Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Windham Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homes have a variety of fuels that can be used when it comes to heating. Natural Gas is the most common choice in Windham, used by 537,918 or 37% of households. The 2nd most popular primary heating fuel for Windham households is Heating Oil, used by 491,612 homes (34%). The remaining homes are heated with Electricity (21%), Propane (6%), Wood (1%), and Other (1%).

Windham County Residential Primary Home Heating Fuel (in Number of Households)

Year	Natural Gas	Propane	Electricity	Oil	Wood	Solar	Other
2025	537,918	88,504	302,730	491,612	19,550	6,488	10,689
2024	526,146	82,630	293,463	509,593	21,103	5,852	10,146
2023	530,315	92,469	276,839	496,091	19,885	4,238	15,392
2022	519,969	86,596	262,494	520,424	18,487	2,985	13,466
2021	506,772	80,721	258,306	532,053	22,992	2,966	14,306
2020	503,622	73,848	247,960	533,736	22,648	1,909	11,330
2019	500,471	66,974	237,614	535,420	22,304	852	8,355
2018	497,422	60,526	232,420	549,036	22,954	1,579	8,782
2017	478,136	55,608	219,208	562,247	24,510	1,029	10,257
2016	476,852	55,631	230,532	554,283	23,580	900	9,232
2015	471,195	51,915	214,414	561,996	29,530	937	8,159
2014	464,748	49,540	212,031	576,948	34,478	554	11,670
2013	449,787	46,397	209,463	585,757	29,361	401	10,236
2012	442,443	43,849	212,708	615,734	27,351	378	9,891
2011	437,840	43,778	207,267	625,164	25,707	611	7,588
2010	427,850	39,533	203,568	650,621	26,373	299	7,110

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Windham

Number two heating oil has become decreasing in demand in Windham. In the 9 years since 2016, the number of homeowners using number two heating oil decreased from 554,283 to 491,612, a 11% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Windham

Between 2016 and today, the number of houses using propane as the primary space heating fuel jumped from 55,631 to 88,504, a 59% change. Comparing 2016 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel increased from 476,852 to 537,918, a 13% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Windham

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in Windham. Since 2016, the number of homes heating with electricity grew from 230,532 to 302,730, a 31% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Windham

Solar is the most environmentally friendly of all heating fuels. With an “active” solar heating system, liquid flows between solar panels on a home’s roof and a heat energy storage tank (similar to a hot water heater) in the basement. Now, 6,488 homes in Windham are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 621% gain from 2016, when 900 homes used active solar heating.

Windham County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Windham County homeowners purchased a total of 20 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Windham’s overall heating oil consumption changes yearly primarily depending on how cold each winter is. As the temperature outside dips, homes’ HVAC systems need to burn additional number two heating oil to maintain the temperature that the thermostat is set to. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Windham was 30.6°F, which was 4.6°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Windham County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
2024 - 2025	30.6° F
2023 - 2024	35.2° F

Windham County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Windham families heating with number two heating oil, selecting which of the 56 heating oil companies that serve Windham makes a big difference.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who are willing to pay a premium for a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system pick one of the 395 “full-service” oil companies that serve Windham. Full service companies such as Ed's Garage Inc or HYBRID SERVICES LLC. offer customers annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic number two heating oil delivery and furnace repair. With an automatic heating oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s heating oil consumption and makes deliveries when your tank is running low. The client does not need to monitor the level of the oil tank or place individual orders.

Discount Oil Companies: Also known by the names “COD Fuel” or “Cash Heating Oil” companies, discount oil companies are for customers who are looking to save money. With discount oil companies, in return for better prices, you monitor the oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order when you're running low. A few of the 2 Windham cash heating oil companies serving Windham include Asi Oil LLC and Saveway Petroleum.

Windham Fuel Oil Company By The Numbers: Fuel oil Companies Serving Windham: 56 companies .
Average Number of Windham Houses Served per Heating Oil company : 8779

Windham Heating Oil Delivery Overview

491,612 households in Windham heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Windham temperatures drop as low as 25.1° F each winter. 33.7% of Windham households rely on oil delivery each winter.

16.8% of Windham County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Windham County Households	Windham County Heating Oil Households
2.9M	491,612

806 Windham Number Two Heating Oil Companies Homeowners Can Count On

With 397,280,973 gallons of heating oil delivered to Windham families during this past winter, the Windham community depends on its 806 oil companies to keep warm throughout the winter. Oil delivery has two parts to it: First, an oil truck picks up oil at the nearest bulk fuel terminal (also known as a “rack”). In the case of Windham, two of the closest terminals are Buckeye in Wethersfield, CT and Sprague W in Springfield, MA. Then, the truck delivers the oil to homes and businesses throughout Windham and the surrounding vicinity.