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

Residences have a host of fuels to choose from when it comes to heating. Natural Gas is the most common choice in Burlington, used by 2,627,206 or 74% of homeowners. The 2nd most popular primary heating fuel for Burlington residents is Electricity, used by 617,773 homes (17%). The rest of the homes are heated with Heating Oil (5%), Propane (2%), Other (0.4%), and Solar (0.3%).

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

YearNatural GasPropaneElectricityOilWoodSolarOther
20262,660,04970,826639,424176,39410,56513,03514,439
20252,627,20670,406617,773185,32410,68811,79814,006
20242,623,42866,233592,186198,05010,22310,92613,381
20232,552,59395,605606,537215,31410,7499,38820,755
20222,560,32989,511568,299231,69010,0547,92517,145
20212,545,03887,258555,363240,7659,8207,64319,506
20202,509,66679,338501,738241,25410,0946,46416,414
20192,474,29571,419448,114241,74210,3685,28413,323
20182,435,18367,930437,888258,88912,0694,62614,313
20172,425,00862,490415,119271,26511,9944,80112,938
20162,389,53059,916423,650271,17913,4663,21214,924
20152,398,74461,082385,792299,22214,3981,78112,721
20142,393,42362,396384,329309,23614,4711,74813,957
20132,354,82460,943388,226329,73317,4211,27010,710
20122,368,22260,990377,997356,37813,9741,00210,889
20112,342,60858,315360,855376,56811,8693327,917
20102,344,45563,241343,112392,54011,8863258,439

Heating Oil (Fuel Oil) Use in Burlington

Oil has become less popular in Burlington. In the 8 years since 2017, the number of households using heating oil fell from 271,265 to 185,324, a 32% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in Burlington

Between 2017 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel jumped from 62,490 to 70,406, a 13% change. Comparing 2017 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel rose from 2,425,008 to 2,627,206, a 8% change.

Electricity use for home heating in Burlington

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in Burlington. Since 2017, the number of homes heating with electricity rose from 415,119 to 617,773, a 49% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in Burlington

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. Now, 11,798 homes in Burlington are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 146% gain from 2017, when 4,801 homes utilized active solar heating.

Burlington County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, Burlington County homeowners purchased a total of 11 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

Burlington’s overall oil consumption fluctuates each year primarily depending on how cold each winter is. As the temperature outside gets colder, homes’ boilers need to burn more and more number two heating oil to maintain the temperature that the thermostat is set to. Last winter, the average outside temperature in Burlington was 33.5°F, which was 4.7°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

Burlington County Average Winter Temperature

Heating SeasonAverage Temperature
2024 - 202533.5° F
2023 - 202438.2° F

Burlington County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For Burlington homeowners heating with oil, choosing which of the 0 heating oil companies that serve Burlington is an important decision.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who value a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 0 “full-service” oil companies that serve Burlington. Full service companies such as or offer families annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic oil delivery and heating system repair. With an automatic heating oil delivery contract, the company tracks your home’s heating oil consumption and makes deliveries when your tank is running low. The customer 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 customers who are looking to save money. With discount oil companies, in exchange for lower prices, you monitor the fuel oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order when you're running low. Some of the 0 Burlington cash heating oil companies serving Burlington include Inc and .

Burlington Number Two Heating Oil Company Statistics: Number two heating oil Companies Serving Burlington: 0 companies .

Average Number of Burlington Homes Served per Heating Oil company : 185324

Burlington Heating Oil Delivery Overview

185,324 households in Burlington heat their homes with number two heating oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when Burlington temperatures drop as low as 28.8° F each winter. 5.2% of Burlington homes depend on heating oil delivery each winter.

2.6% of Burlington County Households Rely On Heating Oil Delivery Each Winter

Burlington County HouseholdsBurlington County Heating Oil Households
7.1M185,324

0 Burlington Oil Companies You Can Trust

With 169,797,916 gallons of oil delivered to Burlington homes the last heating season, the Burlington community relies on its 0 oil companies when temperatures dip. Oil delivery has two parts to it: First, an oil truck picks up oil at the nearest bulk fuel terminal (also known as a “rack”). In the case of Burlington, two of the closest terminals are Sunoco in Linden, NJ and Sunoco in Linden, NJ. Then, the truck delivers the #2 heating oil to residences and companies throughout Burlington and the surrounding vicinity.