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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Greene Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Residences have a variety of fuels that can be used when it comes to heating. Natural Gas is the most common choice in Greene, used by 4,725,574 or 61% of residents. The next most popular primary heating fuel for Greene homeowners is Electricity, used by 1,365,710 homes (18%). The remaining homes are heated with Heating Oil (14%), Propane (5%), Other (1%), and Wood (1%).

Greene County Residential Primary Home Heating Fuel (No. of Households)

YearNatural GasPropaneElectricityOilWoodSolarOther
20254,725,574377,9221,365,7101,103,32392,05416,434100,232
20244,679,558370,9101,292,8681,143,78396,14715,25997,524
20234,581,041402,3351,263,7001,212,850100,01511,208104,369
20224,542,443400,9691,190,8801,279,26099,08011,314103,810
20214,489,009388,3111,118,0151,293,770108,2028,85898,952
20204,504,504353,9441,014,7301,343,665111,1068,77889,024
20194,519,999319,576911,4451,393,560114,0118,69779,096
20184,397,917308,020890,5541,459,976120,1596,02282,621
20174,339,349294,973867,9251,496,843122,0885,98877,386
20164,227,422273,838860,8561,540,787126,8906,53579,479
20154,202,413265,224808,3701,649,860141,0163,12078,999
20144,186,666258,775770,5771,752,656145,0122,57376,963
20134,074,510259,367764,4001,802,442148,4222,52581,841
20124,044,389237,738775,3901,901,118155,6032,16861,429
20114,014,222222,634707,0161,979,067143,2872,72863,609
20103,961,085227,607676,2622,068,004143,2421,82361,664

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Greene

Oil has become losing popularity in Greene. In the 3 years since 2022, the number of households using oil fell from 1,279,260 to 1,103,323, a 14% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Greene

Between 2022 and today, the number of households using propane as the primary space heating fuel declined from 400,969 to 377,922, a 6% change. Comparing 2022 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel jumped from 4,542,443 to 4,725,574, a 4% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Greene

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in Greene. Since 2022, the number of homes heating with electricity shot up from 1,190,880 to 1,365,710, a 15% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Greene

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, 16,434 homes in Greene are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 45% gain from 2022, when 11,314 homes incorporated active solar heating.

Greene County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Greene County homeowners purchased a total of 5 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Greene’s overall number two heating oil consumption varies from year to year correlating with how cold it gets each winter. As the temperature outside drops, homes’ HVAC systems need to burn additional number two heating oil to maintain the temperature that the thermostat is set to. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Greene was 28.1°F, which was 5.4°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Greene County Average Winter Temperature

Heating SeasonAverage Temperature
2024 - 202528.1° F
2023 - 202433.5° F

Greene County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Greene homeowners heating with heating oil, selecting which of the 38 heating oil companies that serve Greene is an important decision.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who value a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system pick one of the 202 “full-service” oil companies that serve Greene. Full service companies such as Morgans Fuels Inc or Watts Oil LLC offer customers annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic number two heating oil delivery and furnace repair. With an automatic heating oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s fuel 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 households who are on a budget. With discount oil companies, in return for better prices, you monitor the heating oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order when the oil gauge dips below a quarter tank. Examples of 2 Greene cash heating oil companies serving Greene include Crown Fuels Of Windham Inc and Raj Petroleum Inc.

Greene Number Two Heating Oil Company Statistics: Number two heating oil Companies Serving Greene: 38 companies .
Average Number of Greene Homes Served per Heating Oil company : 29035

Greene Heating Oil Delivery Overview

1,103,323 households in Greene heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Greene temperatures drop as low as 22.4° F each winter. 14.2% of Greene homes rely on oil delivery each winter.

7% of Greene County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Greene County HouseholdsGreene County Heating Oil Households
15.6M1.1M

469 Greene Number Two Heating Oil Companies You Can Trust

With 664,748,714 gallons of fuel oil delivered to Greene homeowners during this past winter, the Greene community relies on its 469 oil companies to keep warm throughout the winter. 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 Greene, two of the closest terminals are Sprague in Bridgeport, CT and N.h.term in New Haven, CT. Then, the truck delivers the oil to residences and companies throughout Greene and the surrounding region.