Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO
Heating oil is commonly delivered by tank truck to residential, commercial and municipal buildings and stored in above-ground storage tanks ("ASTs") located in the basements, garages, or outside adjacent to the building. It is sometimes stored in underground storage tanks (or "USTs") but less often than ASTs. ASTs are used for smaller installations due to the lower cost factor. Heating oil is less commonly used as an industrial fuel or for power generation.
Red dyes are usually added, resulting in its "red diesel" name in countries like the United Kingdom. Since 2002, Solvent Yellow 124 has been added as a "Euromarker" in the European Union.
Heating oil is very similar to diesel fuel, and both are classified as distillates. It consists of a mixture of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons in the 14- to 20-carbon atom range. During oil distillation, it condenses at between 250 and 350 °C (482 and 662 °F). Heating oil condenses at a lower temperature than the heavy (C20+) hydrocarbons such as petroleum jelly, bitumen, candle wax, and lubricating oil, which condense between 340–400 °C (644–752 °F). But it condenses at a higher temperature than kerosene, which condenses between 160–250 °C (320–482 °F).
Heating oil produces 138,500 British thermal units (146,100 kJ) per US gallon and weighs 7.2 pounds per US gallon (0.85 kg/l), which is about the same heat per unit mass as the somewhat less dense diesel fuel. Number 2 fuel oil has a flash point of 52 °C (126 °F).
Leaks from tanks and piping are an environmental concern. Various federal and state regulations are in place regarding the proper transportation, storage and burning of heating oil, which is classified as a hazardous material (HazMat) by federal regulators.
Heating oil may be blended with biodiesel to create a product that burns similarly.
Read more about Heating Oil: Heating Oil Trade, United States and Canada, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, K-factor
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