Kerosene's Rising Sun

A sizzling way to beat high home-heating costs

Fed up with heating oil costs that ran to $1,000 a season even in relatively temperate Virginia, Betsy and Bob Smith of Richmond last fall invested $220 in a portable kerosene heater. From the day they turned it on in their split-level home, their average oil consumption for central heating began plunging, down to 77 gal., vs. 180 to 200 normally. Says Betsy: "It's working like a dream. It has half paid for itself already."

The Smiths do not regard themselves as members of an elite...

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