Electricity in the United States is produced

(generated) with diverse energy sources and

technologies
The United States uses many different energy sources and technologies to generate
electricity. The sources and technologies have changed over time, and some are
used more than others.

The three major categories of energy for electricity generation are fossil fuels (coal,
natural gas, and petroleum), nuclear energy, and renewable energy sources. Most
electricity is generated with steam turbines using fossil fuels, nuclear, biomass,
geothermal, and solar thermal energy. Other major electricity generation
technologies include gas turbines, hydro turbines, wind turbines, and solar
photovoltaics.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes data on electricity generation

from utility-scale and small-scale systems. Utility-scale systems include power plants
that have at least 1 megawatt (MW) of electric generation capacity. Small-scale
systems have less than 1 MW (1,000 kilowatts) of electric generation capacity. In
2022, total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation was about 4.24 trillion kilowatthours
(kWh). EIA estimates that about 0.06 trillion kWh of electricity were generated with
small-scale solar photovoltaic systems.
Click to enlarge
Fossil fuels are the largest sources of energy for electricity generation
Natural gas was the largest source—about 40%—of U.S. electricity generation in
2022. Natural gas is used in steam turbines and gas turbines to generate electricity.

Coal was the third-largest energy source for U.S. electricity generation in 2022—
about 18%. Nearly all coal-fired power plants use steam turbines. A few coal-fired
power plants convert coal to a gas for use in a gas turbine to generate electricity.

Petroleum was the source of less than 1% of U.S. electricity generation in

2022. Residual fuel oil and petroleum coke are used in steam turbines. Distillate—or
diesel—fuel oil is used in diesel-engine generators. Residual fuel oil and distillates
can also be burned in steam and gas turbines.
U.S. electricity generation by major energy source, 1950-2022
Chart with 5 data series.
An interactive area chart showing U.S. annual electricity generation by major energy
source in 1950 through 2022.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying values. Range: 1950 to 2022.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying billion kilowatthours. Range: 0 to 4500.
billion kilowatthoursU.S. electricity generation by major energy source, 1950-
2022petroleum and otherrenewablesnuclearnatural
gascoal1950196019701980199020002010202005001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5
004,0004,500Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy
Review and Electric Power Monthly, February 2023,preliminary data for 2022Note:
Includes generation from power plants with at least 1 megawatt electric generation
capacity.
End of interactive chart.
Click to enlarge
Nuclear energy provides nearly one-fifth of U.S. electricity
Nuclear energy was the source of about 18% of U.S. electricity generation in 2022.
Nuclear power plants use steam turbines to produce electricity from nuclear fission.

Renewable energy sources provide an increasing share of U.S.

electricity
Many renewable energy sources are used to generate electricity and were the source
of about 22% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2022. In 1990, renewable
resources provided about 12% of utility-scale electricity generation.
U.S. electricity generation from renewable energy sources, 1950-2022
Chart with 5 data series.
An interactive area chart showing U.S. annual renewable electricity generation by
major renewable energy sources in 1950 through 2022.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying values. Range: 1950 to 2022.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying billion kilowatthours. Range: 0 to 1000.
billion kilowatthoursU.S. electricity generation from renewable energy sources, 1950-
2022solarwindgeothermalbiomasshydroelectric195019601970198019902000201020
2001002003004005006007008009001000Data source: U.S. Energy Information
Administration, Monthly Energy Review and Electric Power Monthly, February
2023,preliminary data for 2022Note: Includes generation from power plants with at
least 1 megawatt electric generation capacity. Hydroelectric isconventional
hydropower.
End of interactive chart.
Click to enlarge
Wind energy was the source of about 10.2% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity
generation and accounted for 47.6% of electricity generation from renewable sources
in 2022. Wind turbines convert wind energy into electricity.

Hydropower plants produced about 6.2% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity

generation and accounted for 28.7% of electricity generation from renewable sources
in 2022. Hydropower plants use flowing water to spin a turbine connected to a
1

generator.

