Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Heating oil is the most popular choice in Merrimack County, used by 224,725 or 41.34% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Merrimack 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).

Merrimack County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Merrimack 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)

#2 Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Merrimack County

Heating oil has become less popular in Merrimack County. In the 8 years since 2014, the number of heating oil homes fell from 245,025 to 224,725, a 8.28% drop.

Merrimack 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

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

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 73,881 to 100,624.

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 102,284 to 117,536.

Electricity use for home heating in Merrimack County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Merrimack County. Since 2014, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 42,362 to 57,780, a 36.40% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Merrimack 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, 690 homes in Merrimack County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 114.95% increase from 2014, when only 321 homes had installed active solar heating.