Electricity use is becoming more common for residential heating

An increasing share of U.S. households are using electricity for heating, although natural gas remains the most common heating fuel. In 2024, 42% of U.S. households reported that electricity was their main space heating fuel, according to annual estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Natural gas was the main heating fuel in 47% of homes last year, a decline from 49% in 2010.

Evolving trends in home heating fuels reflect shifts in housing populations, changes in technology and policy, and decisions by households and home builders. The center of American population continues to generally move west and south, from areas with colder weather to areas with warmer weather. As that population has shifted, overall demand for space heating has declined.

Data from our Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show how heating fuel choices vary based on a home's exposure to different temperatures. In 2020, the most recent year for which RECS produced consumption and efficiency estimates, the homes exposed to the warmest temperatures throughout the year were more likely to use electricity as their main heating fuel or report that they did not use any fuel for space heating. By comparison, propane, heating oil, and wood space heating were more common in homes exposed to the coldest temperatures.

Changes in policy and technology have also affected choices for heating equipment and heating fuels. In recent years, multiple state and local governments have banned natural gas in new residential construction or retrofit applications, citing indoor air quality concerns associated with fuel combustion and other factors. (Many of those policies have since been challenged in courts.) Additionally, technology improvements associated with electric air-source heat pumps have contributed to the growing share of homes primarily heating with electricity, especially in colder climates.

The fuel used for space heating is more likely to be used elsewhere in the home. Households that use natural gas as their main space heating fuel, for example, are more likely to also use natural gas for water heating, cooking, and clothes drying compared with the overall U.S. housing population. Similarly, homes with electric space heating are more likely to also use electricity for those other end uses.

Earlier this year, for the first time in RECS history, we released monthly consumption and expenditure estimates for electricity and natural gas. These monthly values show the seasonal variation in energy consumption from space heating, water heating, and—for electricity—space cooling. Residential natural gas consumption is highest in the winter months because of increased demand for space heating. Residential electricity consumption also increases in the winter months, but to a lesser extent, because those homes tend to be in places with warmer weather with correspondingly less need for space heating.

Principal contributors: Owen Comstock, Greg Lawson