Families have a choice of fuels to choose from when it comes to heating. Heating Oil is the most popular choice in Somerset, used by 298,426 or 48% of families. The 2nd most popular primary heating fuel for Somerset residents is Propane, used by 101,382 homes (16%). The rest of the homes are heated with Electricity (15%), Wood (10%), Natural Gas (9%), and Other (2%).

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

Year	Natural Gas	Propane	Electricity	Oil	Wood	Solar	Other
2025	53,178	101,382	92,432	298,426	65,496	3,526	9,422
2024	51,248	98,171	83,361	309,159	59,610	3,144	8,226
2023	51,811	84,744	79,160	323,666	57,999	2,137	12,767
2022	48,991	84,304	63,901	339,456	51,998	1,704	11,224
2021	47,952	78,322	61,019	345,133	46,227	1,374	10,375
2020	46,351	73,782	54,514	345,001	50,077	1,210	9,402
2019	44,750	69,241	48,008	344,869	53,927	1,047	8,428
2018	44,328	61,194	41,759	355,904	54,843	1,169	8,683
2017	41,841	61,816	36,406	331,541	54,454	1,228	10,328
2016	41,879	52,621	33,543	333,900	55,290	312	11,584
2015	37,624	50,511	35,138	336,337	70,767	604	11,270
2014	37,608	48,027	28,040	342,185	78,214	451	11,692
2013	31,836	45,601	28,747	351,842	76,707	486	9,827
2012	28,621	41,477	23,260	374,110	76,225	635	6,995
2011	27,427	42,224	24,723	379,409	68,055	307	6,480
2010	23,135	36,617	27,813	384,021	65,520	446	5,177

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Somerset

Number two heating oil has become losing popularity in Somerset. In the 7 years since 2018, the number of households using fuel oil dipped from 355,904 to 298,426, a 16% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Somerset

Between 2018 and today, the number of households using propane as the primary space heating fuel grew from 61,194 to 101,382, a 66% change. Comparing 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel jumped from 44,328 to 53,178, a 20% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Somerset

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more prevalent in Somerset. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity grew from 41,759 to 92,432, a 121% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Somerset

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. Currently, 3,526 homes in Somerset are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 202% gain from 2018, when 1,169 homes used active solar heating.

Somerset County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Somerset County homeowners purchased a total of 6 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Somerset’s overall number two heating oil consumption varies from year to year as winter conditions change. As the temperature outside dips, homes’ heating systems need to burn additional oil to maintain a constant interior temperature. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Somerset was 24.4°F, which was 4.2°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Somerset County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
2024 - 2025	24.4° F
2023 - 2024	28.6° F

Somerset County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Somerset homeowners heating with fuel oil, choosing which of the 13 heating oil companies that serve Somerset can drastically impact the cost of home heating.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who value a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system select one of the 11 “full-service” oil companies that serve Somerset. Full service companies such as Bobs Cash Fuel or Bobs Cash Fuel offer clients annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic heating oil delivery and heating system repair. With an automatic number two heating oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s number two heating oil consumption and makes deliveries when your tank is running low. The household does not need to monitor the level of the oil tank or place individual orders.

Discount Oil Companies: Often called “COD Fuel” or “Cash Heating Oil” companies, discount oil companies are for homeowners who are on a budget. With discount oil companies, in return for better prices, you monitor the fuel oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order when you're running low. A few of the 2 Somerset cash heating oil companies serving Somerset include Valley Gas and Oil Company and Twitchell Fuel co.

Somerset Number Two Heating Oil Company By The Numbers: Oil Companies Serving Somerset: 13 companies .
Average Number of Somerset Houses Served per Heating Oil company : 22956

Somerset Heating Oil Delivery Overview

298,426 homes in Somerset heat their homes with oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Somerset temperatures drop as low as 17.7° F each winter. 47.8% of Somerset families are reliant on fuel oil delivery each winter.

23.9% of Somerset County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Somerset County Households	Somerset County Heating Oil Households
1.2M	298,426

45 Somerset Number Two Heating Oil Companies Go The Distance

With 246,945,991 gallons of number two heating oil delivered to Somerset homes last winter, the Somerset community looks to its 45 oil companies when temperatures dip. Oil delivery is a two step process: First, an oil truck picks up oil at the nearest bulk fuel terminal (also known as a “rack”). In the case of Somerset, two of the closest terminals are Sprague in Newington, NH and Sprague in So. Portland, ME. Then, the truck delivers the number two heating oil to residences and companies throughout Somerset and the surrounding area.

Heating Oil Near You In These Adjacent Counties

Androscoggin County, ME

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Sagadahoc County, ME

Waldo County, ME