A BETTER than free solar setup?!?

[@richardkniffin6399]

Hey Edwin, I'm glad that solar makes financial sense for you. Florida should be way up there in solar power, but historically the state was influenced by other energy interests, according to a Floridian uncle of mine. Remember too, the cheapest electricity comes from using less of it in the first place, and that's a lesson worth teaching to our children. Big houses hold many expenses, best of luck with yours!

[@theraven42]

I wish Oregon let you do it this way .Basically you get a discount, and the company still owns the hardware and all the net metering benefit.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Are you positive that's not only for setups where you rent the hardware? As I understand it there are panel "rental" setups which are different then what I'm doing. I bought my panels.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

I found this for Oregon... there might indeed be an option for Net Metering. www.energytrust.org/solar-net-metering/

[@PNWPrototyping]

You can do net metering in Oregon, and it's really easy.

[@andrewyager1342]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer Hmm, I think the sales folks are not interested in selling that option. I've asked and its always a rental setup.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@andrewyager1342 I suspect you are not talking to the right people. Did you ever talk to Tesla?

[@captainfailtv]

I think the home equity affects your house like a pool. If you had a brand new pool installed the value goes up but over time wear and tear and up keep will lose value. But if the housing market keeps going up it could off-set thar that depreciation.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

That analogy does not quite work... a pool does not pay you back. A pool is for enjoyment and it costs money to upkeep. That is much closer to a Liability. The solar is closer to being an asset, because over it's lifetime it returns more than I put into getting it, which is the very definition of asset.

[@PPVG2]

Hi Edwin! Excellent content as always. Here in the Philippines we have a similar system with respect to net-metering. Been thinking of going solar for quite some time. I'm just waiting for the cost to go down (its still very expensive to have one set-up due to importing duties). Anyway, I really liked your mono black budget deck build and I recently decided to enter into Old School after a long hiatus from MTG. Hope to see a mid-budget version of those budget decks you created. :)

[@tragicslip]

Florida is the sunshine state

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Very true and it's very friendly to Solar... however I was surprised to see it's way down the list of most "Solar Friendly" states in the USA!

[@Mrtfarrugia]

Except during the 3pm rainstorm. 😁

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@Mrtfarrugia I actually really love those :)

[@tragicslip]

@@Mrtfarrugia yeah i miss those. we've been getting the 3pm tornado in the carolinas. lol

[@clintonglasson1992]

How to make a white weenie deck if crusade is banned now??

[@BresciGaetano]

Nice video. But i have to say i was in hope to some more nerdy stuff, i'm not much into all this economico stuff 😉 Anyway i Hope i will have somewhere to install something like that, Is a bit triky living in a small flat in the middle of a city. Allthought i would do It more for ecological stuff, and seem the impact of the pannel production will have to improve a bit more if we wish it to be a true environmental help. But need to lern more about the actual state, is quite some time i don't dig in it.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

You think that the production rate must improve before Solar makes an impact? My panels are producing 120 KWh a day! That's a huge amount of power! Just look at your electric bill and calculate how much power your home is using a day. I bet It's 15 KWh or less.

[@BresciGaetano]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer no. sry my english. For the production of the pannel itself a lot of materials are needed many of wich have a huge environmental impact when extracted, refined and finally crafted into the parts the pannels needs. This gap between how much It pollutes and how much less the energy production pollutes compared to a Fossil fuel station (even adding the environmental damage of oil and coal extraction) Is slowly decreasing. I don't Remember now the extimation i read some time ago about when this gap should be flattened due to technologies advancement, but we should be there or really near. Surely how much efficency It gas Is important but that's not all. Do you Remember? I'm long time into bioarchitecture and stuff like that 😉

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@BresciGaetano Ah ok. Yeah the environmental impacts/costs that goes into the production of solar panels is an interesting topic for sure. The way I'm looking at it, I already consume a LOT of stuff that has similar impact (electronics) so at least this one is doing something good back for the environment. Perhaps it would be more fitting to abstain from buying that next unnecessary tech gadget that I really don't need instead of tech gadget that actually makes a positive impact on the environment. I mean really... how silly is it to not buy solar panels due to technology production impact... and then turn around and by a new flat panel TV, iPad, Rooba, etc? As for what the actual impact is... I'm SURE that people have been looking into that. I would be interested to go see what the data says.

