Mains gas and heating oil were the most common heating fuel in Q1 2026, CSO finds

Mains gas and heating oil were the most common forms of main space heating fuel in dwellings in Ireland, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

​In Dublin, mains gas was the most common space heating fuel, with 61% of dwellings using it, this was also the case for the Mid-East region, at 39%.

​Heating oil was also very commonly used across the country, with 67% of homes in the Border region using it as their main space heating fuel, and 60% in the West.

​The CSO also noted that 15% of dwellings had solar energy installations and heat pumps were installed in over 80% of rated dwellings constructed since 2020.

​Kevin Hunt, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division said: “The number of new domestic BER assessments published in Q1 2026 was 40,961. This takes the total number of published audits from 2009-2026 to almost 1.8 million, which includes dwellings with multiple BERs (See Table 1).

“Of the 1.35 million unique dwellings receiving a BER rating since 2009, 18% were rated A, 17% rated B, and 31% rated C.

“The highest proportions of A-rated dwellings were in Kildare (30%), Meath (28%) and Dublin County (28%), while the lowest were in Leitrim (6%) and Cork City (6%). The highest proportions of G rated dwellings were in counties Roscommon (11%) and Leitrim (11%).

“In the Dublin postal districts, the highest proportions of A ratings were in Dublin 18 (44%), Dublin 13 (31%) and Dublin 20 (27%).

“Mains gas for space heating was most common in Cork City (70%), Dublin County (62%), and the Dublin postcodes (61%). Heating oil was most common in Donegal (72%), Mayo (68%), and Roscommon (67%).”