As the price of oil and fossil fuels continues to rise, we continue to search for new forms of energy... an energy solution that may be just over the horizon. This morning, just like every morning, the sun will rise over over the mountains and begin to warm the earth. But what if we could capture that solar energy to use in our homes and businesses?

Paul Risberg, president of Altenergy Inc. says, "for a family of four people, what you usually find is that 20 to 25% of your total energy costs throughout the year are to make domestic hot water." So why not use solar energy to heat water?

Altenergy Incorporated specializes in the instillation of solar thermal systems. "The one thing a solar hot water system does is it replaces the hot water that you were paying to have made, so that's your savings." In addition to saving you money, using solar power is better for the environment, because it is a renewable resource and helps offset co2 emission. "A typical solar hot water system might offset a ton or 2100 pounds of co2 each year."

Here's how it works, a series of black vacuum tubes absorb solar radiation and heat a small metal tube inside. These tubes then heat a reservoir of liquid to over 100 degrees. This heat is then transferred to your hot water heater. "Hot water for showers, clothes washing, dish washers that everybody uses everyday." and even on cloudy days these systems can still heat water but not as effectively as on sunny days. "So you might only get 30 or 40% of the output that you would on a normal full sun day, but that is still a significant contribution... but we all need to find ways to do what we want to do without using as much energy." On a sunny summer day a solar hot water system can actually heat more than enough hot water for an average sized family.

Altenergy says one of these systems can pay for itself in about 10 years and can last more than 20 with very little maintenance.