Most detached houses have a maximum of two people living in them
Keystone-SDA
Only one or two people live in more than half of the detached homes in Switzerland.
At the end of 2024, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) counted a total of 1.8 million buildings used for residential purposes, with a total of 4.84 million dwellings. Over one million of all buildings were single-family homes and 55% of them were occupied by just one or two people, according to the FSO.
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The average living space per person in Switzerland in 2024 was therefore 46.6 square metres. According to the FSO, this figure rose regularly until 2021 and has stagnated since then.
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Reliance on oil heating systems
About 35% of buildings were heated with heating oil. This means that oil is still the most commonly used energy source for heating in Switzerland. However, according to the FSO, this proportion has fallen steadily over the last 40 years.
However, the proportion of buildings heated with a heat pump has risen sharply. In 2024, 23% of all buildings were equipped with one. The proportion has thus increased fivefold since 2000. Gas heating was installed in 17% of all buildings, 12% of buildings were heated with wood and 7% with electricity.
If you look at individual households instead of buildings, the situation looks somewhat different according to the FSO data. In 2024, 60% of households were heated with fossil fuels (35% heating oil, 25% gas) and 20% of households were in a building with a heat pump.
Adapted from German by DeepL/ac
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