Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Massachusetts, used by 1,461,172 or 52.57% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Massachusetts homeowners is heating oil, used by 658,414 homes (23.69%). The remaining homes are heated with electricity (489,468), propane (120,379), wood (32,449), and other fuels (50,495).
Massachusetts Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households
Fuel | Massachusetts Households | % of Households |
---|---|---|
Natural Gas | 1.4M | 52.57% |
Heating Oil | 658,414 | 23.69% |
Electricity | 489,468 | 17.61% |
Propane | 120,379 | 4.33% |
Wood | 32,449 | 1.17% |
Other Fuels | 24,492 | 0.88% |
No Fuel | 19,229 | 0.69% |
Solar | 5,292 | 0.19% |
Coal | 1,482 | 0.05% |
Natural gas (52.57)
Heating oil (23.69)
Electricity (17.61)
Propane (4.33)
Wood (1.17)
Other fuels (0.88)
No fuel (0.69)
Solar (0.19)
Coal (0.05)
Heating oil has become less popular in Massachusetts. In the 4 years since 2018, the number of heating oil homes fell from 685,213 to 658,414, a 3.91% drop.
Massachusetts Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)
Year | Heating Oil Households |
---|---|
2011 | 845,698 |
2012 | 822,502 |
2013 | 792,829 |
2014 | 765,294 |
2015 | 741,479 |
2016 | 718,077 |
2017 | 702,417 |
2018 | 685,213 |
2019 | 672,991 |
2020 | 662,438 |
2021 | 657,749 |
2022 | 658,414 |
Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 83,597 to 120,379.
Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 1,340,823 to 1,461,172.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Massachusetts. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 406,791 to 489,468, a 20.32% 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, 5,292 homes in Massachusetts are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 124.43% increase from 2018, when only 2,358 homes had installed active solar heating.