Contents
- Residential heating equipment age statistics: U.S. equipment age distribution
- Residential heating equipment age statistics by home type
- Residential heating equipment age statistics by tenure
- Residential heating equipment age statistics by dwelling construction era
- Residential heating equipment age statistics in England: age by household profile
- Sources
Residential heating equipment age statistics: U.S. equipment age distribution
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey reports the number of primary occupied housing units by the age of their main heating equipment. The figures are in millions of housing units, not percentages and not counts of individual furnaces, boilers, or other appliances. The national scope covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia; vacant, seasonal, second homes, military housing, and group quarters are excluded. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
| Main heating equipment age | U.S. housing units (million), 2020 |
|---|---|
| Less than 2 years old | 13.29 |
| 2 to 4 years old | 17.19 |
| 5 to 9 years old | 26.77 |
| 10 to 14 years old | 22.29 |
| 15 to 19 years old | 14.66 |
| 20 or more years old | 23.54 |
The 5 to 9 years old band is the largest of the six listed categories, at 26.77 million homes. The 20 or more years old band accounts for 23.54 million, while the 10 to 14 years old band accounts for 22.29 million. These are separate age categories as reported in the table; the data do not identify the equipment’s condition, efficiency, fuel, or whether replacement is planned. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
The youngest categories contain 13.29 million units with equipment less than 2 years old and 17.19 million with equipment 2 to 4 years old. Another 14.66 million fall in the 15 to 19 years old band. Taken together, the six rows show how many homes are in each reported age band, rather than a direct measure of appliance lifespan or performance. The observation year is 2020 and should not be read as a current-year estimate. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
Residential heating equipment age statistics by home type
The housing-type table gives selected age-band counts for five structure categories. Each figure below is the number of primary occupied U.S. housing units, in millions, in the named home type and equipment-age band. Since the supplied observations cover only two age bands, the table presents those complete selected series without implying that unlisted ages are zero. Source: EIA Table HC6.1
| Home type | Less than 2 years old (million) | 5 to 9 years old (million) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family detached | 9.33 | 17.82 |
| Single-family attached | 0.60 | 1.69 |
| Apartments, 2–4-unit building | 0.65 | 2.11 |
| Apartments, 5 or more-unit building | 1.21 | 3.82 |
| Mobile home | 1.50 | 1.32 |
Single-family detached homes account for the largest listed count in both bands: 9.33 million units with equipment less than 2 years old and 17.82 million with equipment 5 to 9 years old. The apartment categories are divided by building size, while single-family homes are split between detached and attached structures. These are unit counts within categories, not the share of each home type with a given equipment age. Source: EIA Table HC6.1
The mobile-home figures differ across the two selected bands: 1.50 million units had main heating equipment less than 2 years old, and 1.32 million had equipment 5 to 9 years old. The other four categories have higher counts in the 5 to 9 years band than in the less-than-2-years band. This comparison describes the reported numbers of units only; it does not establish why categories differ or compare the likelihood of having equipment at a particular age. Source: EIA Table HC6.1
Residential heating equipment age statistics by tenure
EIA’s tenure table combines tenure with broad housing types. It separates owner-occupied and rented single-family and mobile homes from owner-occupied and rented apartments. The values are millions of primary occupied U.S. housing units in each category. “Rent” includes occupants who pay no rent, so the label is broader than households paying a regular rent amount. Source: EIA Table HC6.2
| Housing type and tenure | Less than 2 years old (million) | 2 to 4 years old (million) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family and mobile homes — Own | 9.77 | 12.14 |
| Single-family and mobile homes — Rent | 3.52 | 5.05 |
| Apartments — Own | 9.43 | 11.80 |
| Apartments — Rent | 2.00 | 2.21 |
In both age bands, the owner-occupied categories have larger reported counts than their rented counterparts within the same broad housing type. For single-family and mobile homes, the table records 9.77 million owner-occupied units and 3.52 million rented units in the less-than-2-years band; for apartments, the corresponding counts are 9.43 million and 2.00 million. These comparisons reflect category sizes as well as equipment age and do not show within-tenure percentages. Source: EIA Table HC6.2