Solar energy provided about 3.4% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity and accounted
for 15.9% of utility-scale electricity generation from renewable sources in 2022.
Photovoltaic (PV) and solar-thermal power are the two main types of solar electricity
generation technologies. PV conversion produces electricity directly from sunlight in
a photovoltaic cell. Most solar-thermal power systems use steam turbines to
generate electricity. EIA estimates that about 0.06 trillion kWh of electricity were
generated with small-scale solar photovoltaic systems.

Biomass was the source of about 1.3% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation
and accounted for 5.9% of electricity generation from renewable sources in 2022.
Biomass is burned directly in steam-electric power plants, or it can be converted to a
gas that can be burned in steam generators, gas turbines, or internal combustion
engine generators.

Geothermal power plants produced about 0.4% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity
generation and accounted for 1.9% of electricity generation from renewable sources
in 2022. Geothermal power plants use steam turbines to generate electricity.

Home> Home Systems + Energy> Heating Systems> Types of Heating Systems

Types of Heating Systems

Central Heat
Furnaces
The majority of North American households depend on a central furnace to provide heat. A furnace works
by blowing heated air through ducts that deliver the warm air to rooms throughout the house via air
registers or grills. This type of heating system is called a ducted warm-air or forced warm-air distribution
system. It can be powered by electricity, natural gas, or fuel oil.

Inside a gas- or oil-fired furnace, the fuel is mixed with air and burned. The flames heat a metal heat
exchanger where the heat is transferred to air. Air is pushed through the heat exchanger by the “air
handler’s” furnace fan and then forced through the ductwork downstream of the heat exchanger. At the
furnace, combustion products are vented out of the building through a flue pipe. Older “atmospheric”
furnaces vented directly to the atmosphere, and wasted about 30% of the fuel energy just to keep the
exhaust hot enough to safely rise through the chimney. Current minimum-efficiency furnaces reduce this
waste substantially by using an “inducer” fan to pull the exhaust gases through the heat exchanger and
induce draft in the chimney. “Condensing” furnaces are designed to reclaim much of this escaping heat by
cooling exhaust gases well below 140°F, where water vapor in the exhaust condenses into water. This is the
primary feature of a high-efficiency furnace (or boiler). These typically vent through a sidewall with a
plastic pipe.

New furnace standards are currently under development by the U.S. Department of Energy, and are due to
be finalized in the spring of 2016. The current furnace standards have not been updated since 1987.

Heating system controls regulate when the various components of the heating system turn on and off. The
most important control from your standpoint is the thermostat, which turns the system — or at least the
distribution system — on and off to keep you comfortable. A typical forced air system will have a single
thermostat. But, there are other internal controls in a heating system, such as “high limit” switches that are
part of an invisible but critical set of safety controls.
 The best gas furnaces and boilers today have efficiencies over 90%

The efficiency of a fossil-fuel furnace or boiler is a measure of the amount of useful heat produced per unit
of input energy (fuel). Combustion efficiency is the simplest measure; it is just the system’s efficiency
while it is running. Combustion efficiency is like the miles per gallon your car gets cruising along at 55
miles per hour on the highway.

In the U.S., furnace efficiency is regulated by minimum AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency). AFUE
estimates seasonal efficiency, averaging peak and part-load situations. AFUE accounts for start-up, cool-
down, and other operating losses that occur in real operating conditions, and includes an estimate of
electricity used by the air handler, inducer fan, and controls. AFUE is like your car mileage between fill-
ups, including both highway driving and stop-and-go traffic. The higher the AFUE, the more efficient the
furnace or boiler.

Boilers
Boilers are special-purpose water heaters. While furnaces carry heat in warm air, boiler systems distribute
the heat in hot water, which gives up heat as it passes through radiators or other devices in rooms
throughout the house. The cooler water then returns to the boiler to be reheated. Hot water systems are
often called hydronic systems. Residential boilers generally use natural gas or heating oil for fuel.

