I think the biggest bump for me going from condo life to house life was the added cost of heating oil. Plan to buy a pellet stove. Save's me about 3 grand a year. ROI after 1 year, and its fun to sit around the fire I spend about 800 bucks a year in pellets and about 100 a month in oil, tops in the winter, and it does 80% + of my heating for the house. Some friends spend upwards of 1000 a month in oil for thier 2200 sqft houses, keeping a modest 66 temp. It could potentially do the whole house, but it is on the 3rd of my 4 split stories (including basement), so the 1st floor (above basement) doesn't get any of the heat and requires the furnace.
Plus, it supports US economy, not arabs. And its a carbon-neutral product, so it's consdered green. Some tax credits might still be around... not sure. they had them at one point a few years ago at least.
I think I'm going to do a pellet stove this year, but it'd take me three years to hit 100% ROI. I use 250 gallons of heating oil per year, about $1100 worth at current prices. I just have to find a place to put the damn thing. I don't have a fireplace to use, and the oil furnace is down in the basement, and there's no sane way of getting to the chimney for it. I'm hesitant to cut into a wall to get a vent, because none of the sides of the house are free from obstructions, I have trees around the whole house, some as old as 50 years.