For equipment 2 to 4 years old, the table reports 12.14 million owner-occupied and 5.05 million rented single-family and mobile homes. The apartment figures are 11.80 million owner-occupied units and 2.21 million rented units. The cross-tabulation’s printed groupings should be retained: it does not separately identify single-family homes from mobile homes in this comparison. Source: EIA Table HC6.2
Residential heating equipment age statistics by dwelling construction era
The construction-era table classifies homes by the year the dwelling was built, then reports the age of the main heating equipment within those dwelling groups. The two ages should not be confused: a home built in an earlier era may have newer heating equipment. The figures below are millions of primary occupied U.S. housing units with equipment less than 2 years old. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
| Dwelling construction era | Homes with equipment less than 2 years old (million), 2020 |
|---|---|
| Before 1950 | 1.63 |
| 1950 to 1959 | 1.44 |
| 1960 to 1969 | 1.24 |
| 1970 to 1979 | 2.10 |
| 1980 to 1989 | 1.91 |
| 1990 to 1999 | 2.02 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 1.44 |
The largest count among these listed construction-era groups is 2.10 million homes built during 1970 to 1979 with equipment less than 2 years old. The 1990 to 1999 group has 2.02 million, and the 1980 to 1989 group has 1.91 million. These values describe counts in the intersection of a dwelling-era category and one equipment-age category; they do not report the proportion of homes in each era that have newer equipment. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
The table also records 1.63 million homes built before 1950 with equipment less than 2 years old, 1.44 million built in 1950 to 1959, and 1.24 million built in 1960 to 1969. Homes built in 2000 to 2009 contribute another 1.44 million to this equipment-age band. The figures are not a ranking of replacement activity: the cited table supplies the cross-sectional 2020 counts, not a history of when equipment was installed. Source: EIA Table HC6.3
Residential heating equipment age statistics in England: age by household profile
England’s 2023–24 English Housing Survey reports age categories for primary heating systems among households. Its definition of an older system is more than 12 years old, which differs from the U.S. RECS age bands above. The survey says around 6.4 million households, or 26%, lived in homes with a primary heating system more than 12 years old. Around 13 million households, or 52%, lived with a system between 3 and 12 years old. These are English household figures for 2023–24, not current-year estimates. Source: English Housing Survey 2023–24, section 8
| English household profile | Primary system more than 12 years old | Primary system less than 3 years old |
|---|---|---|
| Private renters | 31% | 16% |
| Social renters | 26% | 20% |
| Owner occupiers | 25% | 24% |
Private renters had the highest reported prevalence of systems more than 12 years old among the three tenure groups, at 31%; social renters were at 26% and owner occupiers at 25%. For systems less than 3 years old, owner occupiers were at 24%, social renters at 20%, and private renters at 16%. Each comparison uses the survey’s household percentages and its stated system-age thresholds. Source: English Housing Survey 2023–24, section 8
The survey also reports differences by household reference person (HRP) age and illness or disability. Households with an HRP aged 65 or over were more likely to have older systems, at 29%, than younger-HRP households, reported as a range of 24 to 26%. Where at least 1 occupant had a long-term illness or disability, 27% had an older primary heating system; among households without such an occupant, the figure was 25%. “Older” in these comparisons means more than 12 years old. Source: English Housing Survey 2023–24, section 8
Household composition comparisons use the same older-system definition. The survey reports 30% for one-person households and 28% for other multi-person households. Couples with dependent children and lone-parent households with dependent children were each reported at 23%. These are household-profile comparisons in the fact sheet, not explanations for why systems have a particular age. Source: English Housing Survey 2023–24, section 8
Area was another reported profile: 32% of rural households had a primary heating system more than 12 years old, compared with 26% of urban households. Across the English comparisons, the survey describes prevalence within household groups. It does not make these figures directly interchangeable with the U.S. counts, which are in millions of housing units and use different age bands and survey years. Source: English Housing Survey 2023–24, section 8
Sources
- Table HC6.3: Space heating in U.S. homes, by year of construction, 2020
- Table HC6.1: Space heating in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020
- Table HC6.2: Space heating in U.S. homes, by owner or renter status, 2020
- English Housing Survey 2023 to 2024: low carbon technologies in English homes – fact sheet