Question:

What single item accounts for the greatest domestic electricity consumption in France?

Answer:

Unlike what might be expected, the greatest energy consumers are not washing machines or dryers, but rather refrigerators! Refrigerators absorb 2.4% of total production, because they operate almost continuously compared with only 0.6% of the time for dryers. Domestic lighting accounts for 11 TWh per year, which is 2% of EDF’s total electricity production.