Episode 91

Join the Solar Revolution: Smart Choices for Homeowners and Off-Grid Living

Published on: 25th November, 2024

Join us as we explore the exciting world of solar energy and innovative solutions for sustainable living. Our guests, Brandon V from Reach Solar and Chris Langathianos with Martin Gero from Sunnoo, share their insights on how homeowners can regain control over their energy bills while embracing environmentally friendly practices. Discover how Sunnoo’s groundbreaking portable solar EV charging stations offer a practical solution for off-grid living, making it easier than ever to power electric vehicles without relying on traditional energy sources. We also delve into the evolution of solar technology, addressing common myths and misconceptions while emphasizing the importance of reliable systems for everyday use. With a focus on accessibility and efficiency, this engaging conversation highlights the future of renewable energy and the steps homeowners can take to make a positive impact.

Exploring the evolution of shelter, Steve Deubel and Erica Thompson take listeners on a captivating journey through sustainable living, focusing on the burgeoning trend of container homes. The episode begins with an insightful reflection on humanity's quest for shelter, illustrating how traditional structures have transformed over centuries. As the conversation unfolds, the hosts introduce their guests, Brandon V from Reach Solar and Chris Langathianos from Sunnoo, who share their expertise in solar energy and electric vehicle charging systems. They emphasize the importance of making informed decisions regarding energy consumption in homes, especially amidst a backdrop of rising utility costs and environmental concerns. The discussion delves into the myths surrounding solar energy, addressing misconceptions from past experiences while highlighting the advancements that have made solar solutions more accessible and beneficial to homeowners today. The episode culminates in a robust dialogue about the intersection of solar technology and electric vehicles, showcasing innovative solutions that cater to off-grid living and sustainability. Through a blend of personal anecdotes and expert insights, listeners are encouraged to rethink their energy solutions, highlighting the potential for solar energy to not only reduce bills but also increase property values and contribute to a greener planet.

Takeaways:

  • Sustainable living is evolving, and container homes represent a new frontier in eco-friendly housing.
  • Solar technology is advancing rapidly, providing homeowners with significant savings on energy bills.
  • The importance of debunking solar myths cannot be overstated, as misinformation is widespread.
  • The podcast emphasizes the benefits of solar energy, particularly for off-grid living and electric vehicle charging.
  • Container homes can be complemented with solar systems, increasing property value and energy efficiency.
  • The hosts encourage listeners to reconsider solar options, especially with rising utility costs.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

  • Reach Solar
  • Sunnoo
  • Stardust Building Supplies
  • Ideal Home Improvement, LLC.
  • Mr. Electric
  • Sandy National Labs
  • Net Capital
Transcript
Steve Dubell:

Since the dawn of time, mankind has searched for ways to shelter themselves from the elements.

Steve Dubell:

Over the centuries, these shelters have evolved from bamboo huts to concrete towers.

Steve Dubell:

The last few years, there's been a push to save the planet.

Steve Dubell:

Are you ready to embark on a more sustainable lifestyle?

Steve Dubell:

Look no further.

Steve Dubell:

You're about to enter the adventures of container home living.

Steve Dubell:

And now, contractor, radio and TV personality and your host for Boxcar Universe, Steve Dubell.

Erica Thompson:

Hi, I'm Steve Dubell, host of Boxcar Universe, along with my co host Erica Thompson.

Erica Thompson:

And here's what's coming up on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

On today's episode, we are talking about one of my favorite topics, solar.

Erica Thompson:

And with us today, we are talking with Brandon V.

Erica Thompson:

From Reach Solar.

Erica Thompson:

And if you are a homeowner who wants more control over your energy while seriously reducing your power bill, we have your answer today.

Erica Thompson:

Along with us is Chris Langothes from Suno.

Erica Thompson:

If you are an off grid person and have an ev, Chris has the answer for you, a new product that is a solar EV charging station.

Erica Thompson:

Thou that and more on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe, your home for remodeling and renovating your world.

Erica Thompson:

And we like to welcome all of you to Boxcar Universe today.

Erica Thompson:

And it is the week before the big turkey day Thanksgiving and I hope all of you are getting ready for that big day.

Erica Thompson:

I know a lot of people are going out of town, so traveling is going to be hectic.

Erica Thompson:

So I want everybody to stay safe and some of us will remain here in the beautiful confines of Arizona like myself and some other people are going to be in other parts of the country as well as out of the country.

Erica Thompson:

And one of my favorite people from out of the country is Brandon V from Reach Solar who I'm going to bring into the the conversation right now.

Erica Thompson:

Brandon, welcome to Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

And it's been, it's been a journey, but I appreciate you taking time out to be on the show today.

Brandon V:

Thank you so much.

Brandon V:

I really appreciate you inviting me onto this show today to talk about solar.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah, it's something that is, I can't say that it's up and coming because it's been around for a while.

Erica Thompson:

But you know, solar has been actually evolving, we'll say, over the, I'd say the last 20 years.

Erica Thompson:

And some of the things that I've spoken to people about, you know, we have to, we have to debunk some of these solar myths that we hear, especially when we go out and talk to people and you know, their neighbors tell them stories about, oh, my God, I did this, I did that, or, you know, years ago.

Erica Thompson:

And unfortunately, solar wasn't, you know, some.

