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 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 702,417 to 658,414, a 6.26% 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 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 81,627 to 120,379.
Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 1,320,143 to 1,461,172.
Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Massachusetts. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 394,442 to 489,468, a 24.09% 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 169.18% increase from 2017, when only 1,966 homes had installed active solar heating.