Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Northumberland County, used by 2,698,438 or 51.75% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Northumberland 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).

Northumberland County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Northumberland 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)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Northumberland County. In the 4 years since 2018, the number of heating oil homes fell from 828,104 to 786,449, a 5.03% drop.

Northumberland 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

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

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 214,804 to 256,098.

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,582,392 to 2,698,438.

Electricity use for home heating in Northumberland County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Northumberland County. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,142,039 to 1,275,546, a 11.69% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Northumberland 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, 4,093 homes in Northumberland County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 109.15% increase from 2018, when only 1,957 homes had installed active solar heating.