44% of residents are already beginning to prepare for the next heating season - survey

RIGA - In Latvia, 44 percent of the population already plan to start preparing for the next heating season, including 27 percent who want to start saving for future bills already in the spring, while 17 percent plan to make practical improvements to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, representatives of Citadele Bank informed LETA, referring to the data of the survey conducted by the bank. .

Women, residents who have reached the age of 50, as well as those who earn between 551 and 750 euros monthly think more often about savings for paying bills.

On the other hand, various types of home improvement measures are most often planned by men by the coming winter.

The most popular of the possible solutions is home insulation, noted by 7 percent of respondents, most of whom are aged between 30 and 39 and live in Pieriga, Kurzeme or Zemgale. In most cases, those whose monthly income exceeds the mark of 1,500 euros plan to insulate their home, according to survey data.

Likewise, 6 percent of respondents plan to change their household appliances to more energy-efficient ones - these plans are more often recorded by people who live in Riga and Pieriga on a daily basis. Another 4 percent of respondents revealed that they plan to change their heating system.

At the same time, in the survey, 11 percent predict that bills in the next heating season will not be as high as this year. Such thoughts are more actively represented by 40 to 49-year-old residents living in Pieriga, Vidzeme and rural areas.

Another 15 percent of the population found that the heating season payments do not cause them difficulties, and this was most frequently answered by men over 60, those living in Kurzeme and residents whose monthly income exceeds EUR 1,251.

On the other hand, 27 percent admitted that they have not yet thought about the bills of the upcoming heating season and their payment.

A representative population survey on preparation for the next heating season was conducted by Citadele Bank together with the research agency Norstat Latvija at the end of March 2023, surveying more than 1,000 Latvian residents between the ages of 18 and 74 online.