• Thorny_Insight
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    1 month ago

    I’m putting off buying solar panels onto my roof because I know that the longer I wait the cheaper they’ll get.

    • joenforcer@midwest.social
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      1 month ago

      Unless you’re planning on installing the panels yourself, the price is actually going up now because the labor component of the installation is growing faster than the equipment prices are declining. Furthermore, many utilities are trying to enact regressive metering policies that will make ROI nearly impossible to achieve over the life of the panels.

      The best time to install was the year the IRA was signed into law. The second best time is now.

      • Thorny_Insight
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        1 month ago

        This all seems to assume I live in the USA which is not the case. Last time I had a solar panel company representative visit the vast majority of the cost was the equipment - the installation itself is rather quick. Obviously the price decrease is not going to last forever but so far it has been true. Also, this is just to highlight the fact that “deflation” does affect consumer behaviour in a negative way.

      • Thorny_Insight
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        1 month ago

        Knowing that something will cost less in the future does affect consumer behaviour in a negative way. That’s how it’s relevant.

        • paultimate14@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          That’s a gross oversimplification of consumer behavior. Consumers react differently to market changes for different types of goods.

          • Thorny_Insight
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            1 month ago

            There’s probably a good reason the vast majority of economists agree that deflation is bad for this exact reason. It’s not just my opinion - I’m not an economist and I doubt you’re either.

            • paultimate14@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Economists are pretty famous for fighting amongst themselves. The vast majority of economists don’t agree on anything with each other.

              The loudest economists tend to agree with each other. The ones whose views and supported policies happen to result in more wealth being funneled to capital holders. For some reason those people are the ones who get interviews on TV and articles published by major outlets. I wonder why that could be?

              I’m not saying every “indie” economist on the Internet is valid as there’s plenty of bad ones too. But the idea that deflation is terrible certainly deserves scrutiny. Just look around… Is the populace happy with the results of the current systems and policies?

              To quote one of the most famous economists, Hayek, “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design”