Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Niagara County, used by 4,593,346 or 59.99% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Niagara 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).

Niagara County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Niagara 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 Niagara County

Heating oil has become less popular in Niagara County. In the 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 1,663,074 to 1,379,410, a 17.06% drop.

Niagara 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 Niagara County

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 274,348 to 371,184.

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 4,228,093 to 4,593,346.

Electricity use for home heating in Niagara County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Niagara County. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 820,554 to 1,040,155, a 26.76% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Niagara 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 Niagara County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 102.49% increase from 2017, when only 4,179 homes had installed active solar heating.