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

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

Dauphin County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelDauphin County Households % of Households
Natural Gas2.6M51.75%
Electricity1.2M24.46%
Heating Oil786,44915.08%
Propane256,0984.91%
Wood122,4352.35%
Coal51,5310.99%
Other Fuels50,5060.97%
No Fuel33,3560.64%
Solar4,0930.08%

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 Dauphin County

Heating oil has become less popular in Dauphin County. In the 8 years since 2014, the number of heating oil homes fell from 930,735 to 786,449, a 15.50% drop.

Dauphin County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
20111.0M
20121.0M
2013963,754
2014930,735
2015899,276
2016864,952
2017843,020
2018828,104
2019814,213
2020811,086
2021790,823
2022786,449

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

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 189,112 to 256,098.

Between 2014 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,529,063 to 2,698,438.

Electricity use for home heating in Dauphin County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Dauphin County. Since 2014, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,050,178 to 1,275,546, a 21.46% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 221.78% increase from 2014, when only 1,272 homes had installed active solar heating.