MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – One thing that Midwesterners know all too well is the cold. But when they return to the comfort of their homes, there better well be some warmth in there. Having working heat in your home isn’t free and there’s a chance that some Midwesterners will be paying more for that heat than last year.
Types of heating fuel
Big picture view:
There are four primary types of heating fuel that are used throughout the U.S. that households use to heat their homes. The first and most popular is using natural gas, which is used by just under 61 million homes across the country or roughly 46% of U.S. households, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The next is far more commonly used in the South — electricity — which is used by about 58 million homes, making up about 43% of the country.
The other two are far less common across the country. There’s propane, which only about 5% of U.S. homes use, and heating oil, which only 3% of households use — most of which are in Maine, where 90% of homes use heating oil to keep their houses warm.
The final 3% of households in the U.S. either use wood, a different form of heat, or don’t have heat at all.
Heating costs in the Midwest
Local perspective:
The latest Winter Fuels Outlook released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration details the number of residents in different regions of the country who use each type of heating fuel as well as how much they’re spending.
In the Midwest, the most popular type of heating fuel is natural gas, which roughly 18 million households use to heat their homes. Of all the primary fuel types, natural gas is the cheapest, with Midwest residents having spent roughly $613 last winter.
According to the Winter Fuels Outlook, Midwest homes that use natural gas should expect to see a 10% drop in their heating bill for the upcoming season.
The second most-used fuel type in the Midwest is electricity, which a little over 7 million residents use. A bit more expensive than natural gas, Midwest consumers who used electricity to heat their homes spent $1,380 on average last winter and are projected to pay 3% more coming this winter.
Next is propane, which over 2 million Midwest households have. Similar to electricity, propane-powered homes in the Midwest spent $1,305 on heat. Unlike electricity though, Midwest homes that use propane are expected to see a 4% drop in their heating bill.
Finally, only about 174,000 homes use heating oil in the Midwest. On average, homes that use heating oil spent around $2,115 and that price is expected to rise significantly this year, with the Winter Fuels Outlook projecting a 21% price increase for homes that use heating oil.
Rest of the country
Dig deeper:
As for the rest of the country, the Midwest is pretty in line with the U.S. average for all fuel types.
On average, heating bills for homes that use natural gas across the U.S. are expected to drop 9%, electricity-powered homes are expected to rise 4%, propane is expected to drop 3% on average, and heating oil is expected to rise 21%.
On a region by region basis though, some stand out compared to the Midwest. For example, in the West, homes that use natural gas are expected to see a 7% increase in their heating bills — as well as a 9% increase for electricity-powered homes in the West.
Homes that use propane in the Northeast are expected to see a 15% drop in their heating bills compared to last year.
The Source: This story uses information from the Winter Fuels Outlook that was released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.