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

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Electricity is the most popular choice in Prince William County, used by 1,887,993 or 56.72% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Prince William 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).

Prince William County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Prince William 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 Prince William County

Heating oil has become less popular in Prince William County. In the 10 years since 2012, the number of heating oil homes fell from 211,492 to 129,907, a 38.58% drop.

Prince William 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 Prince William County

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 136,687 to 153,698.

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 1,026,182 to 1,101,616.

Electricity use for home heating in Prince William County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Prince William County. Since 2012, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,529,794 to 1,887,993, a 23.41% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Prince William 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 Prince William County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 550.35% increase from 2012, when only 423 homes had installed active solar heating.

Prince William County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Prince William County homeowners purchased a total of 1 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Prince William 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 Prince William County, the average outside temperature was 4.3° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Prince William County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
Winter 2022 - 2023	48° F
Winter 2021 - 2022	43.7° F

Prince William County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Prince William County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 64 heating oil companies that serve Prince William 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 Prince William 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 Prince William 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 Prince William County include ROBERTS HEATING & A C and Cardinal Heating & Cooling.

Prince William County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving Prince William County: 64 companies

Average Number Of Prince William County Homes Served Per Company: 33 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per Prince William County Oil Company: 20,252 gallons per year

Prince William County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

2,146 households in Prince William County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential when Prince William County thermometers drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

1% of Prince William County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Prince William County Households	Prince William County Heating Oil Households
137,147	2,146

155 Prince William County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 1 million gallons of heating oil delivered to Prince William County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the Prince William County community relies on its 155 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 Prince William County, two of the closest terminals are Motiva in Fairfax, VA and Buckeye in Baltimore, MD. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to homes and businesses in Prince William County.