Date	Average Oil Price
12/20/2024	$3.650
12/19/2024	$3.650
12/18/2024	$3.650
12/17/2024	$3.650
12/16/2024	$3.650
12/13/2024	$3.550
12/12/2024	$3.550
12/11/2024	$3.550
12/10/2024	$3.550
12/09/2024	$3.500
12/06/2024	$3.550
12/05/2024	$3.600
12/04/2024	$3.600
12/03/2024	$3.600
12/02/2024	$3.600
11/29/2024	$3.650
11/28/2024	$3.650
11/27/2024	$3.650
11/26/2024	$3.650
11/25/2024	$3.650
11/22/2024	$3.600
11/21/2024	$3.600
11/20/2024	$3.600
11/19/2024	$3.600
11/18/2024	$3.550
11/15/2024	$3.550
11/14/2024	$3.550
11/13/2024	$3.550
11/12/2024	$3.550
11/11/2024	$3.600

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

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Kent County, used by 169,865 or 43.18% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Kent County homeowners is electricity, used by 144,312 homes (36.68%). The remaining homes are heated with heating oil (38,199), propane (34,768), other fuels (3,090), and other fuels (7,083).

Kent County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Kent County Households	% of Households
Natural Gas	169,865	43.2%
Electricity	144,312	36.7%
Heating Oil	38,199	9.7%
Propane	34,768	8.8%
Other Fuels	3,090	0.8%
Wood	2,630	0.7%
No Fuel	2,463	0.6%
Solar	1,088	0.3%
Coal	902	0.2%

Natural gas (43.2%)

Electricity (36.7%)

Heating oil (9.7%)

Propane (8.8%)

Other fuels (0.8%)

Wood (0.7%)

No fuel (0.6%)

Solar (0.3%)

Coal (0.2%)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Kent County. In the 5 years since 2017, the number of heating oil homes fell from 44,319 to 38,199, a 13.81% drop.

Kent County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	58,474
2012	56,875
2013	54,361
2014	51,755
2015	49,733
2016	47,102
2017	44,319
2018	43,122
2019	41,550
2020	40,121
2021	38,925
2022	38,199

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

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel fell from 35,829 to 34,768.

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel fell from 147,573 to 169,865.

Electricity use for home heating in Kent County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Kent County. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 116,474 to 144,312, a 23.90% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Kent 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, 1,088 homes in Kent County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 237.89% increase from 2017, when only 322 homes had installed active solar heating.

Kent County Heating Oil Trends

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

Short Term Trends

Kent 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 Kent County, the average outside temperature was 4.2° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Kent County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
2024 - 2025	45.1° F
2023 - 2024	40.9° F

Kent County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Kent County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 12 heating oil companies that serve Kent 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 Kent 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 Kent 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 Kent County include Service Energy Llc and Sharp Energy.

Kent County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving Kent County: 12 companies

Average Number Of Kent County Homes Served Per Company: 548 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per Kent County Oil Company: 222,072 gallons per year

Kent County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

Approximately 6,587 households in Kent County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Kent County temperatures drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

10% of Kent County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Kent County Households	Kent County Heating Oil Households
63,123	6,587

110 Kent County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 3 million gallons of heating oil delivered to Kent County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the Kent County community relies on its 110 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 Kent County, two of the closest terminals are Pbfenergy in Delaware City, DE and Etmt in Twin Oaks, PA. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to homes and businesses in Kent County.