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New Castle County Heating Oil Price History

Updated Today at 12:00 AM

DateAverage Oil Price
12/10/2024$3.500
12/09/2024$3.500
12/08/2024$3.550
12/07/2024$3.550
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
12/01/2024$3.650
11/30/2024$3.650
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
11/24/2024$3.600
11/23/2024$3.600
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
11/17/2024$3.550
11/16/2024$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: New Castle County Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in New Castle County, used by 169,865 or 43.18% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for New Castle 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).

New Castle County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelNew Castle County Households % of Households
Natural Gas169,86543.2%
Electricity144,31236.7%
Heating Oil38,1999.7%
Propane34,7688.8%
Other Fuels3,0900.8%
Wood2,6300.7%
No Fuel2,4630.6%
Solar1,0880.3%
Coal9020.2%

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 New Castle County

Heating oil has become less popular in New Castle County. In the 10 years since 2012, the number of heating oil homes fell from 56,875 to 38,199, a 32.84% drop.

New Castle County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
201158,474
201256,875
201354,361
201451,755
201549,733
201647,102
201744,319
201843,122
201941,550
202040,121
202138,925
202238,199

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in New Castle County

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel fell from 36,417 to 34,768.

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel fell from 134,280 to 169,865.

Electricity use for home heating in New Castle County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in New Castle County. Since 2012, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 100,072 to 144,312, a 44.21% increase.

Solar use for home heating in New Castle 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 New Castle County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 1150.57% increase from 2012, when only 87 homes had installed active solar heating.

New Castle County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, New Castle County homeowners purchased a total of 9 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

New Castle 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 New Castle County, the average outside temperature was 0.7° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

New Castle County Average Winter Temperature

Heating SeasonAverage Temperature
Winter 2023 - 202443.6° F
Winter 2022 - 202342.9° F

New Castle County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For New Castle County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 15 heating oil companies that serve New Castle 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 New Castle 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 New Castle 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 New Castle County include Shellhorn & Hill Inc and Roman Discount Oil.

New Castle County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving New Castle County: 15 companies

Average Number Of New Castle County Homes Served Per Company: 1,503 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per New Castle County Oil Company: 608,061 gallons per year

New Castle County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

Approximately 22,545 households in New Castle County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when New Castle County temperatures drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

9% of New Castle County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

New Castle County HouseholdsNew Castle County Heating Oil Households
226,73722,545

158 New Castle County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 9 million gallons of heating oil delivered to New Castle County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the New Castle County community relies on its 158 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 New Castle 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 New Castle County.

Heating Oil Near You In These Adjacent Counties