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Heating systems vary from radiators to space heaters and furnaces, and while some heaters use electricity, those that use natural gas or heating oil produce emissions directly by burning fuel such as natural gas or heating oil. When used in heating systems, natural gas and heating oil combust, just like they do in power plants, however, rather than converting heat to electricity, it is used directly for warmth.

Like in power plants, the combustion of natural gas results in the production of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and heat when the various hydrocarbons that make up natural gas release their carbon atoms which bond to oxygen gas and produce carbon dioxide. Because natural gas contains methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide, natural gas leaks can be 23 times more damaging to the environment than natural gas combustion.

A much larger compound than natural gas, heating oil is similar to diesel fuel and consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons with 14 to 20 carbon atoms. Heating oil also reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and heat. Popular in the northeast, heating oil is used by 6.3 million households, or roughly 78% of all heating oil users in the United States.