Oil is a mixture of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. Heating oil is fuel you can burn for a source of heat; anything from gas to kerosene can be used as oil in some cases. The burning point of heating oil is about 40 degrees C or 104 degrees F, making it a great heat source. Without heating oil millions of people would freeze in the winter who do not have access to a gas supply.
Heating oil is one of the ways that many commercial buildings and homes are heated. You put it in boiler heaters, and it helps to keep an area warm in the winter. This is very important because the function of the boiler helps to keep the occupants of the house in safety and comfort. One thing that is an issue for many people is that they do not know too much about heating oil, and this has given rise to quite a number of misconceptions, one of which is regarding the price of heating oil.
Factors That Affect the Price of Heating Oil
There is a common misconception is that oil is expensive, and as a result, it’s not cost effective to heat your home using an oil system. This simply isn’t the case. Unlike other fuels, oil prices are in continual fluctuation. This can sometimes result in raised prices, but can also mean low prices too.
Different factors cause heating oil prices to change. The price of home heating oil will generally mirror the trend of global crude oil prices. However, it does shift seasonally based on demand, regardless of crude oil’s day to day shifts. During winter demand is at its peak, and this will often translate to high prices. To hedge against this, many people will often stock up on heating oil during summer when prices are comparatively lower (if they have storage ability). You can achieve this by having a single high capacity tank or installing several tanks. Note that domestic oil storage tanks can be either underground or above ground. Most homes have aboveground oil storage tanks as they are more affordable and easier to set up and relocate. Underground tanks are more suitable where large capacity is required, but they come with a higher price tag. One thing you must do is to make sure that regardless of the location of the tank, it is fireproof.
Conserving Your Heating Oil
Even if you are able to get your heating oil at low prices, you should still make the effort to conserve it so as to make it last as long as possible. There are a number of things that you can do in order to achieve this, such as closing vents in rooms that are not regularly used, checking your insulation to be sure that everything is in working order, servicing your heaters to be sure they are working at maximum efficiency, and replacing old single-pane windows with new models that are more effective at keeping heat inside your home.