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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Cumberland County Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Cumberland County, used by 344,285 or 59.84% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Cumberland County homeowners is propane, used by 74,720 homes (12.99%). The remaining homes are heated with electricity (53,649), wood (50,553), natural gas (46,832), and other fuels (16,018).

Cumberland County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Cumberland County Households	% of Households
Heating Oil	344,285	59.84%
Propane	74,720	12.99%
Electricity	53,649	9.33%
Wood	50,553	8.79%
Natural Gas	46,832	8.14%
Other Fuels	10,776	1.87%
No Fuel	2,221	0.39%
Solar	1,762	0.31%
Coal	1,259	0.22%

Heating oil (59.84)

Propane (12.99)

Electricity (9.33)

Wood (8.79)

Natural gas (8.14)

Other fuels (1.87)

No fuel (0.39)

Solar (0.31)

Coal (0.22)

#2 Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Cumberland County

Heating oil has become less popular in Cumberland County. In the 6 years since 2016, the number of heating oil homes fell from 350,786 to 344,285, a 1.85% drop.

Cumberland County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	399,528
2012	389,712
2013	378,400
2014	368,680
2015	359,172
2016	350,786
2017	345,775
2018	344,793
2019	344,403
2020	348,823
2021	345,156
2022	344,285

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Cumberland County

Between 2016 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 48,150 to 74,720.

Between 2016 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 35,834 to 46,832.

Electricity use for home heating in Cumberland County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Cumberland County. Since 2016, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 29,389 to 53,649, a 82.55% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Cumberland 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, 1,762 homes in Cumberland County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 238.20% increase from 2016, when only 521 homes had installed active solar heating.