Solar water heaters are a great way to save money. They are cheap to make, and you can hook them up to your existing water heater so you can have hot water when the sun isn't shining. You'd be surprised at how hot the sun can heat your water!
Solar water heaters work the same way a car's radiator works. The water is pumped through copper tubing with a lot of switchbacks through the hot panel the sun is shining on, then the water goes back to a tank for storage. There are many types of solar water heaters, and many more ways you can hook them up.
You can usually find free guides on the internet, and some well thought out ones that are packed full of useful information that you could spend hours searching Google for. I've found this guide to be the most helpful.

