Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Knox County, used by 344,285 or 59.84% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Knox 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).
Knox County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Knox 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)
Heating oil has become less popular in Knox County. In the 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 345,775 to 344,285, a 0.43% drop.
Knox 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 |
Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 52,707 to 74,720.
Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 38,464 to 46,832.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Knox County. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 32,239 to 53,649, a 66.41% increase.
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 Knox County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 180.13% increase from 2017, when only 629 homes had installed active solar heating.