Space heating is a major U.S. household energy end use, but “space heater” can mean either portable equipment or the broader system used to heat a home. The statistics below keep those populations separate and identify whether each figure is a survey estimate, observed estimate, forecast or fire estimate.
Key Space Heater Statistics
The most useful national figures include:
- In 2020, 123.53 million occupied primary U.S. housing units were represented by the RECS.
- In 2020, 5.79 million U.S. occupied primary residences used no space-heating equipment.
- In 2020, natural gas was the main space-heating fuel in 62.71 million U.S. homes.
- In 2020, electricity was the main space-heating fuel in 42.57 million U.S. homes.
- In 2024 ACS estimates, electricity was the main heating fuel for 42% of U.S. households.
- In 2024 ACS estimates, natural gas was the main heating fuel for 47% of U.S. homes.
- In 2020, central warm-air furnaces were the main heating equipment in 74.42 million U.S. homes.
- In 2020, portable electric heaters were the main heating equipment in 3.03 million U.S. homes.
- In 2020, space heating accounted for 4,026 trillion Btu of U.S. household site energy.
- In 2020, the average household using space heating used 34.4 million Btu for that end use.
- In 2020, very cold and cold U.S. climate regions used 2,271 trillion Btu for space heating.
- In 2020, space heating represented 12% of U.S. residential site electricity consumption.
- In 2020, households using space heating consumed an average of 2,484 kWh of site electricity for that end use.
- In 2020, U.S. households spent an average of $519 on space heating.
- For November 2025 through March 2026, EIA forecast average winter electricity expenditure of $1,130 per primary electric-heating household.
- In 2024, an estimated 27,200 residential heating fires occurred in the United States.
- From 2017 through 2019, portable heaters were involved in 41% of fatal residential heating fires.
- From 2017 through 2019, placing a heat source too close to combustibles was reported in 48% of portable heater fires.
Contents
- Space-heating scale and household adoption
- Space-heating equipment and portable heater data
- Space-heating energy use and climate demand
- Heating costs and winter forecasts
- Heating safety outcomes and fire trends
Space-Heating Scale and Household Adoption
The 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) represented 123.53 million occupied primary housing units in the United States. Its population excludes vacant, seasonal and secondary homes and group quarters, so the figures describe occupied primary residences rather than every dwelling.
The same survey estimated that 5.79 million U.S. households used no space-heating equipment in 2020. Among homes with a reported main fuel, natural gas was the leading choice, followed by electricity.
| Main space-heating fuel | U.S. homes or households | Period and measure |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 62.71 million homes | 2020 RECS estimate |
| Electricity | 42.57 million homes | 2020 RECS estimate |
| Propane | 5.21 million homes | 2020 RECS estimate |
| Fuel oil or kerosene | 4.93 million homes | 2020 RECS estimate |
Source: 2020 RECS Household Characteristics Technical Documentation Summary. RECS covers occupied primary residences and excludes vacant, seasonal, secondary homes and group quarters.
A later 2024 American Community Survey comparison uses different survey frames and definitions. In those ACS estimates, electricity was the main heating fuel for 42% of U.S. households, while natural gas was the main heating fuel for 47% of U.S. homes.
EIA also reported that natural gas was the primary heating fuel for 70% of Midwest households in 2020. That regional figure is an observed EIA RECS estimate and should not be treated as a national adoption rate.
Space-Heater Equipment and Portable Heater Data
Broad space-heating equipment includes whole-home systems, built-in units and portable devices. In 2020, central warm-air furnaces were the main heating equipment in 74.42 million U.S. homes, while heat pumps served as the main equipment in 16.13 million homes.
| Main heating equipment | U.S. homes in 2020 |
|---|---|
| Central warm-air furnaces | 74.42 million |
| Heat pumps | 16.13 million |
| Steam or hot-water systems | 9.29 million |
| Built-in electric units | 7.65 million |
| Built-in oil or gas room heaters | 3.49 million |
| Portable electric heaters | 3.03 million |
| Ductless heat pumps or mini-splits | 1.06 million |
| Wood-burning heating stoves | 1.94 million |
Source: 2020 RECS Household Characteristics Technical Documentation Summary. These are main-equipment estimates for occupied U.S. primary residences, not product-sales totals.
Portable electric heaters were the main heating equipment in 3.03 million homes, but that measure does not mean that only those homes owned or used a portable heater. The dataset distinguishes portable heaters from the broader category of space heating, which also includes furnaces, heat pumps, room heaters and stoves.
