homemade solar panels

[Jon]

That's my hunch on the solar leases too. They sound good, but I imagine they're fine-printing you into a long-term deal that's not ultimately economically advantageous. Someone has to eat the cost of the technology rendering non-brand-new stuff obsolete.

Easy-fix hot tubs can be had on CL left and right, from people who insist the whole tub is "broken", and would be grateful if you just got it off their property so they didn't have to deal with it. I've seen people do this as a viable businesses. Buy free or very cheap tubs from CL, fix them, warranty them for a year, and sell them for $1,000-$2,000. Consumers really like this option, as it saves them $5-10K.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that a motor with a heat exchanger can produce enough heat to make a small tub cost around $1/day. That might be my in.

I know a good trick with a water heater for cold climates where the water comes in cold, but I haven't yet used it. Use a second water heater to store incoming water. So when you deplete your hot water, the functioning water heater draws its next tank load from a non-functioning tank that has been storing cold water as it approaches room temperature. You essentially use the heat of the mechanical room (which is often hot anyway), to preheat the next 40 gallons of water.