Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Delaware County, used by 4,593,346 or 59.99% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Delaware 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).
Delaware County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Delaware 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 Delaware County. In the 8 years since 2014, the number of heating oil homes fell from 1,903,862 to 1,379,410, a 27.55% drop.
Delaware 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 2014 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 243,656 to 371,184.
Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 4,072,126 to 4,593,346.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Delaware County. Since 2014, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 744,669 to 1,040,155, a 39.68% 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 Delaware County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 268.07% increase from 2014, when only 2,299 homes had installed active solar heating.