: raising it early is far less painful than a large settlement bill in month twelve.

If you have a *slimme meter* (smart meter), readings are transmitted automatically and your supplier can show you consumption per day. Without one, you submit *meterstanden* (meter readings) yourself, usually once a year and whenever you switch supplier or move. Either way, keep an eye on the running total rather than waiting for [the annual statement to explain itself](https://www.energievergelijker.nl/en/dutch-energy-bill-explained).

## Frequently asked questions

What is the average energy consumption of a Dutch household?
                
2,430 kWh of electricity and 1,040 m³ of gas per year, based on CBS figures for 2024 published by Milieu Centraal. It is an average across all housing types and household sizes, so it describes the country rather than your home.

                I have no Dutch consumption history. What should I enter?
                
An informed estimate. Start from the national average, then adjust for the property’s insulation and construction year, its size, how many people live there and whether you work from home. Enter that figure and correct it once you have a few months of meter readings.

                Does the figure I enter determine what I pay?
                
No. It determines your monthly instalment, the *termijnbedrag*. Your actual cost is settled in the annual statement, the *jaarafrekening*, on the basis of metered consumption. An estimate that is too low delays the cost; it does not reduce it.

                What if my home has no gas connection?
                
Then it is either all-electric with a heat pump – no gas, but significantly higher electricity use – or connected to a heat network, where heat is billed in gigajoules by the network operator and only your electricity contract is open to comparison.