Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in New Castle County, used by 169,865 or 43.18% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for New Castle County homeowners is electricity, used by 144,312 homes (36.68%). The remaining homes are heated with heating oil (38,199), propane (34,768), other fuels (3,090), and other fuels (7,083).

New Castle County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	New Castle County Households	% of Households
Natural Gas	169,865	43.18%
Electricity	144,312	36.68%
Heating Oil	38,199	9.71%
Propane	34,768	8.84%
Other Fuels	3,090	0.79%
Wood	2,630	0.67%
No Fuel	2,463	0.63%
Solar	1,088	0.28%
Coal	902	0.23%

Natural gas (43.18)

Electricity (36.68)

Heating oil (9.71)

Propane (8.84)

Other fuels (0.79)

Wood (0.67)

No fuel (0.63)

Solar (0.28)

Coal (0.23)

#2 Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in New Castle County

Heating oil has become less popular in New Castle County. In the 8 years since 2014, the number of heating oil homes fell from 51,755 to 38,199, a 26.19% drop.

New Castle County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	58,474
2012	56,875
2013	54,361
2014	51,755
2015	49,733
2016	47,102
2017	44,319
2018	43,122
2019	41,550
2020	40,121
2021	38,925
2022	38,199

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in New Castle County

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel fell from 34,804 to 34,768.

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel fell from 137,178 to 169,865.

Electricity use for home heating in New Castle County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in New Castle County. Since 2014, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 108,181 to 144,312, a 33.40% increase.

Solar use for home heating in New Castle County

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, 1,088 homes in New Castle County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 814.29% increase from 2014, when only 119 homes had installed active solar heating.