Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Belknap County, used by 224,725 or 41.34% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Belknap County homeowners is natural gas, used by 117,536 homes (21.62%). The remaining homes are heated with propane (100,624), electricity (57,780), wood (35,074), and other fuels (16,939).
Belknap County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Belknap County Households | % of Households |
---|---|---|
Heating Oil | 224,725 | 41.34% |
Natural Gas | 117,536 | 21.62% |
Propane | 100,624 | 18.51% |
Electricity | 57,780 | 10.63% |
Wood | 35,074 | 6.45% |
Other Fuels | 10,355 | 1.90% |
No Fuel | 5,272 | 0.97% |
Solar | 690 | 0.13% |
Coal | 622 | 0.11% |
Heating oil (41.34)
Natural gas (21.62)
Propane (18.51)
Electricity (10.63)
Wood (6.45)
Other fuels (1.90)
No fuel (0.97)
Solar (0.13)
Coal (0.11)
Heating oil has become less popular in Belknap County. In the 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 234,647 to 224,725, a 4.23% drop.
Belknap County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)
Year | Heating Oil Households |
---|---|
2011 | 262,755 |
2012 | 257,827 |
2013 | 251,497 |
2014 | 245,025 |
2015 | 241,293 |
2016 | 236,690 |
2017 | 234,647 |
2018 | 233,209 |
2019 | 233,052 |
2020 | 232,901 |
2021 | 228,197 |
2022 | 224,725 |
Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 81,345 to 100,624.
Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 106,031 to 117,536.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Belknap County. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 46,494 to 57,780, a 24.27% 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, 690 homes in Belknap County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 32.18% increase from 2017, when only 522 homes had installed active solar heating.