[@BresciGaetano]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer yeah i agree. But i have not su much tech, my bill Is small so i would look at it just for impact. Money wise Is great and as you pointed probably the impact of a touchscreen device Is way higher. As you said you can surely find this data around and probably we are almost at the sweet spot if not already reach. I reserched It a couple of time some years ago for some clients Who was wishing to lower their impact but saddly i had to say them it was not the time yet and stick to the power grid. But is something that is more a concern for power plants and green economy than house systems, anyway. I would not say Is a bad choice generally speaking. Also if you happen to have a van i would always go for that instead of a gasoline generator, noise and gasoline tanks are also a concern expecialy if you plan some travell into the nature..

[@natethetoe386]

I live in Arizona and have been thinking about getting solar. TY for this video. It looks like you are producing much more power than your using. If this is true, would you get a smaller system if you did it over again?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Complicated answer. For me, no. I would buy larger if I could. Because the cost for more panels is cheaper than the cost of power to the utility company and more panels pays me a check at years end. The thing that stops me is if you make too much power you are considered a power company and then things get Complicated! If power companies in your state don't do net metering and pay you for unused credits at years end... then don't buy more panels then you need. Yes I'm making 2x the power I use at the moment... but during summer with AC running all day that might flip around. We will see. If you do get a Tesla system, please consider using my referral code!

[@soldierofmankind]

Hi Edwin, I'm just wondering when are you going back old school MTG videos. I wish you can make those type of videos especially budget deck techs and gameplay. Thank you mate and stay safe. I would like your opinion as well on buying dual lands during this crisis? Cheers.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Benjamin :) Thanks for watching and for the comment. I'm for sure doing more MTG Old School videos. However I have been doing more playing then video-developing lately. My time is so thin I literally get to do one or the other. When I make videos I barely get to play. My apologies for the delay. If I can just win the lottery, retire and not lose 40-60 hours a week at work!

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Oh yeah, forgot to answer your question about buying during the crisis. Simply put, I think this crash is different then dotcom or housing in 2008. Those were 100% financial. This is a Pandemic that caused a supply chain issue, that has shut down the economy and is crashing markets as a result. The others were purely financial, this one is REAL. I think we are only beginning to see how this will go. I suspect the people out of jobs will cause massive disruptions in housing and markets. I think goods will go up for sale because many people will be short of cash very soon. I think THAT is the time to buy. So right now I'm stockpiling cash getting ready for everything to go on sale.

[@captainfailtv]

First, $15,000.00 from the tax credit?

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Yes I'm getting back 15k as a tax refund from Uncle Sam. I already got most of it this year, getting the leftover next year.

[@captainfailtv]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer tell yo yo wife your buying another box of legends.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@captainfailtv as soon as I can get her to stop buying purses LOL

[@joeb1522]

If you don't buy batteries, then how do you have zero electric bills? What about 10 hours a day when the sun isn't out? And days it is cloudy? Or are you saying the credit you get during the day offsets the usage at night and cloudy dsys? I live in AZ and I've seen several quotes from companies and it takes over 10 years to break even. An example, my friend works for a large hotel and he got a quote for solar for the hotel and it took 10+ years to break even (inclunding the tax credits, not discounted for PV of money, and not counting maintenance). No business would invest for a 10+ year break even. Also, the solar panels depreciate and need to be serviced and replaced over time. And if you need a new roof, you have to pay Telsa to temporarily remove the panels. My neighbor had to pay a company 15-20k to temporarily remove the panels. She was upset with how expensive it was and got several quotes. These are my concerns. I am curious if these concerns are valid from what you saw? AZ is much more sunny than FL and from what I've seen, it doesn't make economic sense. My city has net metering too.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

