Trubrit, I know how you feel - the gas company here keeps sneaking up its prices, a few cents here, a few cents there. We had a very cold spring this year which meant the heating was on a lot longer than I'd anticipated. The gas company keeps sending me flashy leaflets telling me how it's going to freeze gas prices until at least next November (wow! since the gas is mostly off in the summer anyway) - but fails to mention how prices will shoot up at that time just when you start using more of it.

I've tried to solve the problem by making sure the house is as insulated as possible - attic reinsulated, double glaze windows etc., but if you have an open fireplace (like we do) you might want to consider fitting a chimney cowl that can be closed when the fire's not in use. Rooms with an open fire lose loads of heat and a very annoying draught is created even when the fire's not lit because warm air rises up the chiney, creating a vacuum behind it that sucks up more air from the room. I also close the curtains early in the evening in winter when the heating comes on, it traps the heat better than just glass. Have a timer clock on the heating, thermostatic valves on radiators (so radiators in less used rooms can be turned down a bit).

We burn wood mostly in the open fire - less pollutants and cheaper than coal. Plus wood is easy to come by: I burn all old scrap wood, even bits left over from DIY. A good source are the pallets thrown out and free to take away by many companies. If you have a car, a saw (or better, a chainsaw, but watch the nails!) and some patience, you can keep yourself going nicely with this.

A neighbour of mine built a very efficient boiler from an old round water tank. He created a double-hull, with water circulating between the two hulls. Pipes from this carry water into the house. Pallets are burned inside the inner hull and the whole boiler is sealed off by having the door closed with just a small hatch to assist burning. It heats the water sufficiently for only a little extra energy to be required from gas / oil to bring it up to a good temperature. Solar panels on the roof can be used to a similar effect, and these days they've gotten much more efficient. Another interesting idea I came across was to run copper pipes througha shallow wooden tray. the pipes and inside of the tray are painted black. A sheet of thick perspex placed over catches the sun's energy, black absorbs the energy more efficiently. Again, it only adds a few degrees heat to the water but this is often enough to dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed to bring it to a reasonable heat.

Anyway, just thought you might find it useful!