Cities In Central Maine with Local Heating Oil Deals

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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Central Maine Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Central Maine, used by 55,260 or 63.87% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Central Maine homeowners is wood, used by 11,256 homes (13.01%). The remaining homes are heated with propane (10,531), electricity (7,119), natural gas (2,783), and other fuels (1,785).

Central Maine Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Central Maine Households	% of Households
Heating Oil	55,260	63.87%
Wood	11,256	13.01%
Propane	10,531	12.17%
Electricity	7,119	8.23%
Natural Gas	2,783	3.22%
Other Fuels	1,267	1.46%
Solar	260	0.30%
No Fuel	198	0.23%
Coal	60	0.07%

Heating oil (63.87)

Wood (13.01)

Propane (12.17)

Electricity (8.23)

Natural gas (3.22)

Other fuels (1.46)

Solar (0.30)

No fuel (0.23)

Coal (0.07)

#2 Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Central Maine

Heating oil has become more popular in Central Maine. In the 3 years since 2019, the number of heating oil homes rose from 55,166 to 55,260, a 0.17% lift.

Central Maine Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	63,824
2012	62,207
2013	60,081
2014	58,600
2015	57,219
2016	55,212
2017	54,342
2018	54,762
2019	55,166
2020	55,978
2021	55,166
2022	55,260

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Central Maine

Between 2019 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 7,654 to 10,531.

Between 2019 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,368 to 2,783.

Electricity use for home heating in Central Maine

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Central Maine. Since 2019, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 4,639 to 7,119, a 53.46% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Central Maine

Solar is the most environmentally friendly of all space heating fuels. With an “active” solar heating system, liquid is circulated between solar panels on a home’s roof and a heat energy storage tank in the basement.

Currently, 260 homes in Central Maine are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 118.49% increase from 2019, when only 119 homes had installed active solar heating.