"Heating oil, or oilheat, also
known in the United States as No. 2
fuel oil
and elsewhere as "red diesel", is a low
viscosity,
flammable
liquid petroleum product used to
fuel
building
furnaces
or ("boilers"). It is commonly delivered by
tank truck
to residential, commercial and
municipal
buildings and stored in above-ground storage tanks
("ASTs") located in the basement or adjacent to the
building. It is sometimes stored in underground storage
tanks (or "USTs"), but less often than ASTs. This is due
to the fact that a large proportion of heating oil
customers are in the
northeastern United States,
where basements are common, as are concerns over
potential environmental problems."
Wikipedia
Eau Claire: Percent Oil/Kerosene Heating by Block Group Based on 2000 Census Data
Oil Heating--
Kerosene Heating --
"A kerosene heater is a
portable, unvented,
kerosene-fueled,
space-heating device. In the
United States
they are used mainly for supplemental heat or as
a source of emergency heat during a
power outage.
In some countries, particularly in
Japan,
they are used as the primary source of home
heat. Most kerosene heaters produce between 3.3
and 6.8
kW
(11000 to 23000
BTU
per hour)."
Wikipedia
Patterns--
It is a seemingly sporadic sprinkling of homes that use oil or kerosene heating in the city of Eau Claire. The highest percentages of homes that use oil or kerosene heating (which is still relatively low, ranging from 25%-32%) are found on the outskirts of town and the center, just south of Dells Pond. The dense areas on the western edge of town are exurban and farm landscape, which may mean it's easier for the occupants to use oil or kerosene heat. The homes in the center of town are older and probably using oil because they have not switched.
Created by Ellen Chase,
06 Jun 2007Source: