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

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Franklin County, used by 344,285 or 59.84% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Franklin 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).

Franklin County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelFranklin County Households % of Households
Heating Oil344,28559.84%
Propane74,72012.99%
Electricity53,6499.33%
Wood50,5538.79%
Natural Gas46,8328.14%
Other Fuels10,7761.87%
No Fuel2,2210.39%
Solar1,7620.31%
Coal1,2590.22%

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 Franklin County

Heating oil has become less popular in Franklin County. In the 9 years since 2013, the number of heating oil homes fell from 378,400 to 344,285, a 9.02% drop.

Franklin County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
2011399,528
2012389,712
2013378,400
2014368,680
2015359,172
2016350,786
2017345,775
2018344,793
2019344,403
2020348,823
2021345,156
2022344,285

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

Between 2013 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 40,668 to 74,720.

Between 2013 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 27,717 to 46,832.

Electricity use for home heating in Franklin County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Franklin County. Since 2013, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 26,246 to 53,649, a 104.41% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Franklin 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 Franklin County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 293.30% increase from 2013, when only 448 homes had installed active solar heating.