Erica Thompson:

I see solar, the concept is good, is great.

Erica Thompson:

However, some of the people that were selling it were not, shall we say, very reputable.

Erica Thompson:

I think that's a good way of putting it when you say great.

Erica Thompson:

But it's gotten to the point where, you know, when.

Erica Thompson:

When Brandon and I have gotten together with Reach Solar, it was a new way forward, as we call it.

Erica Thompson:

And it was a way to be able to go out and sell solar with keeping the homeowner first and foremost in mind.

Erica Thompson:

And I think that's what's.

Erica Thompson:

What's important.

Erica Thompson:

And it's.

Erica Thompson:

And it coincided and it was a natural for me because that's what I do when we talk about remodeling and renovations, because if I can't go back out and be there, 110% for the homeowner in doing their remodeling project, I know I won't sleep at night and I wouldn't even work like that.

Erica Thompson:

So rest assured, the solar systems that we sell and I promote are class systems, along with the company that has a tremendous amount of integrity.

Erica Thompson:

But, Brandon, tell us a little bit about you and your experience and what you're doing to change the solar world.

Brandon V:

Yeah, thank you so much for that, Steve.

Brandon V:

So a little bit about me.

Chris Langothes:

As you can tell by a funny accent, I'm originally from London, England.

Brandon V:

Then I moved out to Canada and spent 16 years in Canada.

Brandon V:

My beautiful wife.

Brandon V:

And then we had two beautiful daughters of Antelia, and we left Canada, moved into the U.S.

Brandon V:

and then we went from the U.S.

Brandon V:

traveled around a bit, and then we ended up in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which is where we make our home now, which shows that you can do this business completely remotely.

Brandon V:

So we're working from a laptop anywhere that we have an Internet connection or WI fi, we're good to go.

Brandon V:

Now with that being said, you know, we're in the situation that when we came to ply.com in Mexico, that's when we got introduced to the wonderful world of solar.

Brandon V:

And when one of our friends actually explained it to us and introduced us to the world of solar and how it operated, what they could do, the benefits to people, I think that was the key thing that really got to me, is because I wasn't paying attention.

Chris Langothes:

To my electric bill.

Brandon V:

Let's get real.

Brandon V:

Most of us are in a position where we just get the bill.

Erica Thompson:

No, you're Absolutely right.

Erica Thompson:

And then people just, just pay it and make it go out of way so you don't have to look at.

Chris Langothes:

And here's the thing.

Brandon V:

I've taken a look since then at a lot of electric bills from, from many different clients and customers, and I see different size fonts, and I see that a lot of the information that you really need to be paying attention to on your electric bill is very, very small or on the back or hidden away somewhere is using technical jargon.

Brandon V:

And then the stuff that you absolutely need to know is put in the biggest font, which is generally, how much do you need to pay, when do you need to pay?

Brandon V:

Okay, how much you in arrears buy?

Chris Langothes:

Those are the kind of things that.

Brandon V:

Are putting the big bold font on the red.

Brandon V:

So most of the people are just looking at the big bold fund and how much do I need to pay?

Chris Langothes:

When's the due date?

Brandon V:

And they just go and pay it.

Brandon V:

Because most people are in the thought pattern which has been brainwashed into them.

Brandon V:

Let's get real that this is your only option.

Brandon V:

Because when you buy a house in a particular area, you don't go and start looking at all the different options out there.

Brandon V:

Usually like, okay, well, let's get the electric set up.

Brandon V:

You know, let's get the gas set up, let's get the.

Chris Langothes:

This.

Brandon V:

You just go through the motions of, let's get this all set up.

Brandon V:

So I can live comfortably in my home.

Brandon V:

So that's what people are usually focusing on.

Brandon V:

And when I realized that, that I had been doing exactly the same thing and everybody who I knew was doing the exactly same thing, I realized that through speaking to my friend, that there was a different way that most people are completely unaware of, either unaware of misinformed, or just afraid of because they've heard horror stories.

Brandon V:

So when I realized that this company was trying to do something to change that image, to try and change how we do business with the clients so that we only ever do business if something is going to bring them some measure of benefit.

Brandon V:

Because let's get real, it doesn't work for everybody.

Brandon V:

And we got to understand that.

Chris Langothes:

And when we make the decision that.

Brandon V:

If it doesn't, the numbers just don't work for you.

Brandon V:

We're not going to pursue anything.

Brandon V:

There's no conversation because all it does, it just pays out a commission to somebody and hurt somebody else.

Brandon V:

But when we see that there's a benefit to a homeowner, it now becomes our duty to be able to let them know that and show them everything.

Brandon V:

That they need to know.

Brandon V:

So they have all the information.

Brandon V:

We can answer the questions they have.

Brandon V:

They still have the chance to say no if they want to.

Brandon V:

But if we've shown enough value, they're the ones making the decision, not us.

Brandon V:

Okay, so that's really what piqued my attention.

Brandon V:

And I realized that we need to go out, show people the difference, give them an option, try to do things the right way and help as many people as we can to put some money back in their pocket.

Brandon V:

Especially at a time in a day and age where inflation is going ridiculously and we can really, really help people.

Chris Langothes:

Put some money back in their pocket.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah, I mean, it's.

Erica Thompson:

It's so important that people just.

