Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Chautauqua County, used by 4,593,346 or 59.99% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Chautauqua 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).
Chautauqua County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Chautauqua 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)
Heating oil has become less popular in Chautauqua County. In the 6 years since 2016, the number of heating oil homes fell from 1,732,065 to 1,379,410, a 20.36% drop.
Chautauqua 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 |
Between 2016 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 261,912 to 371,184.
Between 2016 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 4,161,669 to 4,593,346.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Chautauqua County. Since 2016, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 801,149 to 1,040,155, a 29.83% 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, 8,462 homes in Chautauqua County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 152.75% increase from 2016, when only 3,348 homes had installed active solar heating.