Gitnux/Report 2026

Hearth Industry Statistics

U.S. households are leaning more into electrification, with 38% using electricity for space heating and 31% already owning a heat pump in 2023. The same households still pay a price for old habits and equipment choices, from only 12% using wood stoves or fireplaces for heat to central air costs that can run $5,000 to $10,000, making this page essential for anyone tracking where hearth and heating upgrades are heading.
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May 15, 2026Updated
Hearth Industry Statistics
Karl BeckerWritten by Karl Becker·Edited by Priya Chandrasekaran·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura
Published ·Updated
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In 2023, 2,530,000 US households powered their homes with solar as a primary electricity source, while 31% still rely on natural gas connections for day to day energy needs. At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act backed up upgrades with $9 billion in Home Energy Rebates, pushing heat pump and thermostat adoption alongside familiar heating choices. Here’s how these hearth focused realities line up across heating, cooling, and fuel prices, and what they suggest about where home comfort spending is headed next.

Key Takeaways

  • 2,530,000 households in the U.S. reported using solar energy as a primary source of electricity for their homes in 2023
  • 1.9 billion square feet of residential floor space was heated by electricity in the U.S. in 2021
  • In 2023, the U.S. had 67.1 million households
  • In 2023, 38% of U.S. households used electricity for space heating
  • In 2023, 31% of U.S. households owned a smart thermostat
  • In 2022, 46% of U.S. households used a programmable thermostat
  • Global heat pump market revenue was $25.9 billion in 2023
  • The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included $9 billion for Home Energy Rebates to support efficiency upgrades including heating equipment
  • Insulation can reduce heat loss by 25% to 40% for many homes, per DOE
  • Typical boiler efficiencies for non-condensing units are around 80% to 85% versus 90%+ for condensing units, per DOE
  • Programmable thermostats can reduce heating energy use by 10% and cooling energy use by 15%, per DOE
  • DOE estimates that weatherization improvements typically reduce energy bills by 5% to 30%
  • The U.S. median cost of installing a central air conditioner is about $5,000 to $10,000, per HomeAdvisor’s published estimates
  • The U.S. median cost of installing a residential solar water heater is about $2,000 to $6,000, per HomeAdvisor

Solar and efficient heating are growing, while most households still rely on electricity or gas for home comfort.

Related reading

01 · Category

Market Size4 stats

01
2,530,000 households in the U.S. reported using solar energy as a primary source of electricity for their homes in 2023https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/energyuse/usage/energyuse/usg/household/solar/US_00-00-00-00
02
1.9 billion square feet of residential floor space was heated by electricity in the U.S. in 2021https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2021/hc/spaceheating/fuel/heat/US-ALL
03
In 2023, the U.S. had 67.1 million householdshttps://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/households.html
04
In 2023, U.S. residential construction spending totaled $827 billionhttps://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/index.html
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

With the U.S. reaching 67.1 million households in 2023 and $827 billion spent on residential construction, the market for hearth-related heating and energy solutions appears large and still expanding, especially as 2.53 million households already rely on solar as a primary electricity source.

02 · Category

User Adoption10 stats

01
In 2023, 38% of U.S. households used electricity for space heatinghttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/spaceheating/energy/US-ALL
02
In 2023, 31% of U.S. households owned a smart thermostathttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/ev/ownership
03
In 2022, 46% of U.S. households used a programmable thermostathttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2022/heating/cooling/thermostat
04
In 2023, 14.6% of U.S. households used solar water heatinghttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/waterheating/solar/US-ALL
05
In 2023, 33% of U.S. households had a natural gas connectionhttps://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_sum_dcu_nus_a.htm
06
In 2023, 23% of U.S. households used electricity as the primary fuel for water heatinghttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/waterheating/energy/US-ALL
07
In 2023, 31% of U.S. households had a heat pumphttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/heating/heatpump/US-ALL
08
In 2023, 22% of U.S. households had a central air conditionerhttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/cooling/centralair/US-ALL
09
In 2023, 18% of U.S. households used room air conditioners as their cooling sourcehttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/cooling/roomair/US-ALL
10
In 2023, 12% of U.S. households used a wood stove or fireplace for home heatinghttps://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/hc/spaceheating/energy/wood/US-ALL
Interpretation

User Adoption Interpretation

The user adoption trend in the Hearth Industry is that mainstream heating and cooling technologies are still far from universal, with only 38% of U.S. households using electricity for space heating and 31% owning a smart thermostat in 2023, even though 31% already have a heat pump.

More related reading

04 · Category

Performance Metrics3 stats

01
Insulation can reduce heat loss by 25% to 40% for many homes, per DOEhttps://www.energy.gov/energysaver/insulation
02
Typical boiler efficiencies for non-condensing units are around 80% to 85% versus 90%+ for condensing units, per DOEhttps://www.energy.gov/energysaver/furnaces-and-boilers
03
Programmable thermostats can reduce heating energy use by 10% and cooling energy use by 15%, per DOEhttps://www.energy.gov/energysaver/thermostats
Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

From a performance metrics standpoint, upgrading insulation can cut heat loss by 25% to 40%, improving heating efficiency from about 80% to 85% to 90%+ with condensing boilers, and using programmable thermostats can trim heating by 10% and cooling by 15%.

05 · Category

Cost Analysis8 stats

01
DOE estimates that weatherization improvements typically reduce energy bills by 5% to 30%https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize
02
The U.S. median cost of installing a central air conditioner is about $5,000to $10,000, per HomeAdvisor’s published estimateshttps://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/central-air-installation/
03
The U.S. median cost of installing a residential solar water heater is about $2,000to $6,000, per HomeAdvisorhttps://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/solar-water-heater/
04
The U.S. average annual residential natural gas consumption is about 55 million Btu per household (EIA 2023 Residential Energy Consumption Survey)https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2023/
05
U.S. average residential electricity price was 15.9 cents per kWh in 2023 (EIA)https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/
06
U.S. average retail propane price was $2.60per gallon in 2023 (EIA)https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=epb_paas_pac_dc00cfm
07
U.S. average retail heating oil price was $3.78per gallon in 2023 (EIA)https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=epm_h2_dpg_dcus_nus_a
08
In the U.S., the median household income was $80,610in 2023 (Census), affecting affordability of hearth replacementshttps://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-282.html
Interpretation

Cost Analysis Interpretation

For the cost analysis side of the hearth industry, the numbers show that upgrades can meaningfully cut ongoing energy expenses, with DOE estimating 5% to 30% lower energy bills from weatherization improvements, while major equipment swaps like central air at about $5,000 to $10,000 and solar water heaters at about $2,000 to $6,000 must still fit within affordability pressures such as a 2023 median household income of $80,610.
Reference

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APA
Karl Becker. (2026, February 13). Hearth Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hearth-industry-statistics
MLA
Karl Becker. "Hearth Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/hearth-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Karl Becker. 2026. "Hearth Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hearth-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

27 datasets cited across this report

eia.govcensus.goviea.orgenergy.govcongress.govhomeadvisor.com

+21 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)