In steam boilers, which are much less common in homes today, the water is boiled and steam carries heat
through the house, condensing to water in the radiators as it cools. Oil and natural gas are commonly used.

Instead of a fan and duct system, a boiler uses a pump to circulate hot water through pipes to radiators.
Some hot water systems circulate water through plastic tubing in the floor, a system called radiant floor
heating (see “State of the Art Heating”). Important boiler controls include thermostats, aquastats, and
valves that regulate circulation and water temperature. Although the cost is not trivial, it is generally much
easier to install “zone” thermostats and controls for individual rooms with a hydronic system than with
forced air. Some controls are standard features in new boilers, while others can be added on to save energy
(see the “Modifications by Heating System Technicians” section on the heating maintenance page).

As with furnaces, condensing gas-fired boilers are relatively common, and significantly more efficient than
non-condensing boilers (unless very sophisticated controls are employed). Oil-fired condensing boilers are
uncommon in the U.S. for several reasons related to lower latent heat potential, and potential for greater
fouling with conventional fuel oil.

Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are just two-way air conditioners (see detailed description in the cooling systems section).
During the summer, an air conditioner works by moving heat from the relatively cool indoors to the
relatively warm outside. In winter, the heat pump reverses this trick, scavenging heat from the cold
outdoors with the help of an electrical system, and discharging that heat inside the house. Almost all heat
pumps use forced warm-air delivery systems to move heated air throughout the house.

A ground-source heat pump heats and cools in any climate by exchanging heat with the ground, which has
a more constant temperature.

There are two relatively common types of heat pumps. Air-source heat pumps use the outside air as the heat
source in winter and heat sink in summer. Ground-source (also called geothermal, GeoExchange, or GX)
heat pumps get their heat from underground, where temperatures are more constant year-round. Air-source
heat pumps are far more common than ground-source heat pumps because they are cheaper and easier to
install. Ground-source heat pumps, however, are much more efficient, and are frequently chosen by
consumers who plan to remain in the same house for a long time, or have a strong desire to live more
sustainably. How to determine whether a heat pump makes sense in your climate is discussed further under
“Fuel Options.”
Whereas an air-source heat pump is installed much like a central air conditioner, ground-source heat pumps
require that a “loop” be buried in the ground, usually in long, shallow (3–6' deep) trenches or in one or
more vertical boreholes. The particular method used will depend on the experience of the installer, the size
of your lot, the subsoil, and the landscape. Alternatively, some systems draw in groundwater and pass it
through the heat exchanger instead of using a refrigerant. The groundwater is then returned to the aquifer.

Because electricity in a heat pump is used to move heat rather than to generate it, the heat pump can deliver
more energy than it consumes. The ratio of delivered heating energy to consumed energy is called the
coefficient of performance, or COP, with typical values ranging from 1.5 to 3.5. This is a “steady-state”
measure and not directly comparable to the heating season performance factor (HSPF), a seasonal measure
mandated for rating the heating efficiency of air-source heat pumps. Converting between the measures is
not straightforward, but ground-source units are generally more efficient than air-source heat pumps.

Direct Heat
Gas-Fired Space Heaters
In some areas, gas-fired direct heating equipment is popular. This includes wall-mounted, free-standing,
and floor furnaces, all characterized by their lack of ductwork and relatively small heat output. Because
they lack ducts, they are most useful for warming a single room. If heating several rooms is required, either
the doors between rooms must be left open or another heating method is necessary. Better models use
“sealed combustion air” systems, with pipes installed through the wall to both provide combustion air and
carry off the combustion products. These units can provide acceptable performance, particularly for cabins
and other buildings where large temperature differences between bedrooms and main rooms are acceptable.
The models can be fired with natural gas or propane, and some burn kerosene.

