Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Albany County, used by 4,593,346 or 59.99% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Albany County homeowners is heating oil, used by 1,379,410 homes (18.02%). The remaining homes are heated with electricity (1,040,155), propane (371,184), no fuel (127,077), and other fuels (245,918).

Albany County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Albany County Households	% of Households
Natural Gas	4.5M	59.99%
Heating Oil	1.3M	18.02%
Electricity	1.0M	13.59%
Propane	371,184	4.85%
No Fuel	127,077	1.66%
Wood	117,324	1.53%
Other Fuels	102,644	1.34%
Coal	17,488	0.23%
Solar	8,462	0.11%

Natural gas (59.99)

Heating oil (18.02)

Electricity (13.59)

Propane (4.85)

No fuel (1.66)

Wood (1.53)

Other fuels (1.34)

Coal (0.23)

Solar (0.11)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Albany County. In the 2 years since 2020, the number of heating oil homes fell from 1,451,030 to 1,379,410, a 4.94% drop.

Albany County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	2.1M
2012	2.0M
2013	1.9M
2014	1.9M
2015	1.8M
2016	1.7M
2017	1.6M
2018	1.5M
2019	1.5M
2020	1.4M
2021	1.4M
2022	1.3M

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

Between 2020 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 316,900 to 371,184.

Between 2020 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 4,403,117 to 4,593,346.

Electricity use for home heating in Albany County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Albany County. Since 2020, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 925,349 to 1,040,155, a 12.41% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Albany 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, 8,462 homes in Albany County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 15.11% increase from 2020, when only 7,351 homes had installed active solar heating.