Do you think that you are feeling the pain from this summer's soaring gas prices? Well, brace yourself for winter.

Some industry experts say we could see record high prices for home heating oil.

"We're seeing prices right now that are up where you'd expect to see them in January and February, when the bulk of the usage is. So there is a little alarm about what we're going to see when we get into the peak demand season," said Nadia Adawi of the Philadelphia Energy Cooperative.

Adawi said consumers should plan ahead and budget for this upcoming winter.

"Start paying now for oil you're going to use this heating season because all the signs are pointing to it's going to shape up to be a pretty grim heating season," Adawi said.

There are usually two options when it comes to paying for home heating oil: a lock in rate and a cap rate. With a lock in rate, you pay a fixed price for the whole season.

"There's a lot of different versions of the lock-in. There's the pre-pay, which is basically you can buy as much oil as you want -- usually a minimum of 500 gallons. So then you sort of have to do the math. How much do you think you're going to use this season?" Adawi said.

With the cap rate, the price fluctuates based on the market's going rate.

"It's pay as you go, almost on a daily basis. But that means you can really take advantage of prices when the market goes down. If you are savvy and you do the floating daily you can pick your deliveries to come on a day when the prices are lower," Adawi said.

Adawi warns consumers to beware of any deal that sounds too good to be true. She recommends working with a dealer who you or someone you know has dealt with in the past.

Before you sign up, check with your county's Consumer Protection Office to see if there have been complaints filed against the company. You also might want to consider joining a buying group, like the energy cooperative.

"We do have legally binding contracts with all these dealers that individual consumers don't have. There's price protection but there's also legal protection for members who join the cooperative," Adawi said.

Home Heating Oil

The Energy Co-op

PIRG Fuel Buyers

National Oilheat Research Alliance

New Jersey Citizen Action Oil Group

New Jersey Citizen Action

EIA: What Consumers Should Know about Residential Heating Oil Prices