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Housing

Home heating with oil (per winter day, average EU home)

Öljylämmitys (per talvipäivä, keskimääräinen EU-koti)

40
Truecost score
Data confidence: HIGH

Carbon from established combustion chemistry and fuel consumption data. Water and toxicity have moderate uncertainty.

An average EU oil-heated home burns ~5.5 liters of heating oil per winter day, producing ~16.5 kg CO₂e. Oil heating generates 130x more particulate emissions than natural gas.

Did you know? One week of oil heating produces more CO₂ than the average Finnish household's entire annual electricity consumption (thanks to nuclear and hydropower).
Transparent calculation

How was this number determined?

The Truecost score is calculated from absolute physical values. Each row below shows the measured value, how it was normalized, and where it comes from.

Dimension Absolute value Score 100 = Normalized Weight Weighted Confidence
Carbon Emissions 16.5 kg CO₂e 9.5 kg CO₂e 100 ×0.35 35.00 HIGH
Water Consumption 8.0 liters 3840 liters 0.21 ×0.2 0.04 MEDIUM
Land Use 0.01 m²·year 51 m²·year 0.02 ×0.2 0.00 LOW
Waste 0.02 kg 5 kg 0.4 ×0.15 0.06 MEDIUM
Toxicity 3.0 µDALY 162 µDALY 1.85 ×0.1 0.19 MEDIUM
Truecost score (weighted sum) 40
Floor rule applied: Dimension "Carbon Emissions" exceeds 80 (100), so the total was raised to minimum 40 (computed: 35.29).

Share of your annual planetary budget

Carbon Emissions 1.74%
Water Consumption <0.01%
Land Use <0.01%
Waste <0.01%
Toxicity 0.02%
Source data by dimension

Where do the absolute values come from?

Carbon Emissions
HIGH
EU average oil-heated home: ~2,000 L heating oil/winter season (~180 days) = ~11 L/day. However, daily average across entire heating season (incl. milder months) ~5.5 L/day. Combustion: 2.52 kg CO₂/L direct + 15% lifecycle (extraction, refining) = 2.96 kg CO₂/L. 5.5 × 2.96 = 16.3 kg. Rounded to 16.5.
  • Eurostat (2023): Household energy consumption by end-use
  • UK DEFRA (2023): GHG Conversion Factors — burning oil
  • EIA (2024): Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients by Fuel

Varies 10–25 L/day depending on insulation, climate zone, and home size. Nordic countries higher, Mediterranean lower.

Water Consumption
MEDIUM
Oil refining: ~1.5 L water/L crude processed. 5.5 L heating oil/day × 1.5 = ~8 L.
  • Wu & Chiu (2011): Life-cycle water consumption of petroleum refining

Indirect water use from refining. Direct water use in combustion is negligible.

Land Use
LOW
Oil infrastructure (wells, refineries, pipelines) amortized per household per day: negligible.
Waste
MEDIUM
Modern oil boilers produce minimal solid waste. Soot ~5–10 g/day, service residues ~5 g/day.
Toxicity
MEDIUM
Oil combustion produces PM2.5, SOx, NOx. Indoor exposure from boiler rooms. Particulate emissions ~130x higher than natural gas per unit energy.
  • EEA (2023): Air quality in Europe
  • WHO (2022): Household air pollution — health impacts

Health impact depends heavily on boiler age, maintenance, and ventilation.

Comparisons

Methodology

Based on Eurostat household energy data and DEFRA/EIA emission factors. Daily consumption averaged over 180-day heating season. Lifecycle CO₂ factor includes extraction and refining.

Sources