In 1997 Rick Soccio and his wife Monica, both in their twenties, bought an 18th century brick house in the village of Huntsdale in south central Pennsylvania. When the first winter came, they found that the house was very hard to heat and began thinking of a new heating system.

   
Trained in HVAC, Rick had become aware of alternative energy heating sources such as wood, coal, wood pellets and gas. The fact that wood and wood products are a renewable energy source appealed to Rick, and he began to shop for a supplemental heating appliance.

   
He soon found what he was looking for in a small local home-based business called Alternative Energy Solutions (AES). In the process of buying a Franco Belge coal stove, Rick discovered to his surprise that the entire business was also for sale. His entrepreneurial juices began to bubble and flow as he visualized a hearth shop specializing in alternative fuels and saving money while providing heat for families in his neighborhood and surrounding areas.
  
In 1998 the business was his and he opened a showroom in half of his house. While he and Monica were still working full time at their day jobs, they opened the shop in the evenings. Business was good, and customers were drawn to the warm and friendly AES style. Soon Rick resigned his position and trained himself to become a certified installer and service provider.

   
Before long he was adding more employees as well as products and services. In three years the business was large enough to move out of the house into a 3500 square foot showroom (still in Huntsdale!) enabling AES to present the largest number of burn models in the area. All forms of alternative energy solutions for heating are shown as well as all the major manufacturers. Services include installation and maintenance of heating appliances and complete chimney services.

   
The AES philosophy is to educate customers to the point where they can make their own intelligent decisions about what they want and need when it comes to heating. There is never a high pressure sales pitch at AES because the salespeople do not work on commission.

   
Success has continued, and now the staff numbers twelve (and the Soccio family numbers four with the addition of Mitchell and Nancy!). Stop in to say hello, just look, ask a question or buy a stove. Each and every person who walks through the door is an important visitor to AES Hearthplace.