diy solar

diy solar

RE+ solar conference is fast approaching! What new products or booths are you interested in?

Hedges said:
Bitcoin - I would worry about risk of crash. It has absolutely no intrinsic value. (kind of like the dollar.) "Backed by the full faith and credit of the internet"?
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He lived by the sword, he died by the sword. His money all came from the internet.. it can go back to the internet. :ROFLMAO:
 
Hedges said:
I guess that amount of taxes is in line with the income.

Bitcoin - I would worry about risk of crash. It has absolutely no intrinsic value. (kind of like the dollar.) "Backed by the full faith and credit of the internet"?

You need some amount of liquid funds. Usually that doesn't carry more than interest, which today is some 20% lower than inflation. Equities are volatile in their own way, but a diversified basket over time has done pretty well. Stocks and Bay Area real estate have had similar gains over many decades. I've tried my hand at picking stocks but probably did worse than a low costs index fund.

Physical gold I think will always have value. It has underperformed financials for long periods, but over all time it may have kept up with inflation. Biggest problem I see is it has to be protected and a significant amount of it would make you a significant target.

I looked up other useful metals, catalysts etc., at Kitco I think. Problem was huge spread between buy and sell if you take possession; they have to assay it. As a paper asset the transaction costs would be far lower, but then you're just a creditor of the company.

I'd like a way to ride the value of commodities. But that is mostly done with futures, or stock in mining etc. firms. Then you're subject to the risk of their leverage and other financial shenanigans.
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Ok then give me some Bitcoin.
 
I moved this thread to chit chat zone. I'll post more pictures here but I'll make some new threads for the products I mentioned a second ago
 
More pictures from today. The conference this time was much more relaxed. Less people and more time to talk to vendors. If you come to the show next year, I highly recommend skipping the first day. It is just madness.

photos.app.goo.gl

RE+

35 new items added to shared album
photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
 
Will Prowse said:
More pictures from today. The conference this time was much more relaxed. Less people and more time to talk to vendors. If you come to the show next year, I highly recommend skipping the first day. It is just madness.

photos.app.goo.gl

RE+

35 new items added to shared album
photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
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Thanks again, Will.

I wish I had thought to ask you to get Eve to clarify their compression specification. On the other hand, that would take all of the fun out of seeing how everybody but me did it wrong!
 
Will Prowse said:
I still haven't gotten a sol ark and I really don't want to spend all that cash for a 15K. They are pretty expensive. I'm surprised they don't send one out.
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Someone mentioned elsewhere in the forum that he got his 15K from an installer friend for $5500. While that's not peanuts, it's not macadamia nuts, either. So that must be around the wholesale price (or going rate if you have an installer friend). Setting up a US-based operation, getting UL and other certifications, etc., must cost money (and be worth something).

Still, hope Sol-ark sends you a unit. Better yet, the whole schmear with inverter, optimizers, a Smartload-14, and some microinverters for testing AC coupling.
 
Will Prowse said:
Hey good points hedges!!! My thoughts exactly. I think about this every hour or so.

Last year I paid 700K in taxes. Straight from my checking account. And inflation is just insane. True inflation if calculated as it was in the past. They have been deceptive in recent times with what they choose to measure inflation with. I put most of my cash into real estate or Bitcoin for this reason.
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Invest in a good tax accountant who can help with tax planning.
As an accountant, I can tell you there are tons of tax loopholes for people who are self-employed.
 
Millennium said:
Invest in a good tax accountant who can help with tax planning.
As an accountant, I can tell you there are tons of tax loopholes for people who are self-employed.
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I have an advisor and his attorneys, estate planners, a solid CPA team (boring but never get me audited) and a group of attorneys that I go to the gym with almost everyday.

I deduct a lot, but I make even more. It is a challenge.
 
Self-employed 401k.
Is back door Roth available in that? About $65k can be set aside, some pre-tax and all of it judgement proof.

IRS was unhappy with doctors who also owned macadamia nut farms. In Hawaii.

Trips for conferences used to be fully deductible (I met some nurses on ski trips), but now allocated between work and play. I think the trick is to find training you enjoy.
 
Hedges said:
Self-employed 401k.
Is back door Roth available in that? About $65k can be set aside, some pre-tax and all of it judgement proof.

IRS was unhappy with doctors who also owned macadamia nut farms. In Hawaii.

Trips for conferences used to be fully deductible (I met some nurses on ski trips), but now allocated between work and play. I think the trick is to find training you enjoy.
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Absolutely but I don't use it because I would rather use that money to make more money faster than the benefit I would get from most tax deferred accounts. Most of the time I just pay more taxes and focus on making more money in other industries and investments.

And how much I would fly for a whole year is less than I make in two days, so it doesnt affect much.

