Overview
Austria’s final energy consumption, at normal climate, was 21.8 Mtoe in 2000. It increased by 15% to reach 25.2 Mtoe in 2022. The industrial sector saw a rise of 1.7 Mtoe, followed by the transport sector with 1.1 Mtoe, the residential sector with 0.5 Mtoe, and the services sector with 0.03 Mtoe. Whereas the final energy consumption in the agricultural sector slightly decreased by 0.02 Mtoe. In 2022, the transport sector held the largest share at 30%, compared to 27% in 2000, when the residential sector had the largest share at 30%. In 2022, the residential sector ranked third with a share of 27.5%.
Figure 1: Final energy consumption by sector (with climatic corrections)
Final consumer energy efficiency, as shown by ODEX, decreased by approximately 1.0% annually from 2000 to 2022, totalling a 20% improvement. The services sector demonstrated the highest improvement at 35%, averaging 2.0% per year, followed by the residential sector with a 24% improvement, averaging 1.2% per year. Conversely, the sectors industry and transport indicated lower rates of improvement, with 19% (0.9% per year) and 10% (0.5% per year) respectively.
Figure 2: Technical Energy Efficiency Index
From 2000 to 2022 a total of 5.3 Mtoe of cumulated annual savings were achieved. The highest share of these total savings refers to the residential sector with 2 Mtoe in 2022. Second ranked is industry with 1.5 Mtoe, followed by services with 1.1 Mtoe and transport with 0.7 Mtoe.
Figure 3: Energy savings by sector
The total energy supply rose by 2.7 Mtoe from 2000 to 2022. This was mainly driven by an increase in the final consumption (+3.1 Mtoe). However, a lowered consumption of the power sector of 0.5 Mtoe slightly counterbalances this upward trend. Non-energy uses (+0.1 Mtoe) and other transformations have a minor to negligible role in the overall energy supply dynamics.
Figure 4: Main drivers of the total energy supply variation
The final energy consumption increased by 3.1 Mtoe, from 21.7 Mtoe in 2000 to 24.8 Mtoe in 2022. This increase was mainly driven by an augmented activity (+9.8 Mtoe). Energy savings and structural changes work against this trend contributing to lower consumption by -5.3 Mtoe and -1.4 Mtoe respectively. Climate and other drivers counterbalance each other with -0.3 and +0.3 Mtoe.
Figure 5: Main drivers of the final energy consumption variation
Austria is committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2040, employing measures outlined in the Climate and Energy Strategy with enforceable reduction paths. Central to Austria’s energy policy is the emphasis on decreasing energy demand through sound energy use, enhancing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy sources. At both federal and state levels, Austria has instituted various instruments and measures, spanning regulations, research, technological development and demonstration. These initiatives aim to facilitate market adoption, disseminate information, and offer financial incentives to implement effective energy-saving measures.
Buildings
The final energy consumption of buildings increased under climatic corrections from 9 Mtoe in 2000 to 9.5 Mtoe in 2022. Around 70% of the total energy consumption of the buildings sector refer to residential buildings.
Figure 6: Final energy consumption in buildings (with climatic corrections)
From 2000, the energy consumption for residential space heating increased under climatic corrections by 3% up to 4.9 Mtoe in 2022. Other residential end-use categories show higher growth rates, although their combined consumption remains clearly below the consumption of space heating. The consumption for water heating increased by 12%, cooking by 32%, electrical appliances by 23% and lighting by 32%.
Figure 7: Energy consumption by end-use of households (with climatic corrections)
Over the past two decades, the buildings sector has seen a notable improvement in the efficiency of space heating. This efficiency is expressed by the space heating energy consumption per square meter. Since 2000, space heating unit consumption (under normal climate) has dropped by 27% (1.4% per year), decreasing from 16.1 koe/m² to 11.8 koe/m² in 2022 (see Figure 8).
Figure 8: Energy consumption of household space heating per m2 (with climatic corrections)
The residential energy consumption for end-uses other than space heating slightly decreased from 0.48 to 0.46 toe per dwelling from 2000 to 2022. Efficiency improvments can be seen in water heating, as the energy consumption per household sank by 10%. Meanwhile, the other end-uses (cooking, electrical appliances and lighting) show higher energy consumptions than in 2000. Air conditioning has a rather insignificant share of the energy consumption of an average household.
Figure 9: Energy consumption per dwelling by end-use (except space heating)
Energy consumption of households rose by 0.3 Mtoe from 2000 to 2022. Main drivers of this increase include the expanding number of dwellings (+1.5 Mtoe), additional appliances per dwelling (+0.8 Mtoe), and larger home sizes (+0.9 Mtoe). However, energy savings of 2 Mtoe counterbalance this upward trend. Climate-related aspects (-0.2 Mtoe) and other effects (-0.6 Mtoe) play a minor role in the overall energy consumption dynamics.
Figure 10: Electricity consumption per dwelling by end-use (with climatic corrections)
Energy consumption of households rose by 0.3 Mtoe from 2000 to 2022. Main drivers of this increase include the expanding number of dwellings (+1.5 Mtoe), additional appliances per dwelling (+0.8 Mtoe), and larger home sizes (+0.9 Mtoe). However, energy savings of 2 Mtoe counterbalance this upward trend. Climate-related aspects (-0.2 Mtoe) and other effects (-0.6 Mtoe) play a minor role in the overall energy consumption dynamics.