Erica Thompson:

You're right.

Erica Thompson:

People figure out that they've paid this before in whatever homes they were in, and then they move into a new home and, you know, all of a sudden they get a utility bill, like for our situation in the Valley here, whether it's SRP or aps, and it's, you know, it's just.

Erica Thompson:

It's just like it's acceptable.

Erica Thompson:

And a lot of people just turn around, you know that it's funny that human beings have this problem about making change.

Erica Thompson:

We're all getting sorted in our ways, you know, and for everything.

Erica Thompson:

And then I'd be the perfect one to agree with you.

Erica Thompson:

And it's just like, you know, I have the set ways that I do things, but when somebody comes along the line and I think when it hits their pocket, especially in Arizona, and you knew in Mexico too, when they turn around and it gets up to 118 degrees, 120 degrees, and some of our listeners throughout the country may be thinking, what did it gets that hot?

Erica Thompson:

No, man, I'm telling you.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, here's two guys that can.

Erica Thompson:

Can be attest to the fact that, yeah, it gets hot up that hot sometimes.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, I've got stuff that I've had on Facebook where people chronologically say where the temperature has been over 110 degrees, like almost 23 weeks, 28 days in the city of Phoenix in like July.

Erica Thompson:

The last two Julys have been brutal.

Erica Thompson:

And then you think about your air conditioning is running all the time, and then you get the bill and you're like, oh, my God.

Erica Thompson:

And like I've been telling people, now, here we are coming into fall.

Erica Thompson:

I'm like, look, I know it's holiday time.

Erica Thompson:

I said, but you want to do yourself a favor and give yourself a great Christmas present and a New Year's resolution gift.

Erica Thompson:

Check out solar because guess what, the time for the rates to go up again.

Erica Thompson:

And it's going to happen.

Erica Thompson:

It's just like, you know, it's just like April 15th comes around.

Erica Thompson:

What happens then, Tax day?

Erica Thompson:

Yeah, well, utility bills are going to go up and up and up, you know, so it's, it's something that you just need to, you need to think about.

Erica Thompson:

And I want all our listeners to understand that.

Erica Thompson:

But we're going to take a short break.

Erica Thompson:

When we come back, we're going to get into a little bit more of the solar picture and how you can have solar on your home and what are some of the first steps so that we can go back out and change your financial situation and add, actually add value to your home.

Erica Thompson:

And I don't care if that, if whatever kind of home it is, you put solar on your home, you're going to increase the value of it and you're going to save money while your neighbors look at those utility bills and they'll be cringing and you'll be happy as a lark because your bill will never change once you go solar.

Erica Thompson:

So I want everybody to hang tight.

Erica Thompson:

You're listening to Boxcar Universe.

:

Hi, I'm Erica Thompson, the dominating designer, a hardworking artist with a sense of humor.

:

What is the dominating designer process?

:

It's just like what you see on tv.

:

We discuss your wants and needs about your project, go over your ideas.

:

Then I provide you creative, one of a kind options that fit your budget with respect to your home's value.

:

When we finish your project, you are set to enjoy your new space.

:

I would love to help you with your upcoming project.

:

Please reach out to me on Instagram.

:

The dominating designer, Stardust Building Supplies is.

Steve Dubell:

Your home improvement thrift store.

Steve Dubell:

Find salvaged and gently used cabinetry, doors, windows, appliances, lighting, plumbing and much more.

Steve Dubell:

Save money, be green and support the community.

Steve Dubell:

Shop and donate at Star Building Supplies Valley locations.

Steve Dubell:

For more info, visit stardustbuilding.org.

Erica Thompson:

All right, we are back and you are listening to Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

And our special guest today is Brandon V.

Erica Thompson:

From Reach Solar.

Erica Thompson:

And we are talking about, you know, alleviating that stress of getting a utility bill.

Erica Thompson:

My Lord, wouldn't it be nice to relieve stress?

Erica Thompson:

You know, Brandon, you know, I think another hat that we could wear would be a therapist hat would be a therapist.

Erica Thompson:

We alleviate stress, right?

Erica Thompson:

I think we should put that into the daily dose.

Erica Thompson:

What do you think?

Chris Langothes:

100%.

Chris Langothes:

I think you're 100% correct there.

Erica Thompson:

I think so.

Erica Thompson:

We have to make sure we tell KC about that one.

Chris Langothes:

Okay, yeah, for sure.

Erica Thompson:

All right, great.

Erica Thompson:

Well, let's get into a little bit of talking about, you know, what the procedure and the process of being able to do, like, because some people say, oh my God, you know, these horror stories.

Erica Thompson:

You know, the guy came by and he said, I needed this much solar panels and I believed him.

Erica Thompson:

And then all of a sudden I'm getting duplicate bills and now I'm upset and angry.

Erica Thompson:

And now, you know, that's why we say we want to relieve the stress.

Erica Thompson:

So just run us through the procedure so that our listeners can understand what's going to make it, you know, easy and painless for them.

Chris Langothes:

Okay.

Chris Langothes:

Beautiful.

Chris Langothes:

Fantastic.

Chris Langothes:

So really the procedure is we're pretty much, I would say, 98% a virtual company.

Chris Langothes:

Okay.

Chris Langothes:

A lot of people don't like people knocking on their doors.

