Greetings from the past to the new year

The last day of the Hebrew year 5778 and the entry into the year 5779 were spent at the home of a man who knew how to dream, and dream big, whose name was not Joseph but David. Even before the concepts of mentor or New Age existed, Ben-Gurion knew that if you have a dream, you can turn it into a plan and eventually into reality. Just 18 years old, the young Ben-Gurion confronted the most important man at the fund The Bond The Polish (the fact that the name of the Bund's representative or the Bund itself is unknown to anyone today indicates the outcome of the debate). The title of that assembly was "Zionism as a False Maxim.".

Two things amazed me at the Ben-Gurion Hut Museum in Sde Boker, which has developed significantly since I was last there as a child:

1. A letter from an Israeli Arab (photo below) to his Arab countrymen urging Ben-Gurion not to resign as prime minister, and Ben-Gurion's reply. An optimistic letter.
2. Ben-Gurion's vision (in 1953) regarding Solar energy production And on this I wish to focus in this article.

As a financial advisor for the construction and purchase of houses and apartments, I naturally encounter various issues and different ways of thinking among families. In this article, I want to offer families planning to purchase Or to build a private house, to introduce another factor into their considerations – The option to generate electricity using solar energy Installing solar panels for electricity generation. When I suggest this to families I consult with, I often encounter a common cognitive bias – Now is not the time. This bias postulates that if the electric company previously paid more than double for privately generated electricity than it will pay for panels installed today, then installing panels today is not profitable. This intertwines with the desire not to be taken advantage of. In other words, if I could have earned 5 in the past and can only earn 3 today, then many people will forgo any profit altogether just to avoid being "ripped off." This is a completely uneconomical perception. Past profits have no relevance; the only question is What can be earned in the future? Moreover, in economic decisions, the amount of money coming in has no value. What matters is the profit or return, meaning the ratio between the money spent to generate an investment and the amount of money that investment generated. If in the past, the Electric Company paid double the tariff but a solar panel cost more than double the money. Investment feasibility should be based on present data and future expectations, and not on past performance. 

In general, we humans tend towards passivity. There are evolutionary reasons for this that are too extensive to describe here, but in brief: for most of our developmental years, we were literally starving. We are "trained" by nature to perform only actions that will bring us benefit (food) in the short term (the next meal, the coming winter, etc.). Thinking about an investment that will benefit us in 7 years is beyond the horizon for those who haven't been trained to think this way, and therefore not worthwhile. But, guess what? Most of us will indeed face financial challenges in seven, eight, and twenty years. However, this article is not just intended to encourage the installation of solar panels for those who own a private home. This article is intended so that anyone planning a private home will at least consider the future possibility of generating electricity from solar energy and plan their home accordingly. For those who do not heed this advice, it could be a great regret for years if in the future the technology improves even further, the potential income will be much greater, but the roof will be designed in a way that it cannot be used (for example, with a slope facing north instead of south).

Solar panels will bring two additional benefits to their installer. Besides a steady income:

a. Shading the roof with surfaces placed on it will make the house cooler.

B. The electricity we consume from burning oil, coal, or gas kills us twice: once through air pollution and a second time by funding those who fight against us. The transition of more and more people to clean energy that does not perpetuate terror is an important act on a national level as well.

Wishing you a Happy New Year, a year of fulfilled vision, a year of growing and spreading peace and brotherhood, many deeds and successes.

More photos from the visit to Ben Gurion's Hut and Mitzpe Ramon