The truth is that home heating oil prices tend to fluctuate, sometimes wildly, and this can hit the home user fairly hard. It pays to understand a little about the process and you could even save some money.
Although there are oil hot water heaters, by far the greatest use for oil in the residential setting is for heating the place in winter. In other words, most people want their oil delivered between October and March.
The winter demand inevitably causes a rise in the current prices for heating oil. You would have less difficulty if you wanted to heat your house through the summer!
It is a smart move therefore to do like many home owners already do and fill up the home heating oil tanks before the winter season kicks off. This can help - it probably helps your local dealer too - but not many homes can survive the winter on a single tank. Typical homes need four or more refills in a winter season.
Local heating oil prices can be affected by various factors - lack of competition for example can often be an issue in remote areas or places where oil heating is uncommon. But the price is also influenced by the price of crude oil - about forty percent or so of the price of the oil is the cost of the crude oil.
It is hard to say that keeping a close eye on crude oil prices can save you much money, but historically there is a lag before heating oil rises, so it might help. But given that it would have to coincide with you having a reasonably empty tank, it is close to random! The best money saver is probably to get a home energy audit.