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

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Butler County, used by 3,119,789 or 64.85% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Butler County homeowners is electricity, used by 1,213,218 homes (25.22%). The remaining homes are heated with propane (272,855), heating oil (100,023), wood (81,253), and other fuels (75,025).

Butler County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelButler County Households % of Households
Natural Gas3.1M64.85%
Electricity1.2M25.22%
Propane272,8555.67%
Heating Oil100,0232.08%
Wood81,2531.69%
Other Fuels43,4750.90%
No Fuel27,4020.57%
Coal3,0170.06%
Solar1,1310.02%

Natural gas (64.85)

Electricity (25.22)

Propane (5.67)

Heating oil (2.08)

Wood (1.69)

Other fuels (0.90)

No fuel (0.57)

Coal (0.06)

Solar (0.02)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Butler County. In the 7 years since 2015, the number of heating oil homes fell from 113,013 to 100,023, a 11.49% drop.

Butler County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
2011141,038
2012132,252
2013125,428
2014119,022
2015113,013
2016107,419
2017104,197
2018101,487
201999,323
202095,712
202192,977
2022100,023

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

Between 2015 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 239,273 to 272,855.

Between 2015 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 3,050,768 to 3,119,789.

Electricity use for home heating in Butler County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Butler County. Since 2015, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,034,454 to 1,213,218, a 17.28% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Butler 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, 1,131 homes in Butler County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 10.34% increase from 2015, when only 1,025 homes had installed active solar heating.

Butler County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Butler County homeowners purchased a total of 3 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Butler County’s overall heating oil use varies from year to year, primarily depending on how cold each winter is. As the temperature outside gets colder, homes’ heating systems need to burn more and more oil to keep homes warm. Last winter in Butler County, the average outside temperature was 12.0° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Butler County Average Winter Temperature

Heating SeasonAverage Temperature
Winter 2022 - 202349.2° F
Winter 2021 - 202237.2° F

Butler County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Butler County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 63 heating oil companies that serve Butler County is an important decision.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners willing to pay a premium for a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 0 “full-service” oil companies that serve Butler County. Full service companies such as undefined or undefined offer automatic fuel delivery and furnace repair under a single roof.

Discount Oil Companies: Also known by the names “COD Fuel Companies” or “Cash Heating Oil Companies”, these companies are for the budget-conscious Butler County homeowner. In return for better prices, you monitor the oil level in your tank and place an order when you run low on oil. Examples of cash heating oil companies that serve Butler County include A1 Mechanical of Dayton and American Heating and Air Conditioning.

Butler County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving Butler County: 63 companies

Average Number Of Butler County Homes Served Per Company: 70 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per Butler County Oil Company: 44,836 gallons per year

Butler County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

4,460 households in Butler County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential when Butler County thermometers drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

3% of Butler County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Butler County HouseholdsButler County Heating Oil Households
129,8214,460

313 Butler County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 3 million gallons of heating oil delivered to Butler County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the Butler County community relies on its 313 oil companies to keep warm.

Oil delivery is a two step process: First, an oil truck picks up oil at the nearest bulk fuel terminal. In the case of Butler County, two of the closest terminals are Citgo in Linden, NJ and Citgo in Linden, NJ. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to homes and businesses in Butler County.

More Butler County HVAC Resources