Unvented Gas-Fired Heaters: A Bad Idea

Gas or kerosene space heaters that do not have an exhaust vent have been sold for decades, but we strongly
discourage their use for health and safety reasons. Known as “vent-free” gas heating appliances by
manufacturers, they include wall-mounted and free-standing heaters as well as open-flame gas fireplaces
with ceramic logs that are not actually connected to a chimney. Manufacturers claim that because the
products’ combustion efficiency is very high, they are safe for building occupants. However, this claim is
only valid if you keep a nearby window open for adequate fresh air— which defeats the purpose of
supplemental heat. Dangers include exposure to combustion by-products, as discussed in Ventilation, and
oxygen depletion (these heaters must be equipped with oxygen depletion sensors). Because of these
hazards, at least five states (California, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Montana, and Alaska) prohibit their use
in homes, and many cities in the United States and Canada have banned them as well.

Electric Space Heaters

Portable (plug-in) electric heaters are inexpensive to buy, but costly to use. These resistive heaters include
“oil-filled” and “quartz-infrared” heaters. They convert electric current from the wall socket directly into
heat, like a toaster or clothes iron. As explained further under “Selecting a New System,” it takes a lot of
electricity to deliver the same amount of useful heat that natural gas or oil can provide onsite. A 1,500- watt
plug-in heater will use almost the entire capacity of a 15-amp branch circuit; thus, adding much additional
load will trip the circuit breaker or blow the fuse. The cost to operate a 1,500-watt unit for an hour is simple
to compute: it is 1.5 times your electricity cost in cents per kilowatt-hour. At national average rates—12¢
kWh for electricity— that heater would cost 18¢ per hour to run—and quickly cost more than its purchase
price. On the other hand, for intermittent use, it is the “least-bad” solution when alternatives would require
major investments to improve ductwork for a specific area, for example. Just remember, electric resistance
heat is usually the most expensive form of heat, and it is, therefore, seldom recommended.

“Electric baseboard heat” is yet another kind of resistive heating, similar to a plug-in space heater except
that it is hard-wired. It has two principal virtues: the installation cost is low, and it is easy to install
individual room thermostats so you can turn down the heat in rooms that aren’t being used. Operating costs,
as for all resistive systems, are generally very high, unless the house is “super-insulated.”

Wood-Burning and Pellet Stoves

Wood heating can make a great deal of sense in rural areas if you enjoy stacking wood and stoking the
stove or furnace. Wood prices are generally lower than gas, oil, or electricity. If you cut your own wood,
the savings can be large. Pollutants from wood burning have been a problem in some parts of the country,
causing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement regulations that govern pollution
emissions from wood stoves. As a result, new models are quite clean-burning. Pellet stoves offer a number
of advantages over wood stoves. They are less polluting than wood stoves and offer users greater
convenience, temperature control, and indoor air quality.

Fireplaces
Gas (and most wood) fireplaces are basically part of a room’s décor, providing a warm glow (and a way to
dispose of secret documents), but typically not an effective heat source. With customary installations that
rely on air drawn from the room into the fireplace for combustion and dilution, the fireplace will generally
lose more heat than it provides, because so much warm air is drawn through the unit and must be replaced
by cold outside air. On the other hand, if the fireplace is provided with a tight-sealing glass door, a source
of outside air, and a good chimney damper, it can provide useful heat.

State of the Art Heating

Radiant floor heat generally refers to systems that circulate warm water in tubes under the floor. This
warms the floor, which in turn warms people using the room. It is highly controllable, considered efficient
by its advocates, and is expensive to install. It also requires a very experienced system designer and
installer, and limits carpet choices and other floor finishes: you don’t want to “blanket” your heat source.

Contact the Radiant Panel Association(link is external)

Ductless, Mini-Split, Multi-Split. Residential ductwork is relatively rare outside North America.
“Ductless” heat pumps, which distribute energy through refrigerant lines instead of water or air, are widely
used. Large field trials in the Pacific Northwest suggest that they can have good cold weather performance,
and be very cost-effective where replacing electric resistance heating. Like ground-source systems, relative
immaturity of the market helps assure that whole-house multi-split systems carry premium prices.

Combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration for houses is being seriously studied in some
countries. The basic premise is to use a small generator to meet some of the electric demand of the house,
and recover the waste heat (typically more than 70% of the heating value of the fuel) to heat the house
(hydronic or water-to-air systems) and make domestic hot water. These systems are not yet widely
available. They are likely to have the best economics in houses with high heating bills because the house
cannot be feasibly insulated, such as solid stone or brick homes.

The best heating for your home

From gas central heating to a heat pump, find out about
different home heating options and the types of home
they're right for.
SI
Sarah Ingrams

In this article

 Gas central heating

 Oil central heating and LPG
 Electric central heating
 Renewable heating
  Mix-and-match heating and energy systems
 Heating by burning fuel






How you heat your home is extremely important, especially given how
high energy payments are at the moment. Household energy bills are
protected by the government's Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), but
they are still higher than they've ever been before.

Not only will your heating system keep you cosy in winter, it will also have a
big impact on your energy bills and your carbon footprint.

There are several types of heating system to choose from, run on different
fuels. So if you're considering an upgrade, it's worth comparing the different
options.

Gas central heating is the most common type of home heating in England,
Wales and Scotland, but there are still more than one million homes that
aren’t connected to the gas grid and use either electric heating or other
alternative fuels. Many people are also considering moving away from the
gas grid in favour of new technologies that allow them to switch to more
efficient and lower-carbon heating options.

In Northern Ireland, more than two thirds of homes use oil boilers as their
main source of heating.

Heating options if you’re off the gas grid or want something different
include:

 oil central heating

 LPG central heating
 traditional electric heating, including electric 'central heating' and
individual heaters
  renewable heating, which includes systems that use electricity to run,
such as heat pumps

If you want to use more efficient or greener alternatives, it doesn't have to

be all or nothing. Rather than completely overhauling your heating system,
especially if your boiler doesn't need to be replaced yet, you can add new
technologies to help reduce your bills and carbon emissions, using a
phased approach to transition to the low-carbon heating we'll all need to
have in the future.

Whatever type of heating you have, using it more efficiently will help cut
your bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

See our 10 tips to save money on gas and electricity.

Gas central heating

If your home has a natural gas grid connection, a gas central heating
system is likely to be one of the cheapest viable options for heating.
Gas is a fossil fuel so heating your home with it is not sustainable in the
long term, but it's what the current system is set up for. If sustainability is
your top concern, consider renewable or electric heating instead.

New gas boilers are more efficient than much older ones, but in most
cases, you're better off seeing your boiler through to the end of its life. Also,
many boilers run at less than their rated efficiency. You can find out more
about boiler efficiency in our guide.

See our survey results to get the lowdown on the best boiler brands,
according to boiler owners and engineers.

You can also use your heating controls to minimise the amount of energy
you use while staying comfortable in a gas central heating system.

Read our guide to boiler controls and thermostats.

Oil central heating and LPG

Oil is the most common power source for home heating systems in
Northern Ireland.

You'll need a tank outside your home to store the oil, which you'll need to
buy in bulk. Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and other types of heating oil have
quite volatile prices at the moment, so buying it in can be expensive.

The government pledged to give all households using alternative fuels for
heating an additional £200 in the winter of 2022. If you have an electricity
supplier, you should have received it automatically in February 2023.
Otherwise, you can apply for it on Gov.uk.

Like gas, oil is a fossil fuel and not a sustainable option. If you're upgrading
your boiler, choose an efficient one. Find a reliable oil boiler brand with our
reviews.
See the pros and cons of oil central heating and more on getting the
best heating oil prices .

Electric central heating

We'll all need to move away from using fossil fuels in the future so heating
powered by electricity will become the norm.

However, electricity is currently more expensive per unit than gas – if you
replaced your gas central heating with a system powered by mains
electricity your energy bills would more than double. It's a more viable
option for people who generate their own electricity though, such as those
with solar panels.

