Using data from the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this paper empirically explores the impact and mechanism of labor ageing on residential household energy poverty using an econometric model. It is found that labor ageing significantly increases the risk of residential households falling into energy poverty. Mechanism analysis shows that labor ageing affects the probability of households falling into energy poverty by changing their consumption and employment behavior. Pension insurance policies and clean energy policies such as “coal-to-gas” or “coal-to-electricity” exert significant moderating effects on the relationship between aging and energy poverty. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that households with higher educational levels and higher incomes exhibit a lower probability of falling into energy poverty under the influence of ageing. Moreover, the impact of ageing on energy poverty varies significantly across different regional characteristics. This paper holds positive significance for effectively addressing the challenges of ageing, alleviating energy poverty, and achieving the goal of common prosperity.