Charted: Home Heating Systems in the U.S.

Fossil fuel combustion for the heating of commercial and residential buildings accounts for roughly 13% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

Decarbonizing the U.S. economy requires a switch from fossil fuel-combusting heating solutions to renewable energy sources that generate electricity.

Currently, the majority of new homes in the U.S. still combust natural gas for heating through forced-air furnaces or boilers. Just like cars need to be electric, homes will need to switch to electricity-powered heating systems that use renewable energy sources.

The graphic above uses census data to break down the different heating systems and fuels that are warming the 911,000 single-family homes built in the U.S. in 2020.

Types of Home Heating Systems

Most American homes use one of the following three heating systems:

• Forced-air Furnaces: These typically have a burner in a furnace that is fueled by natural gas. A blower forces cold air through a heat exchanger which warms it up before it flows through ducts that heat the home with air as the medium.
• Heat Pumps: The most common type of heat pumps are air-source heat pumps, which collect hot air from outside the home and concentrate it before pumping it through ducts that heat the air inside. They are usually powered by electricity. During warmer months, heat pumps can reverse themselves to cool the home, transferring hot air from the inside to the outdoors.
• Hot Water/Steam: These systems typically work by boiling water (or generating steam) to the appropriate temperature using gas and sending it through a home’s pipes to radiators that heat the air.

How Home Heating Fuels Have Changed

U.S. home heating has been going through a transition over the last two decades. Electricity has steadily been replacing gas and biofuel/wood-powered home heating systems for new homes, and powers almost half of the heating systems in single-family homes built in 2020.

Here’s how the share of heat sources for new houses changed between 2000 and 2020:

Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

While electricity’s share has grown since 2000, most American homes are still heated with gas largely because of the fossil fuel’s affordability.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), households relying on gas for space heating are expected to spend an average of $746 over the winter months, compared to $1,268 for electricity, and $1,734 for heating oil.

Heating in Newly-Built Houses Today

Of the 911,000 new single-family homes, 538,000 houses installed forced-air furnaces. Of these, 83% or nearly 450,000 homes used gas as the primary heating source, with 16% opting for electrified furnaces. By contrast, 88% of the 353,000 homes that installed heat pumps relied on electricity.

Here’s how the heating systems and fuels break down for single-family homes built in 2020:

Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Fewer than 1% of new single-family homes used hot water or steam systems, and the majority of those that did relied on gas as the primary fuel. Around 1.3% of new homes used other systems like electric baseboard heaters, smaller space heaters, panel heaters, or radiators.

While gas remains the dominant heating source today, efforts to decarbonize the U.S. economy could further prompt a shift towards electricity-based heating systems, with electric heat pumps likely taking up a larger piece of the pie.

Lithium Consumption Has Nearly Quadrupled Since 2010

Lithium is well-known as one of the key materials behind the lithium-ion batteries that power electronic devices, electric vehicles, and energy storage technologies.

Because of its role in clean energy technologies, lithium demand hasn’t only increased, it has transformed. From primarily being used for ceramics, battery demand has taken over global lithium consumption and driven an almost four-fold increase since 2010.

The Impact of EV Batteries

Between 2000 and 2010, lithium consumption in batteries increased by 20% on average every year. In the following decade, that figure jumped to 107% per year for batteries, with overall lithium consumption growing 27% annually on average.

The full breakdown from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the impact of battery consumption:

Back in 2010, the single largest end-use of lithium was in ceramics and glass manufacturing. Adding lithium carbonate to the coatings on ceramics and glassware reduces their thermal expansion, which is often essential for modern glass-ceramic cooktops.

But over the course of the decade, the EV market grew rapidly, with the global market share of EVs surging from 0.01% in 2010 to 8.6% in 2021. This had a ripple effect on the demand for batteries, which now account for nearly three-fourths of worldwide lithium consumption.

Additionally, the lightweight metal also has other important applications that are less well-known. For instance, lithium-based lubricant greases represent over 70% of global grease production for technical uses. Additionally, it’s also used in die casting, color pigment creation, aluminum smelting, and gas and air treatment.

What’s Next for Lithium Consumption?

With mainstream EV adoption on the horizon, the 2020s could mark another decade of growing lithium consumption.

Multiple countries have pledged to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030, and large automakers like Volkswagen, GM, and Ford plan on rolling out several new EV models.

As EV demand rises, it’s likely that lithium consumption—especially in batteries—will continue increasing, with batteries expected to use 84% of all lithium produced in 2025.