Mnemonic: heating_type
Applicability: Household
Type: Derived variable
Definition
Central heating is a heating system used to heat multiple rooms in a building by circulating air or heated water through pipes to radiators or vents. Single or multiple fuel sources can fuel these systems.
Central heating systems that are unused or not working are still considered. No information is available for household spaces with no usual residents.
Classification
Total number of categories: 13
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | No central heating |
| 2 | Mains gas only |
| 3 | Tank or bottled gas only |
| 4 | Electric only |
| 5 | Oil only |
| 6 | Wood only |
| 7 | Solid fuel only |
| 8 | Renewable energy only |
| 9 | District or communal heat networks only |
| 10 | Other central heating only |
| 11 | Two or more types of central heating (not including renewable energy) |
| 12 | Two or more types of central heating (including renewable energy) |
| -9 | Does not apply |
View all type of central heating in household classifications.
Background
Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.
Comparability with the 2011 Census
Broadly comparable
We have added the categories “Renewable energy (for example, solar thermal or heat)” and “District or communal heat network”.
The category “Gas” has been split into “Mains gas” and “Tank or bottled gas”. The category “Wood (for example, logs, waste wood or pallets)”, has been separated from “Solid fuels”.
What does broadly comparable mean?
A variable that is broadly comparable means that it can be generally compared with the same variable used in the 2011 Census. However, changes may have been made to the question or options that people could choose from or how write-in answers are classified.
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons
Broadly comparable
The variable produced for England, Wales and Scotland does not provide details where there are two or more types of central heating, so can be broadly compared to the variable produced by Northern Ireland.
What does broadly comparable mean?
A variable that is broadly comparable means that outputs from Census 2021 in England and Wales can generally be compared with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Differences in how the data were collected or presented may reduce the ability to fully harmonise on outputs, but some harmonisation is still expected.
Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.
Census 2021 data that uses this variable
We use variables from Census 2021 data to show findings in different ways.
You can:
- get the type of central heating in household dataset
- view type of central heating in household data on a map
- view type of central heating in household data for an area on Nomis (an Office for National Statistics service)
Alternatively, you can also create a custom dataset.
Other datasets that use this variable
- Accommodation type by type of central heating in household by tenure
- Type of central heating in household by occupancy rating (rooms) by age
- Gender identity by type of central heating in household
- Sexual orientation by type of central heating in household
- Number of dwellings that are houses in multiple occupation (HMO) by type of central heating in household