Figure 11: Main drivers of the energy consumption variation in households
The residential space heating consumption sunk slightly by 0.1 Mtoe from 2000 to 2022. The main driver of this decrease are energy savings (-1.7 Mtoe), followed by climatic and other factors (-0,5 Mtoe). However, the savings are counterbalanced by upward trends in activity (+1 Mtoe), larger home sizes (+0.7 Mtoe) and the penetration of central heating (+0.5 Mtoe).
Figure 12: Main drivers of the space heating consumption variation of households
The final energy consumption of the services sector decreased from 2010 to 2022 by 0.3 Mtoe. Some branches show major downward trends: the energy consumption of hotels and restaurants shrank by 34%, wholesale and retail by 22% and health and social work by 17%. Meanwhile, the consumption of administrations, private offices and other services increased in sum by 15%.
Figure 13: Final energy consumption of services by branch
In the services sector, both total energy consumption and electricity consumption per employee have decreased since 2000. However, the total energy consumption per employee first increased until 2003 before following a downward path. Overall, from 2000 to 2022, the total energy consumption and electricity consumption per employee in the services sector decreased by 26% and 24%, respectively.
Figure 14: Energy and electricity consumption per employee in services (with climatic corrections)
To increase energy efficiency in the buildings sector, Austria aims to increase renovation rates as well as the thermal-energy quality of renovations. Most important measures are the further development of housing subsidies, a consistent switch of heating and cooling systems to renewable energy systems, and a funding program for thermal-energy renovations.
| Measures | Description |
| Austrian Federal Government’s Renovation Initiative | The enhancement of the thermal quality of residential buildings and the expansion of efficient heating systems are supported. The level of subsidy is dependent on the achieved thermal quality and the efficiency of the heating system. In addition to requirements relating to final energy, new construction subsidies are subject to increased requirements on primary energy demand and CO2 emissions. |
| Minimum Energy Performance Standards for New Buildings and Major Renovations – Residential Buildings | The thermal quality of buildings is determined as part of the federal building law and/or of the building regulations of the federal states. These instruments contain binding quality criteria for new buildings and major renovations. |
Energy Efficiency Directive and Federal Energy Efficiency Act
The 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive (EED -2012/27/EU) establishes a set of binding measures to help the EU reach its 20% energy efficiency target by 2020. Under this directive, all EU countries are required to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain, from production to final consumption. The Energy Efficiency Act is the national implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive. It aims to increase energy efficiency in companies and households in a cost-effective manner.
Period 2014 to 2020
By 2020, final energy consumption should not exceed 1,050 PJ. This is to be achieved primarily through energy saving actions implemented through the Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme (EEO) and alternative measures by the federal government and the federal provinces amounting to 310 PJ (cumulative).
Strategic measures include energy taxes, corporate environmental protection subsidy schemes, refurbishment activities/vouchers, housing and energy subsidies.
The EEO obliges energy suppliers to implement energy saving actions amounting 1.5% of the previous year’s sales. Obligated parties can set either savings actions on their own or purchase saving actions from other stakeholders.
All energy saving actions have to be reported to the national energy efficiency monitoring agency via an online database.
While small and medium sized companies are encouraged to conduct an energy audit, large enterprises (at least 250 employees) are obliged to. They have to submit an energy audit every fourth year. Structure and content are defined by law. Generally spoken, the company must record the total energy flow of a year and allocate it to the three sectors transport, building, process/industry. If a sector accounts for more than 10%, in-depth analysis have to be conducted including the technical equipment, vehicle fleet composition and usage or the machinery and how it is used. For the main fields of energy consumption approaches to decrease energy usage have to be developed (see IND-AT4380).
Period 2021 to 2030
The Energy Efficiency Act was amended in 2023.
By 2030, final energy consumption should not exceed 920 PJ. This is to be achieved primarily through energy saving actions implemented through strategic measures and alternative measures by the federal government. Strategic measures include energy taxes, corporate environmental protection subsidy schemes, refurbishment activities/vouchers, housing and energy subsidies.
The audit obligation for large enterprises is contiued.
Key elements of the Energy Efficiency Act are:
- Inclusion of all energy sources and involvement of all energy utilities in jointly meeting the specified energy efficiency targets.
- Submission of documents and reports to the national monitoring body for the measures implemented.
- Mandatory energy management systems or regular energy audits for large companies.
- Introduction or continuation of support programmes for further strengthening efforts towards greater energy efficiency.
- An energy efficiency obligation scheme for energy suppliers (in force 2014 to 2020),
- A national monitoring body was created for carrying out coordination and monitoring activities and providing assistance to companies with obligations incumbent upon them. It would also coordinate the energy efficiency action plans and annual progress reports.
- Standardisation of the ‘role model’ status of federal bodies: alongside general requirements which must be carried out by the State regarding the dissemination of information to citizens and companies, there are also separate requirements on public purchasing and the construction and use of Federal buildings, including in particular measures on the renovation of public buildings.
- Setting of quality standards for energy service providers: energy service providers and energy advisory services must comply with certain minimum requirements pertaining to their technical capabilities.