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How High Will My Ohio Winter Heat Bills Be?

While you may have the best energy supplier in Ohio, you might get a higher heating bill this month. So far this January, we've seen a stretched polar vortex swoop across the country 5 times. And each time it’s blown a LOT of frosty air into towns from Seattle to Houston. Obviously, winter isn't over. So, a lot of folks in Ohio are worrying about high heating bills. In order to help consumers understand winter heat costs, we've gathered up heating systems costs for each state, including Ohio. And, we've also broken it down by the four primary heating fuels.

How Much Does Heat Cost in Ohio?

Specifically, spacing heating in the US accounts for 42% of home energy use. For that reason, heating your home can eat a pretty big chunk of your yearly budget. 

Of course, homeowners can choose from a slew heating systems. But in general, most homes rely on only one. And the most common heating systems are natural gas, electric, propane, wood, and heating oil. But, while homes use all of these, they're not all used by the same number of homes. Therefore, figuring out an accurate average heating cost for each state can get a little bit tricky.

First off, natural gas and electricity make up almost two-thirds of the US heating fuel mix. Likewise, both heating oil and propane are widely used in certain areas. Wood heat and solar are also used in many parts of the country. But, their costs are hard to track. For these reasons, we're leaving them out.

In order to find realistic costs, we multiplied heating fuel prices in each state by their usage percentage. We then used this to create a weighted average cost. As a result, consumers can easily see costs for heating systems they're more likely to use. It also scales back the impact of fuels that are used in only a few homes.

Which 10 States Have the Highest Winter Heat Costs?

These 10 States Have the Cheapest Winter Heat Costs

Space Heating in Warmer States

Unlike many U.S. homes, nearly 5% do not use space heating. EIA data for Florida shows that 8% of homes do not have any heating. Meanwhile, another 20% do have heating but don'tuse it. Similarly, 85% of Hawaiian homes also don't have heating installed. Still, the EIA 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) shows that 5% of Hawaiian homes use electric heat. For that reason, electricity is the primary heating fuel. Moreover, we know at least some heat (about 1.4 mmBTUs) is used during the winter. In other words, that equals 14 ccf of natural gas. So, our data must assume that Hawaii has a least one winter heating month for its weighted monthly cost.

How Does Ohio Rank for Heat Cost?

Ohio ranked as the 8th highest priced state with a weighted winter month cost of $160.61. It averages 7 months of winter. About 64% of homes heat using natural gas, using about 89 ccf per month. Residential Ohio natural gas prices in October, 2024 were higher than the U.S. average. And that's in spite of Ohio being a net gas producer.

Comparing Ohio Heating Fuel Costs

While our data show average state costs for the four main heating systems, the numbers show more. Indeed, the actual energy cost and efficiency of each fuel can show a lot about a home's heat. To that end, we compared the four heating fuel systems by their their cost ($/mmBtu) and their energy usage (mmBtu).

In the usage data from the EIA 2020 RECS, we noticed that gas heated homes paid less per mmBtu than other fuels. In contrast, electricity cost around 7 times more per mmBtu than natural gas. However, when we compared gas to electric, we found that gas tended to use 4 to 10 times more energy.

• Heating oil systems consumed 58.5 mmBtu.
• Natural gas used 56.6 mmBtu.
• Propane 35.7 mmBtu.
• Electric systems used the least energy, 8.5 mmBtu.

Comparing Heating Fuel Efficiency

One drawback to burning fuel is the need to keep fire and toxic exhaust fumes out of the home's living space. In short, some heat goes up in smoke. As a result, gas heated homes tend to pay higher heating costs despite the fuel having the cheapest price. In contrast, homes using electric heating used far less energy and paid lower heating costs. This also held true in our cost data. In brief, the average electric heating cost was the cheapest for every state.

Still, it's important to say that we're not favoring electric heat systems over natural gas. Rather we want to underscore how important it is for consumers to keep their heating systems running efficiently. In that way, they can save more money on their winter heat costs.

Ohio Heating System Efficiency Tips

1. Before winter, flush out furnace condensate drains with bleach or vinegar. Doing so can prevent clogs and unexpected shut downs.
2. During fall, check furnace air intakes and exhausts are clear of leaves and other debris.
3. In addition to changing air filters regularly, use those recommended by the manufacturer.
4. Occasionally, inspect the blower fan for dust build up. Doing so can reveal air leaks around the filter.
5. Also seal and insulate ductwork to improve your system's air circulation.
6. Keep baseboard heating systems clean to also help with air circulation.
7. Similarly, keep the outdoor heat pump condenser unit free of leaf litter, brush, and other obstructions.
8. Generally for radiant heat systems, regularly check the boiler. In particular, check water levels and also bleed trapped air from radiators.
9. Once in a while, check the boiler's burner. You want to be sure it's getting enough air and nothing blocks the exhaust flue.
10. In the same fashion, keep the area around the boiler free of boxes and other stored items.
11. Above all, air seal and add more insulation to your home.

Methods

Firstly, we found the number of heating months on the EIA Degree Day per Census Zone. A good analog to keep in mind here are the first and last frost dates in a state or region. For many utilities in the northeast and mid west, heating season runs October - May. That's because these regions still experience stretches of cold weather from early October right up to Memorial Day. EIA states Alaska heating season runs 6 months, from October - March. The average number of heating months for the whole US is 6.3.

To find a state's weighted average cost, we multiplied heating fuel prices by their usage percent (or "weight"). We then added up the products to find the weighted average cost. This produced an average cost that reflects what most consumers in a state pay for heating.

Sources

Heating Consumption data is from the EIA 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).
https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/index.php

Residential Space Heating Fuels By State (2020 RECS)
https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/State%20Space%20Heating%20Fuels.pdf

EIA electricity and natural gas pricing data reflects bundled costs from October 2024.
Bundled costs = the price of the energy + the utilies' charge for delivering it to residential homes.
Natural Gas: https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/monthly
Electricity: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly

EIA pricing for residential heating oil and propane are last prices available for October, 2024.
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/data.php