Modern renewable heating systems are often powered by electricity but are
more efficient than traditional electric heater systems, which can be
incredibly expensive to run.

Traditional heating systems that run on mains electricity is more common in

flats and new-build homes. They're typically made up of separate electric
heaters in each room, rather than being powered by a central system.
In older properties, you might still have night storage heaters, which usually
draw electricity from the grid overnight at a cheaper rate and disperse heat
at a 'low and slow' level through the day. They're usually coupled with
specific Economy 7 or Economy 10 electricity tariffs that allow access to
cheaper overnight rates.

Electric heating is often paired with immersion heaters (sometimes known

as megaflow boilers or unvented hot water systems) to provide hot water.

Find out more about set-ups and costs for electric central heating.

Renewable heating

Using renewable energy to generate heat is becoming more widespread as

homeowners look for ways to improve their environmental footprint, as well
as remove themselves from the main energy network and the price volatility
that comes with it.

Making your own heat reduces your carbon footprint and means you're less
dependent on fossil fuels, such as gas and oil.

While these systems are often powered by electricity, they should be more
efficient than old electric heating options. If you are generating your own
electricity with solar power that will make them fully renewable. But as time
goes on the National Grid is becoming greener as well, so even if you're
using mains electricity your carbon footprint is likely to lessen in future.

Mix-and-match heating and energy

systems
Crucially, if you're interested in more renewable options you don't have to
completely replace your system in one go. This can be expensive and
disruptive and may not seem sensible if elements of your existing system
are in good working order - a relatively new, efficient boiler, for example.

Instead, you can adopt a mix-and-match approach. This could mean using
different systems for different rooms, times of day or seasons. You may
also want to separate your heating and hot water systems, and make one of
them renewable while the other stays as it is. You'll start reducing your
carbon footprint now with a view to gradually increasing your use of low-
carbon heating over time.

The three areas to consider can be grouped into:

 generating your own energy;

 storing cheap grid energy to use later (the cheapest grid electricity is
also likely to be greenest);
 introducing alternative low-carbon heating options.

No matter what system you choose, you'll also need to make sure your
home is using energy as efficiently as possible and is well insulated to
reduce heat loss.

For example, you could fit solar panels to power your electrical appliances
and lighting, using a rechargeable battery to store any excess energy you
generate to use later, but continue to use your gas boiler to heat your home
until it needs replacing. Or you could add one or more electric space or hot
water heating technologies to use alongside your boiler.

Renewable energy heating systems include:

 Heat pumps
 Solar water heating systems (hot water only)
 Biomass boilers

They either use energy you generate yourself from renewable sources -
solar panels or burning biomass - or access renewable energy sources
from elsewhere, such as in the case of heat pumps.

Heat pumps use heat from the ground or air to generate heat for your home
rather than burning fossil fuels. They need some electricity to run, so if
you're getting it from the mains you'll need to consider electricity prices, but
you'll be ready for when we all have to move away from using gas and oil in
the future.

You can read more on our renewable heating systems page.

Heating by burning fuel

Wood burning stoves and biomass boilers are fuelled by organic material,
such as logs or wood pellets, which are generally considered to be more
sustainable than fossil fuels. They can be connected to a boiler to heat
water and the rest of your home.

However, while these fuels may be reasonably reproduced, and therefore

renewable, that doesn't make them free of environmental concerns. The air
pollution created by domestic fires and stoves is still considerable and
experts are increasingly worried about its impact on both the environment
and your health.
If you're thinking about burning wood, pellets or other organic materials to
use as a heat source, you'll need to consider whether it's suitable for your
area. Many urban areas have bans on burning fires due to air pollution
concerns.

Find out more about wood burning stoves: pollution and health
impacts.

Home heating systems

1. The best heating for your home

2. Gas central heating

3. Electric central heating

4. LPG central heating

5. Oil central heating

6. Heating your home with renewable energy

7. Immersion heaters explained

8. Storage heaters