Building a new house and considering installing one. Anyone have any experiences pro or con? Do they have enough energy to be worth the extra cost? Most of the discussion threads I have found are 5+ years old and I am looking for more recent info.

We had a 50 gallon GE hybrid at our old house. It worked well and was left in the heat pump setting the whole time. It worked with a family of 7 living there at the time if we timed showers right. It was located in the basement and it stayed cold in an 8x10 room while it was running. It was louder than a refrigerator, more like an air conditioner while running. Definitely have louvered doors or an open area to grab heat from everywhere.

We did have to have the main panel replaced, under warranty, in the few years we had it before we moved. Other than that, no issues.

It did lower our electric bill by a couple bucks a month. Check with your utility company to see if there are any rebates available.

Since you live in the South ( sort of ) , I assume natural gas is cheap and available in your area ? We have two NG water heaters and they don't cost much at all to operate .