Chris Langothes:

I don't like people knocking on my door.

Chris Langothes:

A lot of people don't like people knocking on their doors or coming inside.

Chris Langothes:

Listen, that's your domain, that's your home, that's your castle.

Chris Langothes:

That's the place that you feel most comfortable at.

Chris Langothes:

So what usually we do, we do all this virtually.

Chris Langothes:

So it's usually over a phone call, over a text message.

Chris Langothes:

However it is.

Chris Langothes:

And all we ask you for is we say, look, listen, number one, we don't know if we can save you money or not, okay?

Chris Langothes:

So the only way that we can find that ads, we say to you, if you can give us a copy of your latest energy bill, okay, your electric bill, reverse the latest one so that it has your name, your address, it has the 12 month historical graph on it, okay?

Chris Langothes:

And it has the energy company name.

Chris Langothes:

These are key informations that we need to be able to take a look and see how you utilize energy for your home.

Chris Langothes:

Because we don't.

Chris Langothes:

We can't cookie cutter this, okay?

Chris Langothes:

Everybody uses a house.

Chris Langothes:

So you can have two exact same houses with an older couple and a young couple, and their usage of electricity is going to be completely different.

Chris Langothes:

So we have to find out how you utilize it.

Chris Langothes:

So we customize this for you.

Chris Langothes:

So once we get your bill with that information on it, we can plug that information into our proprietary software.

Chris Langothes:

Yeah, we've spent actually a quarter of a million dollars on this software that we can just put this information in and literally within 20 minutes we can see if there's any savings for you or not.

Chris Langothes:

And then we go in, we take a look, we place panels on a roof that we pull from the satellite to see what it looks like.

Chris Langothes:

If there is no Saving for you.

Chris Langothes:

If there's zero benefit for you, then we just say, hey, sorry, we took a look at this, we tried to do our best, but there weren't any savings for you.

Chris Langothes:

Maybe let's take a look at this in six months or a year time or if you see anything that changes significantly, okay?

Chris Langothes:

So let's maintain the relationship.

Chris Langothes:

If there is a saving for you, then we go ahead and we kind of put everything into place.

Chris Langothes:

We contact him, we say, hey, Mr.

Chris Langothes:

Homeowner, Mrs.

Chris Langothes:

Homeowner, listen, we've got some savings for you.

Chris Langothes:

When can we jump on a zoom to show you what this looks like?

Chris Langothes:

The reason why we want to jump on a zoom is because we want to show you what solar is going to look like on your house.

Chris Langothes:

Because most people can be like, well, what's it going to look like?

Chris Langothes:

So what we do when we get you on the zoom, we're not going to sell you, we're not going to convince you, okay?

Chris Langothes:

We don't want to do any of that because we have something that's going to benefit you.

Chris Langothes:

So what we do is that we explain to you what solar is.

Chris Langothes:

We want to go through a bit of an education process.

Chris Langothes:

So here's what solar is.

Chris Langothes:

This is what it looks like on your house, here's how much it's going to cost, and here's your savings.

Chris Langothes:

And ask me any questions that you have based on any of the information I just went through.

Chris Langothes:

At that point you can ask those questions because you may.

Chris Langothes:

What about this?

Chris Langothes:

What about that?

Chris Langothes:

How does that work?

Chris Langothes:

What are this?

Chris Langothes:

And at that point we can answer those questions for you.

Chris Langothes:

And then once you get to that point that you.

Chris Langothes:

Beautiful.

Chris Langothes:

I love this.

Chris Langothes:

This makes total sense.

Chris Langothes:

I see those savings and we can save people, in some cases tens of thousands of dollars.

Chris Langothes:

We've actually been in a situation where we've been able to save people just shy of a million dollars over a 25 to 30 year period of time.

Chris Langothes:

So this is not, hey, we can save you this amount, this amount.

Chris Langothes:

And then if you like what you see and you get the value of it, then you make the decision that you want to move forward.

Chris Langothes:

Now, you're not tied into anything at that point.

Chris Langothes:

Okay?

Chris Langothes:

But we just need your buy in.

Chris Langothes:

And when we get the paperwork electronically signed.

Chris Langothes:

It means you're serious.

Chris Langothes:

It means we're serious.

Chris Langothes:

We convert it to a project.

Chris Langothes:

We have to get a site auditor out because everything we've looked at has been based off our computer system, all our software.

Chris Langothes:

So we have to get somebody out there to check the roof, check the shading, check your main panel unit where your electrical system is.

Chris Langothes:

Take a look at all that to make sure that what we're seeing is exactly what it is.

Chris Langothes:

Only when we get that report back do we turn around and say to you one of three things.

Chris Langothes:

Hey, Mr.

Chris Langothes:

And Mrs.

Chris Langothes:

Homeowner, this is exactly what we showed on the, on the software.

Chris Langothes:

Number one.

Chris Langothes:

Number two, hey, Mr.

Chris Langothes:

And Mrs.

Chris Langothes:

Homeowner, this is actually different because we found some issues here and some issues here.

Chris Langothes:

We can get those things taken care of.

Chris Langothes:

Is going to increase the price by this amount or hey, Mr.

Chris Langothes:

And Mrs.

Chris Langothes:

Homeowner, we actually don't need this or need this.

