What Influences Heating Oil Prices?

Like all energy, heating oil’s price can fluctuate.

Temperatures have plunged in Bourne and throughout the Upper Cape and Southeastern Massachusetts. As such, boilers and furnaces throughout this region have come on, and people’s heating oil consumption has reached the highest levels in months.

This is the time of the year when the Tasha Fuels & Propane team moves into high gear. Our recognizable heating oil delivery trucks are on the road virtually every hour of the day or night, getting people the fuel they need to stay warm.

It’s also the time when we get lots of questions about heating oil pricing. We can offer some answers about why heating oil’s price changes — and how you can save some money in these icy months.

What is Heating Oil?

Petroleum-based heating oil is a distillate of crude oil. It’s similar in properties to off-road diesel fuel. Like diesel, heating oil won’t combust in its liquid state. Your heating system’s burner needs to vaporize it and heat it to an extremely high temperature so it can ignite.

The heating oil that Tasha delivers is known as Bioheat Plus® fuel. It’s a combination of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil and biodiesel, which comes from recycled and organic ingredients like used cooking oil, animal fats, plant oil, biomass and even algae. Bioheat Plus fuel is much better for the planet — significantly lowering carbon, sulfur oxide, mercury and particulate matter emissions — as well as your heating equipment. Bioheat Plus fuel leaves fewer deposits in your heat exchanger, lowering the amount of maintenance you need to do.

What Affects Heating Oil’s Price?

As a product of crude oil, heating oil’s price can be affected by global oil markets. These markets have seen a fair amount of turmoil in recent years, including pandemic-related refinery stoppages, supply chain disruptions, military conflicts and OPEC production cuts. Market speculation on Wall Street doesn’t help the situation either.

Of course, supply and demand have a major impact, too. The Northeast U.S. consumes about 90% of the heating oil in this country. So, when demand increases in this region, as it does when there’s a blizzard or cold snap, prices can go up.

Finally, there are simple operational expenses like transportation, storage, distribution, etc. that increase fuel costs. At Tasha Fuels & Propane, we work hard to keep our operating costs low (the only part of the process we can really affect) and pass the savings on to our customers.

How Can You Lower Your Heating Oil Spending?

There are some ways you can reduce your heating oil spending this season.

1. Invest in a smart thermostat to program lower temperature settings for when you’re asleep or out of the house. These kinds of adjustments can save you up to 10% on your heating expenses each winter!
2. Seal up any air leaks in your windows and doorframes with weatherstripping, door sweeps and caulk. This will keep the warm air inside and the cold air out.
3. Arrange to have your heating equipment serviced annually. It keeps your system running efficiently and lowers your heating expenses.
4. Enroll in Automatic Delivery. We handle all the delivery planning for you to prevent run-outs. It’s free, and we give you a 5-cent per gallon discount just for enrolling!

To sign up for Automatic Delivery and claim your heating oil discount, contact the Tasha team today.