Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Washington County, used by 344,285 or 59.84% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Washington 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).
Washington County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Washington 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 Washington County. In the 3 years since 2019, the number of heating oil homes fell from 344,403 to 344,285, a 0.03% drop.
Washington 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 2019 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 60,295 to 74,720.
Between 2019 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 42,107 to 46,832.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Washington County. Since 2019, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 38,999 to 53,649, a 37.57% 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 Washington County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 101.60% increase from 2019, when only 874 homes had installed active solar heating.