Chris Langothes:

We can put on fewer panels and it's actually going to reduce the cost.

Chris Langothes:

When we get to any one of those, then we can have another conversation, let you know.

Chris Langothes:

In at that point is when you make the decision to move forward or not.

Chris Langothes:

If you decide, hey, listen, I'm not quite ready for this yet.

Chris Langothes:

The increase is a little bit too much.

Chris Langothes:

Great, fantastic.

Chris Langothes:

Not a problem.

Chris Langothes:

We'll cancel everything.

Chris Langothes:

If it works out to the situation that, hey, this totally makes sense, let's move forward.

Chris Langothes:

Then we start moving the process forward and we keep you in the loop every step of the way so that you know what's going on and you have a direct link to us, the sales rep, so that you can call us and also question us and ask us anything that you need.

Chris Langothes:

Okay?

Chris Langothes:

So that's really the process that we go through.

Chris Langothes:

Again, we don't want to sell anything.

Chris Langothes:

You have to see the value in it for yourself.

Chris Langothes:

And only if there's a benefit for you will you move that step forward and we'll move with you.

Chris Langothes:

Now, we are consultants, so we work for you.

Chris Langothes:

The great thing about our company is that we don't have one solar installer to work with, which is huge, because generally what happens, most companies out there only have one solar installer to work with.

Chris Langothes:

We're more of a solar brokerage.

Chris Langothes:

Well, we have many installers that work in different states.

Chris Langothes:

So when we're in that situation, how that happens is that if you only have one installer, then they have to try and fit you into that installer's mandate what they have.

Chris Langothes:

Whereas what we do, we focus more on what it is you need and we have multiple installers to find exactly what you need and give you the best deal.

Chris Langothes:

So that's how we consult for you and we work on your behalf.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, and that's so important to be able to Go back and show the value of it, you know, and show them why we are concerned for them and trying to show them that value, you know, and not just trying to, to sell them a product, which I think is something that the, the people years ago, that's all they were interested in.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah, well, let me sell you some panels, you know, and that.

Erica Thompson:

And you know, and it's the concern because along with my, like with my renovation business, I don't turn around and just, you know, do a project for somebody and then go away forever.

Erica Thompson:

You know, I want to be their go to guy for whatever they need forever.

Erica Thompson:

You know, as long as they're in that house or even if they move, absolutely.

Erica Thompson:

You know, as long as we're on this planet, I don't need them.

Erica Thompson:

I don't want them to go anywhere else because I always want to take care of every individual project is just as important, if not more than the last.

Erica Thompson:

So your credibility and what you do says a whole lot about your company and I think that's so important.

Erica Thompson:

And like some of the things that, you know, like you said, that may pop up, you know, if something that's additionally needed is like, maybe, you know, it's happened with some of my customers where we go out, we do, you know, the assessment of the house, do, do the check the roof, do everything, and we check out the size of your electrical panel.

Erica Thompson:

Sometimes you need to do an upgrade on your electrical panel which is just, you know, maybe you need it already.

Erica Thompson:

I had a customer once that had, you know, we had so many things in the backyard.

Erica Thompson:

I don't know how he was running off 100amp panel.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, my God.

Sean:

Yeah.

Erica Thompson:

I mean he had a pool, he had one of those, those, I forgot what you call them, those tubs where you could, you could just get cold for 10 minutes.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah.

Erica Thompson:

And that along with, you know, everything that he's running in the house and everything.

Erica Thompson:

And he's only running it off at a spa.

Erica Thompson:

And I'm like, well, how are you running off 100amp panel?

Erica Thompson:

Well, they, they told me I would need one eventually.

Erica Thompson:

Well, I think now's the time we need to upgrade your panel to 200amps, you know, so.

Erica Thompson:

And he was okay with that?

Erica Thompson:

He was fine.

Erica Thompson:

Hey, let's do this.

Erica Thompson:

Because it's a safety house.

Erica Thompson:

Because the last thing you want to be able to do is just over, over.

Erica Thompson:

And we will not put a solar system on a house.

Erica Thompson:

Now first of all, if they need something electrically like that, nor will we go out and put A solar system on a house, especially if you need a new roof.

Erica Thompson:

Because that's one of the first questions I ask.

Erica Thompson:

How old is your roof?

Erica Thompson:

And then if you can, which, you know, there are a lot of people out there who have older roofs but want solar, where we could be able to take the federal tax credit that you will get for your solar system and incorporate it with your roofing replacement so that you get a discount off of it.

Erica Thompson:

We can, we can put those two together for you and save you money.

Erica Thompson:

Then how many people are going to be doing that?

Erica Thompson:

In fact, I know other people here in the, in the Valley that do solar.

Erica Thompson:

You know, they utilize the federal tax credit as a marketing ploy.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah.

Erica Thompson:

Hey, this company will give you, you know, like $3,000 or $2,000 off your bill as a discount.

Erica Thompson:

Well, yeah, let's not cost them any money.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah, it's something the government is giving us.

Chris Langothes:

Absolutely.

Erica Thompson:

But, you know, it's all how you spin it.

Chris Langothes:

Yeah.

Chris Langothes:

The thing that I'd like to say, Steve, is the way people should look at their energy is that they're buying their energy from a company.

