It has been, in general terms, a tad bit cooler in most parts of the world. You know things like snow in Iraq... also in many places it has been cooler longer. Like around here although we haven't had a "freeze" we have had much cooler temps through the days and nights for a longer period of time. That has translated into more gallons of propane we have used. When it comes to heating, the type of wood has a huge impact on hoe much heat is produced and how long the wood burns. Pines and firs (soft wood) burns faster for a shorter period of time. Oak, Walnut and other hard woods burn longer and hotter. If you split your own wood the ax or splitting maul will let you know. Hard woods require a bit more energy to split. Carrying the wood is also another way to tell. Soft woods are lighter (when dry) than hard woods (when dry) when wet they are closer to the same weight - although hard woods contain slightly less water, and soft woods contain significantly more water. Its hard to say now days what is a rip off and what is not. The price of everything has gone through the roof. for instance although we have burned a very small fraction more propane this year, our bill is nearly double from last year. The price has significantly gone up. Wood suppliers are also feeling the fuel price hike, not only in shipping/delivery of the wood on trucks, but the fuel used to cut down the tree, to split the wood (now mostly done by machines not ax). If they get their supply of wood from tree trimming service, then they also have to pay for the machines that take out stumps, that reduce branches into shredded mulch, higher prices at the dump (even those that compost or "recycle" shredded wood). Wood burning for fuel is only cheap if you your self are a tree trimmer - or have a bit of acreage with lots of trees that you clean up yearly (fallen wood, taking out the diseased trees).