Though the bulk of the residential central heating systems market has switched to natural gas in most areas of the United States, approximately 8.1 million of those 107 million homes continue to use heating oil as their primary source to heating their houses. Of this 8.1 million, nearly 82% of those homes are situated in the Northeast region of the United States, and these homeowners are extremely interested in the domestic and foreign oil market since it can really influence their pockets and pocketbooks from the frigid months of late October through March.

Many variables influence the rise and fall of the purchase price of oil. One of the biggest of these is demand. Throughout the wintertime, more oil is needed by consumers, and the cost rises. Many homeowners try to beat the system by filing their storage tanks at the lower prices of summer, but few own tanks large enough to get them through the winter months. Most homeowners should have their tanks filled and refilled up to five occasions throughout the course of one New England wintermonths, therefore higher prices can result in a lean holiday season. A normal homeowner in the Northeastern United State may use 650-1000 gallons of heat during the winter season. Another contributing factor in the price of heating oil is, of course, the cost of crude oil, also affected by demand and supply.

In some regions, several providers compete for their share of the residential heating oil market. This rivalry can often lead to higher costs as well. A final factor that affects the cost of heating oil is operating costs. In more remote areas, the transporting of the fuel to inhabitants can be much more costly, leading to higher costs for those consumers. These operating costs are affected by worker wages, equipment costs, lease or rent for the dealer, etc.. All of these variables exist when the monthly bill reaches the homeowner.

There exist many techniques to reduce heating bills in the depths of the winter. The easiest could be achieved by the homeowner herself or him, by simply winterizing the house. Appropriate insulation within the walls of their house combined with energy efficient windows and sufficient caulking and weather stripping around them can result in a much more cozy abode which requires less heat to be comfy for its inhabitants. Budget plans also exist with most traders to help spread the cost of heating during the winter months across the entire year of invoices. Though consumers can't do anything to affect the purchase price of oil straight, by taking proper precautions in the home to save their energy, they are less affected by inescapable price fluctuations.