Chris Langothes:

Okay.

Chris Langothes:

Sometimes there's multiple companies within their is that they can purchase from, and sometimes there's not.

Chris Langothes:

Sometimes a particular company has a monopoly in a particular area or estate.

Chris Langothes:

Now, the thing that they got to look at and pay attention to is what is the cost?

Chris Langothes:

Okay, what is the cost per kilowatt hour?

Chris Langothes:

Okay.

Chris Langothes:

What are they paying for that?

Chris Langothes:

And I'm just going to give an example and just make it very, very simple, just using some round numbers.

Chris Langothes:

So let's say per kilowatt hour, you're paying the retail cost.

Chris Langothes:

And sometimes there's differences, which means that between if you use a certain amount of hours, it's at this rate per hour.

Chris Langothes:

Kilowatt hour.

Chris Langothes:

If you use over that, then it jumps up and it jumps up and it jumps up.

Chris Langothes:

Then you're in the situation that it could be at different days, different hours, different times.

Chris Langothes:

So let's say you're purchasing at a retail rate at $0.16 per kilowatt hour.

Chris Langothes:

This is what you need to look at.

Chris Langothes:

If a solar company is coming in and giving you a quote, what you need to be looking at is not, well, what am I saving on a monthly basis?

Chris Langothes:

How much am I paying on my electric bill?

Chris Langothes:

What you should be looking at is the kilowatt hour purchase cost.

Chris Langothes:

So if a solar company says, hey, listen, you're currently paying 16 cents per kilowatt hour, and we can reduce that to 13 cents per kilowatt hour.

Chris Langothes:

Okay, yes.

Chris Langothes:

There's a decrease in what you're purchasing it from, which means now you're getting your energy for a cheaper rate.

Chris Langothes:

Now, the way you want to look at that, if you're going to look at this way, if you're standing in the middle of the road and you have two gas stations, okay, and again, just for just round numbers, one gas station that you look at on the right is charging $3 per liter.

Chris Langothes:

And then you look at the other one, the other company is charging $5 per liter.

Chris Langothes:

Which one are you going to go to?

Chris Langothes:

Regardless of how much gas you need, you're always going to go to the one that's charging $3 per liter.

Chris Langothes:

Just makes sense.

Chris Langothes:

So that's how you want to see your energy, is how much am I paying for this retail?

Chris Langothes:

And can you drop that price down in what I'm purchasing it for?

Chris Langothes:

Because so long as you get a drop in there, then you are getting a benefit and you are saving money.

Chris Langothes:

And if you compound those savings, you may not see it in your monthly amount, but if you compound those savings over the time period of 25 to 30 years and you run those numbers, you will realize that if you are paying your energy bill with the percentage increase every year or sometimes every two times in a year or three times in a year going into double digits now, and you realize that and you see how much you would have paid and you see, see how much you're saving because you lock in that rate.

Chris Langothes:

You pay the same amount every single month.

Chris Langothes:

And there is an end game to paying that off.

Chris Langothes:

It's like leasing a vehicle.

Chris Langothes:

Once you paid that amount, now the vehicle's yours.

Chris Langothes:

Now there's no payment and you get the full 100% benefit.

Chris Langothes:

Savings, savings, savings, right.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, and that's so important.

Erica Thompson:

And people just need to take a, take a deep breath and take a time out to really take a look at this.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, you know, we're going into another year really soon before you.

Erica Thompson:

I don't know where, I'll tell you.

Erica Thompson:

And it's just like flew by.

Erica Thompson:

But looking into:

Erica Thompson:

You know, we have plenty of time to get things set up, especially, you know, before the summer months come back again.

Erica Thompson:

And a lot of parts of the country, even on the east coast, you know, they get hit with extreme temperatures as well, and when it gets hot.

Erica Thompson:

So it's, it's a good time to take a look at your specific situation if you are going to stay in the house.

Erica Thompson:

Then if you're thinking of doing upgrades and remodeling, well then I think it's a, it's a perfect time to be able to take a look at both because it's not going to cost you.

Erica Thompson:

It's not going to cost you any more money than you're spending now.

Erica Thompson:

It could cost you less.

Erica Thompson:

So instead of paying the utility bill and sending that money down to that black hole, you could put it towards the value of your home, towards, you know, a solar system in financing.

Erica Thompson:

So I think that's, that's just a no brainer.

Erica Thompson:

It's so important.

Erica Thompson:

But for all of your listeners who you mean like we could, Brandon and I could help you, you know, go through those particular reviews if you're seriously thinking about doing solar.

Erica Thompson:

-:

Erica Thompson:

aple here in the Valley since:

Erica Thompson:

So it's been a long time and we're always evolving, wanting to make sure that we can take care of you, our listeners and all the homeowners and business owners out there.

Erica Thompson:

So I encourage all of you in your reviews of where you're going for your financing and your plans for your home and your family, take a look at solar and definitely give us a call.

Erica Thompson:

And Brandon, thanks so much for giving me all, giving all our listeners, you know, the 411 on solar and getting people interested in saying let's take a second look at that.

Erica Thompson:

Because you know, the great thing about it is now, you know, years ago people used to say, well my HOA won't let me have solar on my house.

Erica Thompson:

But now they can't stop you anymore.

