Homes have a choice of fuels that can be used when it comes to heating. Natural Gas is the most common choice in Barnstable, used by 1,473,396 or 52% of homeowners. The 2nd most popular primary heating fuel for Barnstable families is Electricity, used by 610,876 homes (22%). The other homes are heated with Heating Oil (20%), Propane (5%), Wood (1%), and Other (1%).

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

Year	Natural Gas	Propane	Electricity	Oil	Wood	Solar	Other
2025	1,473,396	128,896	610,876	555,640	29,010	9,580	23,565
2024	1,472,791	124,926	578,927	572,376	29,933	9,004	21,569
2023	1,413,104	137,540	556,235	615,564	28,805	6,958	25,447
2022	1,443,888	131,253	509,852	627,332	30,194	6,361	26,280
2021	1,411,895	129,599	492,336	649,036	30,651	5,807	21,455
2020	1,398,855	113,994	470,610	647,570	31,378	4,678	21,500
2019	1,385,815	98,388	448,883	646,103	32,105	3,549	21,544
2018	1,374,460	92,227	434,646	657,583	28,621	3,078	20,618
2017	1,353,682	88,756	418,715	674,937	34,421	3,525	19,989
2016	1,332,610	81,858	405,055	688,925	35,051	2,421	19,478
2015	1,306,073	79,528	403,279	690,548	38,927	1,693	20,120
2014	1,310,713	77,135	371,616	703,760	41,999	825	21,307
2013	1,265,878	81,306	371,400	740,917	47,009	1,432	17,553
2012	1,249,253	68,517	365,060	772,641	43,393	487	14,495
2011	1,242,643	65,582	354,007	806,422	40,356	893	13,919
2010	1,234,502	70,046	341,806	810,266	38,813	880	14,235

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Barnstable

Number two heating oil has become less popular in Barnstable. In the 10 years since 2015, the number of homeowners using heating oil dropped from 690,548 to 555,640, a 20% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Barnstable

Between 2015 and today, the number of houses using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 79,528 to 128,896, a 62% change. Comparing 2015 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel shot up from 1,306,073 to 1,473,396, a 13% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Barnstable

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in Barnstable. Since 2015, the number of homes heating with electricity ramped up from 403,279 to 610,876, a 51% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Barnstable

Solar is the most environmentally friendly of all 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 (similar to a hot water heater) in the basement. Today, 9,580 homes in Barnstable are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 466% gain from 2015, when 1,693 homes had active solar heating.

Barnstable County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Barnstable County homeowners purchased a total of 19 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Barnstable’s overall fuel oil consumption varies yearly depending on winter temperatures. As the temperature outside dips, homes’ HVAC systems need to burn increasing amounts of oil to maintain the temperature that the thermostat is set to. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Barnstable was 30.0°F, which was 4.5°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Barnstable County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
2024 - 2025	30° F
2023 - 2024	34.5° F

Barnstable County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Barnstable residences heating with fuel oil, selecting which of the 40 heating oil companies that serve Barnstable 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 select one of the 309 “full-service” oil companies that serve Barnstable. Full service companies such as Snow's Fuel Company LLC or ScudderTaylor Oil Co offer families annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic number two heating oil delivery and heating system repair. With an automatic oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s number two heating oil consumption and makes deliveries when your tank is running low. The family does not need to monitor the level of the oil tank or place individual orders.

Discount Oil Companies: also referred to as “COD Fuel” or “Cash Heating Oil” companies, discount oil companies are for customers who are looking to save money. With discount oil companies, in exchange for lower prices, you monitor the fuel oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order when you're running low. Examples of 2 Barnstable cash heating oil companies serving Barnstable include Cape Cod Oil Co and Mid cape Discount Oil.

Barnstable Heating Oil Company Statistics: Number two heating oil Companies Serving Barnstable: 40 companies .
Average Number of Barnstable Homes Served per Heating Oil company : 13891

Barnstable Heating Oil Delivery Overview

555,640 residences in Barnstable heat their homes with oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Barnstable temperatures drop as low as 24.3° F each winter. 19.6% of Barnstable houses are reliant on heating oil delivery each winter.

9.8% of Barnstable County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Barnstable County Households	Barnstable County Heating Oil Households
5.6M	555,640

615 Barnstable Oil Companies Homeowners Can Count On

With 582,115,838 gallons of heating oil delivered to Barnstable homes during this past winter, the Barnstable community depends on its 615 oil companies when temperatures dip. 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 Barnstable, two of the closest terminals are Sprague W in Springfield, MA and Buckeye in Springfield, MA. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to residences and companies throughout Barnstable and the surrounding region.

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