Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Cheshire County, used by 224,725 or 41.34% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Cheshire 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).
Cheshire County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Cheshire 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 Cheshire County. In the 10 years since 2012, the number of heating oil homes fell from 257,827 to 224,725, a 12.84% drop.
Cheshire 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 2012 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 69,504 to 100,624.
Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 101,925 to 117,536.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Cheshire County. Since 2012, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 39,886 to 57,780, a 44.86% 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 Cheshire County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 165.38% increase from 2012, when only 260 homes had installed active solar heating.