Space-Heating Energy Use and Climate Demand
U.S. homes used 9,481 trillion Btu of total annual site energy in 2020. Space heating accounted for 4,026 trillion Btu, making it a substantial household end use; EIA separately reported that space heating represented 42% of energy consumption in the U.S. residential sector in 2020.
Source: Table CE3.1 Annual household site end-use consumption in the United States – totals and averages, 2020 and Space heating consumed the most energy of any end use in homes, according to latest data. The RECS figures are weighted estimates, and averages are among end-use users where stated.
Average space-heating use was 34.4 million Btu per U.S. household using the end use in 2020. Climate and settlement patterns produced different levels of demand:
- Very cold and cold climate-region homes used 2,271 trillion Btu for space heating, averaging 54.0 million Btu per household using the end use.
- Mixed-humid climate-region homes used 1,181 trillion Btu, averaging 32.6 million Btu per household using space heating.
- Mixed-dry and hot-dry climate-region homes used 205 trillion Btu, averaging 15.4 million Btu per household using space heating.
- Rural households using space heating averaged 38.4 million Btu per household, compared with 32.9 million Btu for households in urbanized areas.
Source: Table CE3.1 Annual household site end-use consumption in the United States – totals and averages, 2020. Climate-region and settlement averages describe households using the relevant end use.
Electricity-only measures show a narrower part of the picture. Space heating represented 12% of U.S. residential site electricity consumption in 2020, and households using space heating consumed an average of 2,484 kWh of site electricity for that end use.
Sources: Electricity use in homes and Table CE5.3a Detailed household site electricity end-use consumption, part 1 – averages, 2020. Electricity end-use measures do not include heating supplied by other fuels or represent total heating service.
Two state examples illustrate variation within a fuel category: Michigan households using natural gas averaged 72.7 million Btu for space heating in 2020, while Kansas households using natural gas averaged 50.9 million Btu.
Space-Heater Costs and Winter Forecasts
Household cost statistics cover different scopes, so annual energy expenditure should not be confused with the cost of operating a portable heater. In the 2020 RECS estimates, annual household energy spending varied by primary heating fuel.
| Primary heating fuel | Annual household energy expenditure, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Heating oil | $2,930 |
| Propane | $2,670 |
| Natural gas | $1,950 |
| Electricity | $1,650 |
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook 2025-2026. These observed 2020 figures cover total household energy expenditure by primary heating fuel, not portable-heater-only costs.
EIA’s 2020 space-heating estimates also put average U.S. household space-heating spending at $519. Fuel-specific averages were $1,164 for households using fuel oil or kerosene, $1,010 for propane households and $396 for households using electricity as their primary heating fuel.
Geography matters: New Hampshire households spent an average of $981 on space heating in 2020, compared with $244 for Louisiana households. These are EIA RECS estimates and do not establish a current price for any particular heater.
For November 2025 through March 2026, EIA’s base-case Winter Fuels Outlook forecast average primary-fuel expenditures of $640 for natural-gas-heating households, $1,130 for electric-heating households, $1,210 for propane-heating households and $1,390 for heating-oil households.
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook 2025-2026. These are forecasts for primary heating fuel during the specified winter period, not portable-heater-only costs.
Space-Heater Safety Outcomes and Fire Trends
USFA estimated 27,200 residential heating fires in the United States in 2024. Those fires were associated with an estimated 145 civilian deaths, 475 civilian injuries and $445.9 million in direct loss, expressed in 2024-equivalent dollars.
In 2015, USFA estimated 41,200 residential heating fires and 165 deaths. The source cautions that methods may differ across historical series, so the two years should be read as reported estimates rather than a newly calculated trend.
Source: Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2015-2024). The national estimates are NFIRS-based and cover residential buildings.
Portable-heater incidents are a narrower subset. From 2017 through 2019, portable heater fires averaged 1,100 residential-building fires per year, 65 deaths, 150 injuries and $51 million in property loss per year.
| Portable-heater finding | Estimate, 2017-2019 |
|---|---|
| Share of residential heating fires involving portable heaters | 3% |
| Share of fatal residential heating fires involving portable heaters | 41% |
| Portable heater fires occurring in January | 25% |
| Fires reporting a heat source too close to combustibles | 48% |
| Fires starting in bedrooms | 34% |
Source: Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019). Portable heaters are a subset of space heaters, and the figures use NFIRS incident classifications.
The safety figures describe reported or estimated fire outcomes, not the probability that an individual heater will cause a fire. Their scope also differs from the household adoption and energy surveys: USFA measures residential-building fire incidents, while RECS and ACS measure homes, households, equipment and energy use.