HVAC in New Construction
According to the Census’s Survey of Construction, nearly all new single-family homes that began construction in 2023 employed either an air or ground source heat pump or a forced air system (without a heat pump) as their primary heating system, accounting for 98% of homes. Although this survey does not distinguish between air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps (geothermal systems), another study explores their use in green building. Additionally, 17% of these homes utilized a secondary heating system.
According to the NAHB, in general, the share of new homes using an air or ground-source heat pump as the primary means of providing heat has increased, going from 23% in 2000 to 45% in 2023. Meanwhile, the share relying on a forced air system without heat pumps has slipped, going from 71% to 53% in the same time frame.
Primary Fuel for Heating
The SOC also provides data on the primary fuel used to heat new single-family homes. Approximately 54% of new homes started in 2023 use electricity as the primary heating fuel, compared to 43% powered by natural gas, 3% using bottle or liquified petroleum gas (propane), and 0.1% using oil.
Heating fuel sources closely align with the types of heating systems used, with air and ground-source heat pumps running on electricity and most forced air systems without heat pumps using natural gas or propane. Consequently, the primary heating fuel source differs significantly by region across the country. For example, in New England only 10% of new homes used electricity as the primary heating source. In contrast, 83% of new homes started in the South Atlantic use it. Additionally, while most regions fall under 10% in their usage of propane, New England had a 29% share and East North Central had 11%.