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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Richmond County Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Electricity is the most popular choice in Richmond County, used by 1,887,993 or 56.72% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Richmond County homeowners is natural gas, used by 1,101,616 homes (33.09%). The remaining homes are heated with propane (153,698), heating oil (129,907), wood (65,453), and other fuels (41,045).

Richmond County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Richmond County Households	% of Households
Electricity	1.8M	56.72%
Natural Gas	1.1M	33.09%
Propane	153,698	4.62%
Heating Oil	129,907	3.90%
Wood	65,453	1.97%
No Fuel	24,314	0.73%
Other Fuels	12,489	0.38%
Solar	2,751	0.08%
Coal	1,491	0.04%

Electricity (56.72)

Natural gas (33.09)

Propane (4.62)

Heating oil (3.90)

Wood (1.97)

No fuel (0.73)

Other fuels (0.38)

Solar (0.08)

Coal (0.04)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Richmond County. In the 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 154,885 to 129,907, a 16.13% drop.

Richmond County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	228,988
2012	211,492
2013	195,333
2014	182,928
2015	171,696
2016	162,011
2017	154,885
2018	148,684
2019	141,997
2020	137,208
2021	128,923
2022	129,907

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

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 138,836 to 153,698.

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 1,034,770 to 1,101,616.

Electricity use for home heating in Richmond County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Richmond County. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,674,976 to 1,887,993, a 12.72% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Richmond 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, 2,751 homes in Richmond County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 219.88% increase from 2017, when only 860 homes had installed active solar heating.