My CPA is very strict to avoid audits. So what I do is I don't even deduct meals and business travel. Or my home office. Because of the risk of an audit to save 3 days of income is not worth it
 
The only two actual deductions I really use, are for real estate depreciation and commercial equipment for the business. And construction. That's about it.

They are easy to prove and very large. Very simple tax filing.
 
Will Prowse said:
Absolutely but I don't use it because I would rather use that money to make more money faster than the benefit I would get from most tax deferred accounts. Most of the time I just pay more taxes and focus on making more money in other industries and investments.
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FWIW, you can invest a 401k in some non-traditional assets. My wife's solo-401k allows options trading as an example. Even just over 30 years it gives you a great long-term solution. Won't make a meaningful dent in your taxes, but it manages risk. One classic mistake people make is assuming that income will be consistent for much longer than reality, and having a separate retirement account is a good way to manage that risk. (I consider my 401k to be throw-away money, but it has significant less risk than other things I invest in so it is a stabilizing factor.)

Also, depending on your outlook starting a private charitable foundation may be worth the effort. It's something to ask your advisers. Great for when you have a windfall year, and there are ways you can donate business assets to it if you wanted to help (as an example) low income families get solar in your area.
 
are you beyond carbon neutral Will ? may be even net negative (generating more) ? a tax problem is a good problem to have.
 
Will Prowse said:
It's not the EG4 booth. It's luxpower. And why didn't anyone think I work for sol ark when I did my 15K video?

I have no sponsorship contract or brand deals with any of these companies. Not one. I make money with affiliate commission or charge direct without a contract. How many times do I have to repeat myself.
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Hi Will, I have watched several of your videos on solar and LiFePO4 batteries. I have been trying to find an answer to the following question. Can I use the LiFePO4 batteries in my Smart UPS 3000RM Net without modification? My major consern is the charging voltage on the APC is for Sealed batteries and is different than the charging voltage for the LiFePO4 batteries..
 
Will Prowse said:
I want a off-grid specific sol ark that's half the price. That would be super cool.

They do have a new optimizer and microinverter that looks cool though.
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I'd buy that! I am off grid with a sol ark 15k, sort of reminds me of all the Exotic Cars in parking lots, its sitting there with lots of potential, most of which will never be used.

Will Prowse said:
I found a new inverter that might compete with Sol ark and EG4. I'll post pictures of it when I get home
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This I can't wait to see! I need a backup inverter in case this one would ever die or need to go on warranty, after all I don't have a backup inverter other than a growatt 5000 es, but this is just a good battery charger!
 
Will Prowse said:
What I think is actually occurring, is everyone is jealous of EG4. I try to find more products to sell to people through affiliate links, and eg4 has the highest conversion. People will complain endlessly about the customer service and support, But the conversion rate is higher than my other affiliates. And like I said, I've got 30 other companies to choose from. Why don't people support these other companies? Why not buy the rich solar server rack battery? ? (Half joking lol)

I cover every single detail I can in my videos. Tell me of a complaint that I haven't mentioned in my EG4 videos. Or for any company for that matter. Have I missed any criticisms on any products yet? I feel like I ramble on complaining in most of my videos. And is it not enough?

Or if I cover more expensive products, people get mad that I'm being inconsiderate to poor people. But when I cover the budget models, then the electrical engineers come out saying that I shouldn't even have it on my channel. There's absolutely no way to make the people happy these days. I try to cover every possible angle and it's not enough.
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I
 
Will Prowse said:
But everyone posts my videos for all of the products I've done. I was excited about hysolis and sol ark, and victron, but no one accused me of working directly for them. And yes my income model matters a lot because it's very different than other people in my industry. It also allows me to bash on all of these products without worry. That's why I set it up that way. I'm here to review everything under the sun. Andthe better a company does conversion rate or volume, the more I want to find a competitor. That makes me more money. If I were to stick with one company I would be shooting myself in the foot. Right now I work with 30 companies. I want money from all of them. Not from one. How is this so hard for people to understand my business model and how I grow my business. Eco flow and Anker and the others mention my unit. Why does everyone mention EG4 but not luxpower? And why doesn't anyone mention when I do good reviews like the victron slower charge controller. In my video I praised it. I love that thing. But no one complains. When I complain about EG4 over and over again, everyone thinks I work for them? The logic just doesn't make any sense at all.

If I were to run my business like people think I am, I would be broke. Even the reason I made this forum was so that we can all complain about products, even if my videos shows no problems.
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I think you do a wonderful job in all that you do and there have not been other such honest people among any that I have watched review items. Thanks for your diversity of product information and frank reviews. It isn't your fault when EG4 claims to make a product that is actually made by someone else and relabeled under their own name and then they don't make good on flawed merchandise. You cannot control what dishonest people do. Your business model makes perfect sense and if people cannot see that they simply have no business mind at all. Keep up the good work. I appreciate it!
 
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