unrelated water heater story...
I figured it was time to replace the 25 year old, 80 gallon electric hot water heater in my home. I had my plumber install a (provided) 65 gallon Rheem Electric Hybrid Water Heater. My plumber had never seen one before, and he advised against it for the record. Was around $2000 just for the heater. My electric bill went down $50-$65 a month immediately. I absolutely loved this thing. It uses a heat pump to heat the water, its recovery time is slow but we never ran out of hot water (only two of us here). It absolutely sips electricity. Was super high tech, whats not to love!
One random night after 9 months, it started smoking and died. I was pretty bummed. Home depot took the unit back for a full refund, and rheem actually refunded me cash for all the labor. So I have hand it to both companies for their support.
I ended up installing a natural gas unit with power vent after that. Not as fancy or "cool" but it works, makes lots of hot water and has not burned my house down.
If I did not have NG available I would almost consider giving the hybrid unit another chance. I couldnt believe the savings it was providing.