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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Sussex County Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Sussex County, used by 2,618,092 or 74.00% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Sussex County homeowners is electricity, used by 532,344 homes (15.05%). The remaining homes are heated with heating oil (258,381), propane (91,132), no fuel (30,011), and other fuels (40,620).

Sussex County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelSussex County Households % of Households
Natural Gas2.6M74.00%
Electricity532,34415.05%
Heating Oil258,3817.30%
Propane91,1322.58%
No Fuel30,0110.85%
Other Fuels19,8130.56%
Wood12,5020.35%
Solar7,3340.21%
Coal9710.03%

Natural gas (74.00)

Electricity (15.05)

Heating oil (7.30)

Propane (2.58)

No fuel (0.85)

Other fuels (0.56)

Wood (0.35)

Solar (0.21)

Coal (0.03)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Sussex County. In the 4 years since 2018, the number of heating oil homes fell from 284,056 to 258,381, a 9.04% drop.

Sussex County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
2011420,231
2012397,731
2013374,390
2014353,791
2015336,160
2016314,964
2017298,525
2018284,056
2019271,250
2020260,383
2021256,421
2022258,381

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

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 63,138 to 91,132.

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,411,472 to 2,618,092.

Electricity use for home heating in Sussex County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Sussex County. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 408,397 to 532,344, a 30.35% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Sussex 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, 7,334 homes in Sussex County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 136.58% increase from 2018, when only 3,100 homes had installed active solar heating.