Home heating oil began replacing coal and wood-burning home heating in 1935 when the forced air furnace was invented. Home heating oil is also known as No. 2 oil. It is a low-viscosity liquid petroleum (crude oil) that is similar to diesel fuel. Because home heating oil is derived from crude oil, it experiences a change in price relative to the crude oil price, among other factors.
The process of refining crude oil separates it into different fractions through a distillation process. Fractions are different weights of oil. There are six different weights, numbered from one (lightest) to six (heaviest). Once the distillates are pulled out, they are further refined to produce home heating oil, along with gasoline, kerosene, diesel and jet fuel.
Home heating oil is delivered by a tanker owned by an oil delivery company. Households that use home heating oil must have a tank, which is usually located either in the basement or underground. Since usage is higher in the winter, many home heating oil delivery companies will set up a balanced billing account for their customers, so they can pay several times throughout the year instead of having a large bill once or twice a year.
In time, perhaps new technology will make other methods of home heating more economical than home heating oil, and it may one day go the path of coal and wood burning.
For home heating oil in Hickory NC, contact us at Bumgarner Oil. We have been servicing gas stations, commercial contracts, and residential homes since 1954. We’re a local oil company that you can trust!