How much does it currently cost to heat your home in Maine using various sources?

As the first snowfall and frost sets in across the state, it's time for many Mainers to fire up their wood stoves or turn on the heat.

This entails higher costs, as the price of heating oil, which many households here rely on, has risen sharply in the last two years. The price has leveled off somewhat, but the average cost is still higher than before 2022 and it is still early in the heating season.

Although the state has installed more than 115,000 electric-powered heat pumps since 2019 and aims to more than double that number by 2027 as part of its climate change goals, at least half of the state relies on oil as its primary heat source, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Compared to fluctuating heating oil and gas prices, firewood is currently the cheapest option per unit of heat, data from the Governor's Energy Office shows. Heating with firewood is currently less than half as expensive as using heating oil, a spokesman said last week.

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Here you can see how the costs are currently broken down for different types of heating your home or farm. If you are off the grid, don't have electric heat pumps, or want a backup system in case of a power outage, firewood is probably still the most cost-effective option and doesn't fluctuate as much as oil.

Be aware that it is early in the season and prices are changing, especially for heating oil. The office maintains an online database of average prices that is updated weekly.

The data compares dollars spent on fuel to units of heating (Btus) produced. Actual efficiency depends on how weatherproof the home is and how efficient the heating system is.

Currently, a piece of seasoned firewood costs $15.91 per million Btus and wood pellets cost $23.03.

Heating oil is $24.44, propane is $34.05 and natural gas is between $10.38 and $25.14.

The federal heating assistance program, which serves about 50,000 homes in Maine, has said it will likely receive more applications this year than it can fund. If you are eligible, apply early.

Depending on income, government rebates cover between 40 and 80 percent of the cost of installing a heat pump. State programs and nonprofit groups can help winterize a home, and “wood banks” that function like food banks and offer free heating wood have been established across the state.