Homeowners have a variety of home heating fuels to choose from. Natural gas is the most popular choice in Franklin County, used by 4,593,346 or 59.99% of homes. The 2nd most popular choice for Franklin County homeowners is heating oil, used by 1,379,410 homes (18.02%). The remaining homes are heated with electricity (1,040,155), propane (371,184), no fuel (127,077), and other fuels (245,918).

Franklin County Primary Home Heating Fuel Popularity by Number of Households

Fuel	Franklin County Households	% of Households
Natural Gas	4.5M	59.99%
Heating Oil	1.3M	18.02%
Electricity	1.0M	13.59%
Propane	371,184	4.85%
No Fuel	127,077	1.66%
Wood	117,324	1.53%
Other Fuels	102,644	1.34%
Coal	17,488	0.23%
Solar	8,462	0.11%

Natural gas (59.99)

Heating oil (18.02)

Electricity (13.59)

Propane (4.85)

No fuel (1.66)

Wood (1.53)

Other fuels (1.34)

Coal (0.23)

Solar (0.11)

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

Heating oil has become less popular in Franklin County. In the 4 years since 2018, the number of heating oil homes fell from 1,592,482 to 1,379,410, a 13.38% drop.

Franklin County Heating Oil Households (2011 - 2022)

Year	Heating Oil Households
2011	2.1M
2012	2.0M
2013	1.9M
2014	1.9M
2015	1.8M
2016	1.7M
2017	1.6M
2018	1.5M
2019	1.5M
2020	1.4M
2021	1.4M
2022	1.3M

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

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel rose from 283,653 to 371,184.

Between 2018 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 4,286,403 to 4,593,346.

Electricity use for home heating in Franklin County

Electric space heating systems are becoming more popular in Franklin County. Since 2018, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 840,252 to 1,040,155, a 23.79% increase.

Solar use for home heating in Franklin 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, 8,462 homes in Franklin County are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 70.85% increase from 2018, when only 4,953 homes had installed active solar heating.

Franklin County Heating Oil Trends

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

Short Term Trends

Franklin 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 Franklin County, the average outside temperature was 5.7° F warmer than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Franklin County Average Winter Temperature

Heating Season	Average Temperature
Winter 2022 - 2023	46.5° F
Winter 2021 - 2022	40.8° F

Franklin County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Franklin County homeowners heating with oil, selecting which of the 10 heating oil companies that serve Franklin 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 24 “full-service” oil companies that serve Franklin County. Full service companies such as Collins Oil Inc or Harris Oil Inc 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County include Adirondack Energy Products Inc and Fountain Heating LLC.

Franklin County Heating Oil Company Fast Facts

Heating Oil Companies Serving Franklin County: 10 companies

Average Number Of Franklin County Homes Served Per Company: 877 homes

Average Gallons Delivered per Franklin County Oil Company: 422,922 gallons per year

Franklin County Heating Oil Delivery Overview

8,776 households in Franklin County heat their homes with fuel oil. This makes oil delivery essential when Franklin County thermometers drop as low as 42.5° F each winter.

55% of Franklin County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Franklin County Households	Franklin County Heating Oil Households
15,831	8,776

73 Franklin County Oil Companies Go the Distance

With 4 million gallons of heating oil delivered to Franklin County homeowners during the winter of 2023, the Franklin County community relies on its 73 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 Franklin County, two of the closest terminals are Buckeye in Marcy, NY and Sunoco in Marcy, NY. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to homes and businesses in Franklin County.