Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Mercer County, used by 2,698,438 or 51.75% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Mercer County homeowners is electricity, used by 1,275,546 homes (24.46%). The remaining homes are heated with heating oil (786,449), propane (256,098), wood (122,435), and other fuels (139,486).
Mercer County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Mercer County Households | % of Households |
---|---|---|
Natural Gas | 2.6M | 51.75% |
Electricity | 1.2M | 24.46% |
Heating Oil | 786,449 | 15.08% |
Propane | 256,098 | 4.91% |
Wood | 122,435 | 2.35% |
Coal | 51,531 | 0.99% |
Other Fuels | 50,506 | 0.97% |
No Fuel | 33,356 | 0.64% |
Solar | 4,093 | 0.08% |
Natural gas (51.75)
Electricity (24.46)
Heating oil (15.08)
Propane (4.91)
Wood (2.35)
Coal (0.99)
Other fuels (0.97)
No fuel (0.64)
Solar (0.08)
Heating oil has become less popular in Mercer County. In the 3 years since 2019, the number of heating oil homes fell from 814,213 to 786,449, a 3.41% drop.
Mercer County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)
Year | Heating Oil Households |
---|---|
2011 | 1.0M |
2012 | 1.0M |
2013 | 963,754 |
2014 | 930,735 |
2015 | 899,276 |
2016 | 864,952 |
2017 | 843,020 |
2018 | 828,104 |
2019 | 814,213 |
2020 | 811,086 |
2021 | 790,823 |
2022 | 786,449 |
Between 2019 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 222,412 to 256,098.
Between 2019 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,599,328 to 2,698,438.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Mercer County. Since 2019, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,168,162 to 1,275,546, a 9.19% 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, 4,093 homes in Mercer County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 66.79% increase from 2019, when only 2,454 homes had installed active solar heating.