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Propane vs. Natural Gas vs. Heating Oil: St Lawrence Home Heating Fuel Comparison

Homes have a choice of fuels to choose from when it comes to heating. Natural Gas is the most popular choice in St Lawrence, used by 4,725,574 or 61% of families. The 2nd most popular primary heating fuel for St Lawrence families 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%).

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

YearNatural GasPropaneElectricityOilWoodSolarOther
20264,768,707390,1351,429,8221,059,44989,06418,053103,422
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 St Lawrence

Oil has become decreasing in demand in St Lawrence. In the 4 years since 2021, the number of families using fuel oil dropped from 1,293,770 to 1,103,323, a 15% drop.

Propane vs. Natural Gas use for home heating in St Lawrence

Between 2021 and today, the number of homes using propane as the primary space heating fuel fell from 388,311 to 377,922, a 3% change. Comparing 2021 and today, the number of homes using natural gas as the primary space heating fuel ramped up from 4,489,009 to 4,725,574, a 5% change.

Electricity use for home heating in St Lawrence

Electric heat pump systems for home heating are more popular in St Lawrence. Since 2021, the number of homes heating with electricity shot up from 1,118,015 to 1,365,710, a 22% change.

Adoption of solar home heating systems in St Lawrence

The most eco-friendly heating option is solar. 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 St Lawrence are heated with active solar arrays. This is a 86% gain from 2021, when 8,858 homes utilized active solar heating.

St Lawrence County Heating Oil Trends

Last year, St Lawrence County homeowners purchased a total of 2 million gallons of heating oil.

Short Term Trends

St Lawrence’s overall number two heating oil consumption changes from year to year as winter conditions change. As the temperature outside gets colder, homes’ heating systems need to burn additional oil to maintain a constant interior temperature. Last winter, the average outside temperature in St Lawrence was 28.1°F, which was 5.4°F colder than the prior winter's average outside temperature.

St Lawrence County Average Winter Temperature

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

St Lawrence County Homeowner’s Guide to Selecting an Oil Company

For St Lawrence families heating with number two heating oil, picking which of the 8 heating oil companies that serve St Lawrence makes a big difference.

Full Service Oil Companies: Homeowners who prefer a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system choose one of the 8 “full-service” oil companies that serve St Lawrence. Full service companies such as Collins Oil Inc or Harris Oil Inc offer customers annual contracts which consist of a combined package of both automatic oil delivery and boiler repair. With an automatic 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 households who are on a budget. With discount oil companies, in exchange for lower prices, you monitor the oil level in your tank, and you place an oil order either when the level runs low or just before a major snowstorm. Some of the 2 St Lawrence cash heating oil companies serving St Lawrence include Mx Petroleum Corp Inc and Mj Leroux Oil Corp.

St Lawrence Fuel Oil Company Fast Facts: Number two heating oil Companies Serving St Lawrence: 8 companies .

Average Number of St Lawrence Homes Served per Number Two Heating Oil company : 137915

St Lawrence Heating Oil Delivery Overview

1,103,323 residences in St Lawrence heat their homes with oil. This makes oil delivery essential, especially when St Lawrence temperatures drop as low as 22.4° F each winter. 14.2% of St Lawrence families depend on heating oil delivery each winter.

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

St Lawrence County HouseholdsSt Lawrence County Heating Oil Households
15.6M1.1M

21 St Lawrence Oil Companies Go The Distance

With 664,748,714 gallons of heating oil delivered to St Lawrence homes last winter, the St Lawrence community looks to its 21 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 St Lawrence, 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 residences and companies throughout St Lawrence and the surrounding area.