I'm considering replacing my LP gas water heater with a Marathon electric since I have surplus electrical production from my PV system. We don't have real net metering here, but they pay us a smaller amount for the energy I produce than I pay them for energy I buy, so if I use my excess electrical production from the PVs and wind generator to replace LP that I buy (at widely varying prices over the years), I think I should come out ahead. First, though, I plan to bypass my LP water heater and use the electric element in the cheap electric water heater that is connected as a preheat tank with a coil in the wood burning furnace, just to see how well it works. If I can heat enough water when it is sunny to carry me through the night and a cloudy day, then it should be worth getting the better insulated lifetime Marathon water heater.
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