For the entire heating season last winter, the average price was $1.08 a gallon, up 18 cents from the year before, the agency said.

The early part of the last heating season was also cold, with 1,501 degree days by Dec. 21.

Indoor air samples are usually collected during the heating season.

During last year's heating season, the price was $12 a barrel.

He estimated that consumption so far this heating season is 25 percent above last year.

And the previous heating season, the winter of 1990-91, was extraordinarily mild.

So it's not just consumers who are dreading the heating season.

But such resolution is probably months away, far after the heating season begins.

In these cases heat appears to be leaking into the ground constantly during the heating season and being lost.

Since levels are usually highest during the heating season, most of these measurements should be made in the winter.