hamburger menu icon
User Icon

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

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

Oneida 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 Oneida

Oil has become less popular in Oneida. In the 7 years since 2018, the number of families using oil declined from 1,459,976 to 1,103,323, a 24% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Oneida

Between 2018 and today, the number of households using propane as the primary space heating fuel shot up from 308,020 to 377,922, a 23% change. Comparing 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel shot up from 4,397,917 to 4,725,574, a 7% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Oneida

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are increasing in demand in Oneida. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity grew from 890,554 to 1,365,710, a 53% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Oneida

Out of all fuels, solar is the safest for the environment. 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. As it stands today, 16,434 homes in Oneida are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 173% gain from 2018, when 6,022 homes utilized active solar heating.

Oneida County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Oneida County homeowners purchased a total of 4 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Oneida’s overall oil use fluctuates annually as winter conditions change. As the temperature outside gets colder, homes’ furnaces need to burn more and more fuel oil to maintain the temperature that the thermostat is set to. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Oneida was 28.1°F, which was 5.4°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Oneida County Average Winter Temperature

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

Oneida County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Oneida homeowners heating with oil, picking which of the 15 heating oil companies that serve Oneida can drastically impact the cost of home heating.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who prefer a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 117 “full-service” oil companies that serve Oneida. Full service companies such as Thermo Petroleum Products Inc or Broedel Fuel Group LLC offer clients annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic number two heating oil delivery and furnace repair. With an automatic fuel oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s heating 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 families who are looking to save money. With discount oil companies, in return for better prices, you monitor the fuel oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order either when the level runs low or just before a major snowstorm. Examples of 2 Oneida cash heating oil companies serving Oneida include Conservative Petroleum LLC and Jennison Fuels LLC.

Oneida Number Two Heating Oil Company Statistics: Oil Companies Serving Oneida: 15 companies .
Average Number of Oneida Households Served per Fuel Oil company : 73555

Oneida Heating Oil Delivery Overview

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

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

Oneida County HouseholdsOneida County Heating Oil Households
15.6M1.1M

295 Oneida Fuel Oil Companies You Can Bank On

With 664,748,714 gallons of heating oil delivered to Oneida residences during this past winter, the Oneida community depends on its 295 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 Oneida, two of the closest terminals are Sprague in Bridgeport, CT and N.h.term in New Haven, CT. Then, the truck delivers the number two heating oil to homes and businesses throughout Oneida and the surrounding region.