What is Heating Oil?

Heating oil includes several grades of petroleum fuel oils: No. 1, No. 2, No.4-Light, No. 4-Heavy, No. 5-Light, No. 5-Heavy, No. 6, Navy Special Fuel Oil, and Bunker C, plus No.2 Diesel fuel and Kerosene when used for heating purposes.  more

Heating oil is a refined oil made from petroleum, used in furnaces to heat buildings. It is the main source of heat in as many as half of American homes. People living in the northeast US are more likely to heat their homes with heating oil than other parts of the country, consuming more than 80% of the home heating oil used every winter. Heating oil is similar to diesel oil, and the process of refining it is very similar. People whose homes rely on heating oil for heat in the winter are justifiably concerned about the cost of heating oil. As with every petroleum product, the price of heating oil goes up and down, depending on the cost of the crude oil from which it is made and other variables such as refinery capacity. Heating oil is trucked to individual homes and pumped into underground storage tanks. Since heating oil is more expensive in the winter, when demand is high, most people will have their tanks filled in the summer or early fall when prices are lower. Unfortunately, ...  more