Families have a variety of fuels that can be used when it comes to heating. Heating Oil is the preferred choice in Cheshire, used by 212,831 or 37% of homeowners. The next most popular primary heating fuel for Cheshire residents is Natural Gas, used by 124,974 homes (22%). The remaining homes are heated with Propane (21%), Electricity (12%), Wood (6%), and Other (2%).

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

Year	Natural Gas	Propane	Electricity	Oil	Wood	Solar	Other
2025	124,974	121,512	70,926	212,831	32,268	2,474	11,835
2024	126,691	116,162	68,090	211,416	29,746	2,147	11,751
2023	118,533	112,909	64,436	221,554	35,424	1,544	10,170
2022	121,267	103,967	61,455	223,612	30,964	909	10,992
2021	121,966	102,208	58,765	218,724	30,381	890	10,002
2020	118,607	98,116	56,313	223,224	32,446	761	9,755
2019	115,248	94,024	53,861	227,725	34,512	632	9,508
2018	113,986	86,695	50,260	232,152	35,632	411	8,224
2017	111,070	90,341	47,927	227,681	37,912	575	8,850
2016	110,428	81,949	48,677	229,187	35,047	666	9,880
2015	103,292	78,670	46,002	232,674	42,472	488	10,268
2014	100,601	76,212	46,268	230,361	49,555	275	10,068
2013	101,529	76,485	42,038	239,542	44,711	334	9,251
2012	104,858	72,091	39,257	245,324	43,948	593	7,870
2011	100,958	74,416	40,613	252,159	37,084	280	7,019
2010	100,857	70,863	41,909	253,772	40,272	85	4,752

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Cheshire

Heating oil has become less popular in Cheshire. In the 6 years since 2019, the number of households using number two heating oil dipped from 227,725 to 212,831, a 7% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Cheshire

Between 2019 and today, the number of households using propane as the primary space heating fuel grew from 94,024 to 121,512, a 29% change. Comparing 2019 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 115,248 to 124,974, a 8% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Cheshire

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in Cheshire. Since 2019, the number of homes heating with electricity shot up from 53,861 to 70,926, a 32% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Cheshire

Out of all fuels, solar is the safest for the environment. 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. Today, 2,474 homes in Cheshire are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 291% gain from 2019, when 632 homes incorporated active solar heating.

Cheshire County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Cheshire County homeowners purchased a total of 15 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Cheshire’s overall heating oil usage fluctuates from year to year correlating with how cold it gets each winter. As the temperature outside drops, homes’ furnaces need to burn more and more heating oil to keep the house warm inside. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Cheshire was 24.1°F, which was 5.3°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Cheshire County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
2024 - 2025	24.1° F
2023 - 2024	29.4° F

Cheshire County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Cheshire families heating with heating oil, choosing which of the 13 heating oil companies that serve Cheshire can drastically impact the cost of home heating.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who can afford a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 47 “full-service” oil companies that serve Cheshire. Full service companies such as Reds of Jaffrey or Discount Oil Of Keene offer families annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic heating oil delivery and boiler repair. With an automatic fuel oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s fuel oil consumption and makes deliveries when your tank is running low. The homeowner 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 clients who are budget-conscious. With discount oil companies, in return for better prices, you monitor the heating oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order either when the level runs low or just before a major snowstorm. Some of the 2 Cheshire cash heating oil companies serving Cheshire include Patten Energy and Davis Oil Company.

Cheshire Number Two Heating Oil Company By The Numbers: Oil Companies Serving Cheshire: 13 companies .
Average Number of Cheshire Homes Served per Fuel Oil company : 16372

Cheshire Heating Oil Delivery Overview

212,831 families in Cheshire heat their homes with heating oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Cheshire temperatures drop as low as 16.9° F each winter. 36.9% of Cheshire houses depend on number two heating oil delivery each winter.

18.4% of Cheshire County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Cheshire County Households	Cheshire County Heating Oil Households
1.1M	212,831

164 Cheshire Oil Companies Serving The Community

With 199,461,865 gallons of heating oil delivered to Cheshire households during this past winter, the Cheshire community depends on its 164 oil companies to keep their oil tanks full. 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 Cheshire, two of the closest terminals are Sprague in Newington, NH and Gulf in Chelsea, MA. Then, the truck delivers the oil to homes and businesses throughout Cheshire and the surrounding area.

Heating Oil Near You In These Adjacent Counties

Rockingham County, NH

Strafford County, NH

Sullivan County, NH