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Search Portsmouth County, VA Local Oil Prices by City

Portsmouth County Heating Oil Price History

Updated on July 30, 2024 at 12:00 AM

DateAverage Oil Price
07/30/2024$3.199
07/29/2024$3.199
07/26/2024$3.199
07/25/2024$3.199
07/24/2024$3.299
07/23/2024$3.299
07/22/2024$3.299
07/19/2024$3.299
07/18/2024$3.299
07/17/2024$3.299
07/16/2024$3.299
07/15/2024$3.299
07/12/2024$3.249
07/11/2024$3.249
07/10/2024$3.249
07/09/2024$3.249
07/08/2024$3.199
07/05/2024$3.199
07/04/2024$3.199
07/03/2024$3.199
07/02/2024$3.199
07/01/2024$3.199
06/28/2024$3.199
06/27/2024$3.099
06/26/2024$3.099
06/25/2024$3.099
06/24/2024$3.099
06/13/2024$3.299
06/12/2024$3.299
06/11/2024$3.299

Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: Portsmouth County Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Electricity is the most popular choice in Portsmouth County, used by 1,887,993 or 56.72% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Portsmouth County homeowners is natural gas, used by 1,101,616 homes (33.09%). The remaining homes are heated with propane (153,698), heating oil (129,907), wood (65,453), and other fuels (41,045).

Portsmouth County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

FuelPortsmouth County Households % of Households
Electricity1.8M56.7%
Natural Gas1.1M33.1%
Propane153,6984.6%
Heating Oil129,9073.9%
Wood65,4532.0%
No Fuel24,3140.7%
Other Fuels12,4890.4%
Solar2,7510.1%
Coal1,4910.0%

Electricity (56.7%)

Natural gas (33.1%)

Propane (4.6%)

Heating oil (3.9%)

Wood (2.0%)

No fuel (0.7%)

Other fuels (0.4%)

Solar (0.1%)

Coal (0.0%)

#2 Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Portsmouth County

Heating oil has become less popular in Portsmouth County. In the 10 years since 2012, the number of heating oil homes fell from 211,492 to 129,907, a 38.58% drop.

Portsmouth County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

YearHeating Oil Households
2011228,988
2012211,492
2013195,333
2014182,928
2015171,696
2016162,011
2017154,885
2018148,684
2019141,997
2020137,208
2021128,923
2022129,907

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Portsmouth County

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 136,687 to 153,698.

Between 2012 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 1,026,182 to 1,101,616.

Electricity use for home heating in Portsmouth County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Portsmouth County. Since 2012, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 1,529,794 to 1,887,993, a 23.41% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Portsmouth County

Solar is the most environmentally friendly of all space 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 in the basement.

Currently, 2,751 homes in Portsmouth County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 550.35% increase from 2012, when only 423 homes had installed active solar heating.

Portsmouth County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Portsmouth County homeowners purchased a total of 251,257 gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Portsmouth County’s overall heating oil use varies from year to year, primarily depending on how cold each winter is. As the temperature outside gets colder, homes’ heating systems need to burn more and more oil to keep homes warm. Last winter in Portsmouth County, the average outside temperature was 2.1° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Portsmouth County Average Winter Temperature

Heating SeasonAverage Temperature
2024 - 202544.4° F
2023 - 202442.3° F

Portsmouth County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Portsmouth County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 6 heating oil companies that serve Portsmouth County is an important decision.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners willing to pay a premium for a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 0 “full-service” oil companies that serve Portsmouth County. Full service companies such as undefined or undefined offer automatic fuel delivery and furnace repair under a single roof.

Discount Oil Companies: Also known by the names “COD Fuel Companies” or “Cash Heating Oil Companies”, these companies are for the budget-conscious Portsmouth County homeowner. In return for better prices, you monitor the oil level in your tank and place an order when you run low on oil. Examples of cash heating oil companies that serve Portsmouth County include Bogue Oil and Griffin Oil & Propane.

Portsmouth County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving Portsmouth County: 6 companies

Average Number Of Portsmouth County Homes Served Per Company: 69 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per Portsmouth County Oil Company: 41,876 gallons per year

Portsmouth County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

Approximately 416 households in Portsmouth County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Portsmouth County temperatures drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

1% of Portsmouth County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Portsmouth County HouseholdsPortsmouth County Heating Oil Households
40,563416

6 Portsmouth County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 251,257 gallons of heating oil delivered to Portsmouth County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the Portsmouth County community relies on its 6 oil companies to keep warm.

Oil delivery is a two step process: First, an oil truck picks up oil at the nearest bulk fuel terminal. In the case of Portsmouth County, two of the closest terminals are Kinder-m2 in Richmond, VA and 1st Enrgy in Richmond, VA. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to homes and businesses in Portsmouth County.