Hi Joe, you seemed to miss the whole point about net metering. During the day my solar creates a huge amount of power. Way more than I use for that day. The extra power that is not used by my home is pushed into the grid (and used by other Duke energy customers immediately.) But the meter tracked what I pushed in. Then at night I'm using power from the grid yes... but the meter tracked my extra power during the day so at the end of the month the energy company just looks at power in versus power out and only bills me if I used more than I gave back. If you think of it this way... the power grid itself is basically my battery. That's what net metering is. The 10 year break even would only be the concern if I had to drop the full 50k in cash out of pocket. But that's not what people do whom buy solar usually... I got a loan at 4% interest. So if the monthly payment of the loan is LESS then your monthly payment of normal electric utility... then you are saving money every month right off the bat. The system "breaks even" on day 1 if the loan payment is less then the utility bill. And after the loan is paid off... free power! Make sense? Yes the solar panels depreciate, but it's VERY slowly. They last 30+ years and still remain up to 92% of original full efficiency after 20 years! That's amazing performance. If you need a new roof then you need a new roof whether or not you get solar. That does not seem like a fair calculation into the cost of solar. If you think about what I wrote you'll realize it's correct.

[@joeb1522]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer Thanks for your detailed reply. Very interesting and makes sense. It seems like its a good deal if you plan to stay in your house at least 10-15 years. If not, then there's risk your remaining solar loan is higher than the FMV of the solar, essentially your solar loan is "underwater". I just don't see the equity in a home increase as much as the cost of the solar. But I don't really know, just a guess, but it is at least a risk to consider.

[@joeb1522]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer On the new roof comment, if you need a new roof, you first have to pay 10-20k for a solar company to take off the panels, then pay a roofing company to puts on the new roof, then pay the solar company to put the panels back on. So there's an extra 10-20k cost. Although roofs last a long time, and if your're lucky, you replace the panels and roof at the same time. And fyi - my brother lives in FL and also got solar last year (not from tesla) and he really likes it. He got a bunch of batteries to store power.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

@@joeb1522 That's the reason I touched on the equity topic in the video. You are asking the right next question... what is the value of this solar in a few years if I sell the home? Good question. I did cover some of that in the video... but here's some details just to help you out. 1. Remember that right now you can buy solar with a 26% federal tax credit... that means the market value of your solar can drop 26% before the money you ACTUALLY put into it (via a loan) is threatened. 2. Remember that only a few year old Solar setup is still like 99% efficient and has over 30 years of use left. 3. Remember that Solar is NOT like a new car, or pool, or a kitchen upgrade. It was not purchased for entertainment (like a pool) and it does not require upkeep (like a car) and it was not effected by owner-style-preference (like a kitchen). It sits on your roof, you never see it, and it MAKES YOU MONEY. It's an investment into something that pays you back, not done for the other reasons. It's incorrect to view a home-solar investment like you view a pool, a kitchen up grade or a new car. 4. A Solar array will save whom ever owns the home money on electricity for 30+ years. If a future buyer of your home is looking at paying 20k to 40k extra for your home due to solar, but literally never pays an electric bill... why do you not think that factors into the equity of the home?!? Would YOU be more interested in buying a home that saved you $200 a month in electricity? 5. Remember that electricity goes UP with inflation. That $200 a month electric bill you are paying is NOT going to be $200 in 10 years. It will be higher for sure. But a home bought by the next buyer will not pay that increased cost of electricity... Since he/she bought your home they pay NOTHING more a month while everybody else is suffering inflation based cost of bills going up!

[@joeb1522]

@@EdwintheMagicEngineer Thanks. Very helpful. There are definitely a lot of factors to consider.