The suburb where I grew up was build in around 1970 and most houses have oil as main heat source. Rising oil prices have started to change that. Many households are now installing wooden stoves for heat generation. It also makes sense from security point of view, winters can get really cold and if you would lose electricity you would end up without heating.

A local group in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is building a demonstration project that is near zero energy use.   The construction cost is about $100 per square foot.   The architect gave a presentation last year.   His 3,600 square foot Dallas home had an electric bill of $60 in August.    

Information at:  www.heathershome.info

Heather's Home:
Green, Near Zero Energy, & Affordable

This won't help you much but is related:

"Heat From the Earth to Warm Your Hearth"
www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/business/yourmoney/01thermal.html  (free registraion required).  Summary: The New York Times discovers heat pumps and touts them as an alternative to the fuel oil furnace.  About time.  Perhaps this will be the latest trend in upscale New England real estate:  now that you've got that home theater and indoor pool, how about cutting your reliance on oil and gas?

Also in today's NYTimes:
"A Dispute Underscores the New Power of Gas"
www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/business/worldbusiness/03gas.html
Nice analysis of the politics surrounding the emergance of the global natural gas market.

Cheers.