Erica Thompson:

So any another myth that we, we have broken, you could put solar on whether you're on a house in an HOA or not.

Erica Thompson:

So now's the time to make, as I like to say, take the plunge.

Erica Thompson:

And I don't mean it to that, that, that dippy tub in 40 degrees like my friend did.

Erica Thompson:

Oh my God, that was just unbelievable.

Erica Thompson:

I was like, and he loves it.

Erica Thompson:

But I'm like, okay, to each his own.

Chris Langothes:

You know something?

Chris Langothes:

I just like to say as well, look, if you've already taken a look at a solar and you haven't pulled the trigger, take a look at it again.

Chris Langothes:

Things have changed.

Chris Langothes:

A lot of things have changed.

Chris Langothes:

Information is free, okay?

Chris Langothes:

We cannot make you do anything.

Chris Langothes:

Information is free.

Chris Langothes:

Just take a look.

Chris Langothes:

Even if you're not ready for it yet, just take a look.

Chris Langothes:

Just hand in the electric bill to Steve and let us run the numbers and see if there's any benefit.

Chris Langothes:

And if there is, at least you have knowledge and understanding of what the options are.

Chris Langothes:

And then through that you can think about it and you can make a decision of whether you feel that's the right time for you or not.

Chris Langothes:

I always say that the right time to go solar is always today.

Chris Langothes:

Okay, but absolutely, get your bill, take a look.

Chris Langothes:

Information is free.

Chris Langothes:

If you don't like what you hear, you can always hit the leave button.

Erica Thompson:

There you go.

Erica Thompson:

You gotta.

Erica Thompson:

Oh no, they're gonna delete me.

Erica Thompson:

No, please, no.

Erica Thompson:

Anyway, Brandon, thanks so much for, for your, for your humor and your great information and give my best to Michelle and everybody on the team and we'll talk to you soon.

Chris Langothes:

Thank you so much, Steve.

Chris Langothes:

I appreciate being on your wonderful show.

Erica Thompson:

All right, thank you so much.

Erica Thompson:

Brandon V from Reach Solar and a good thing to listen to, especially going into the fall here.

Erica Thompson:

ng to be start thinking about:

Erica Thompson:

So it's a good time to take a look at your energy bills.

Erica Thompson:

But we're going to take a short break right now.

Erica Thompson:

When we come back, we have some great guests on from this great company Sununo who is going to tell us about our, our solar EV charging stations that you could have if you're out off the grid somewhere.

Erica Thompson:

So I want everybody to stay tuned.

Erica Thompson:

Don't go away.

Erica Thompson:

You're listening to Boxcar Universe.

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Erica Thompson:

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Erica Thompson:

Call today.

Erica Thompson:

All right, we are back and you are listening to Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

And we were talking all things solar today.

Erica Thompson:

And you want to thank our friend Brandon V.

Erica Thompson:

For being on the show earlier and giving us some information that all our homeowners and business owners could use going forward and thinking about their, thinking about their budgets and stuff and how much money you are literally flushing down the toilet paying utility companies when you could be putting it into a good type of home solar system that I can help you actually review and build for you and get it on your home.

Erica Thompson:

And you'll be saving all kinds of money increasing the value of your home as well as looking at your neighbors who are still paying the utility bills and they are sitting there crying when they look at the bill.

Erica Thompson:

And you're, you know, like I told Brandon, you know, we give, we give people peace of mind and I think that's so very important.

Erica Thompson:

And our next two guests are going to give all our off grid people some peace of mind with their new invention in product that I want to welcome into the the show right now.

Erica Thompson:

Chris Langeafos and also Martin Giro from sunu.

Erica Thompson:

Did I get all that right?

Martin Giro:

Sunu.

Martin Giro:

Sunu.

Erica Thompson:

Sunu.

Erica Thompson:

Thank you, Sunu.

Erica Thompson:

And Chris Langyathos.

Erica Thompson:

No, Chris Lang.

Erica Thompson:

That's better.

Erica Thompson:

I'll get it right.

Erica Thompson:

I said it right during the break.

Erica Thompson:

What happened?

Martin Giro:

You nailed it during the break and I never.

Erica Thompson:

I know, Okay.

Erica Thompson:

I get it right.

Erica Thompson:

Anyway, all right then, enough with the names.

Erica Thompson:

I would say the first half of:

Erica Thompson:

But Chris and Martin have come up with this.

Erica Thompson:

We'll call it, invention, prototype that is being put together right now for all our people out there who are, we'll say for are off grid and they want to be able to have power, obviously, but at the same time too, what happens if you have any, a Tesla or something, an electric powered vehicle, that you're out in your off grid home and you don't have any power and you need to go somewhere, what are you going to do?

Erica Thompson:

Where are you going to plug your car into?

Erica Thompson:

Well, these guys have solved that problem.

Erica Thompson:

So guys, please tell us a little bit about yourselves and about the company.

Martin Giro:

Marty, you go ahead first.

Speaker I:

Oh, all right.

Speaker I:

Well, I mean, off grid, that's kind of what started our, our whole experience here.

Speaker I:

I used to live on BLM land out in the middle of nowhere.

Speaker I:

Couldn't get anybody to bring out power.

Speaker I:

Had a few solar panels out there, a couple batteries for storage.

Speaker I:

I bought an electric car because I was expecting a couple kids.

Speaker I:

And basically what ended up happening is I ran into all the trials and tribulations of trying to charge electric vehicle on and off, off grid, home.

Speaker I:

So that's kind of, kind of where the whole system was born.

Speaker I:

We're on our fourth prototype.

Speaker I:

We've been charging off the sun for probably about four years now pretty consistently and we're pretty much just about ready to release our prototype and pilot project to get going here.

Erica Thompson:

All right, Chris, give us a little bit idea about your background.

Martin Giro:

Sure.

Martin Giro:

So I've been involved for about five years now.

Martin Giro:

Marty's been at this for seven plus.

Martin Giro:

You know, it sounds like, well, seven plus, why aren't you further along?

Martin Giro:

What it really comes down to is the concept was hatched and you know, there have been so many iterations of this technology and developing the sun tracking turret technology.

Martin Giro:

We have a, we'll talk more about that.

Martin Giro:

But anyway, I got involved several years ago.

Martin Giro:

We have a third partner and I'm a brand strategist, researcher marketer by trade and I'm also a musician.

Martin Giro:

And so our third partner is an operations guy, music festival planning guy.

Martin Giro:

So we kind of knew each other over the years sort of at arm's length.

Martin Giro:

And when it came time to really fine tune the brand a little bit or really just kind of develop the brand, that's, that's when I got involved.

Martin Giro:

And you know, there's, there's been no looking back.

Martin Giro:

It's you know, like these things, they're a labor of love.

Martin Giro:

It's a lot of work, there's a lot of iterations and, but you know, it's Fun to be here with you today because we are just weeks away from really having our first pilot unit out there that is going to be out in the field and you know, just months away from really starting to take orders.

Erica Thompson:

Wow, that's really great.

Erica Thompson:

You know, and you know, one of the things that I think is so very important, you know, we do at Boxcar Universe where we have just recently we've been able to do this along with one of our other, you know, I, we've seen this on the Internet, you know, Bloxers in the wild.

Erica Thompson:

Well, Susan Frayer, who was another lady who was a season 16 bloxer, actually has a shed lot.

Erica Thompson:

She has every kind of shed that you can imagine at a lot of different lots around the country.

Erica Thompson:

One in Phoenix we put together with her contacts.

Erica Thompson:

In my context, we have a model container home and a model container pool out there for people to literally physically come see.

Erica Thompson:

Now it's not just buying it off the Internet anymore.

Erica Thompson:

You could actually come and see it.

Erica Thompson:

And also I found a gentleman who actually does custom solar systems for small buildings like container homes.

Erica Thompson:

And we've got model of that out there.

Erica Thompson:

So that's something like going forward, you know, for people that are looking for stuff off grid and out in, you know, have big lots and they don't have access to utility energy, that might be another great place to be able to showcase you once you get into production.

Erica Thompson:

I think it would be really good.

Martin Giro:

Yeah, there's, you know, you had, you kind of led in with talking about you living in a container home, for example, and having an EV and needing to charge that.

Martin Giro:

And that is, you know, a huge part of what we're doing.

Martin Giro:

But like we kind of say that we're leading with the sexy part.

Martin Giro:

You know, the sexy part is the EV charger, you know, with the big battery that we can you charge cars directly from the sun?

Martin Giro:

But the reality is like what makes our technology or the big part of what makes our technology so successful is that we have a dual axis single motor tracking turret that follows the sun and we have a utility patent on that.

Martin Giro:

So we've actually had a lot of interest from solar installers that may not be interested in the, the EV charging unit per se, but the technology itself that allows you to capture more sun on less land space.

Martin Giro:

So it's an EV charger, it's a sun tracking turret, but it's also a micro grid, it's an emergency power backup supply.

Martin Giro:

So while we talk about the sexy part of it and EVs and all that, you know, it's a really multipurpose thing.

Martin Giro:

So for a lot of your listeners that might have container homes or are living off grid, this is a solution beyond just an EV charger.

Erica Thompson:

Yeah.

Erica Thompson:

I mean, where do you see.

Erica Thompson:

Where do you see this technology going?

Erica Thompson:

Obviously, that you've seen that there's a need for it, especially when you hear all the time that we're ahead of where we need to be, where you got all these car companies making EVs, but yet there aren't enough charging stations around the country to actually service all of them.

Erica Thompson:

So it's kind of like, is the cart before the horse here or in.

Erica Thompson:

This seems to be a way to actually kind of, you know, get things a little more in, you know, level or in balance, we'll say.

Martin Giro:

Absolutely.

Martin Giro:

I would.

Martin Giro:

I would agree with that 100%.

Martin Giro:

It's, you know, the world is full of solutions and imperfect solutions, you know, and this is what we call it as a very utilitarian point solution.

Martin Giro:

So, you know, if it's someplace where you can get a permit quickly and you can get site work done quickly, and you've got big bucks to do all of that, then, you know, then by all means do that.

Martin Giro:

But we have a solution that essentially you order, it's delivered on a flatbed, it goes up in a matter of a minute or two, and it works immediately.

Martin Giro:

So there's no need for any sort of permitting.

Martin Giro:

There's no expensive site work or anything like that.

Martin Giro:

So when you think in terms of living off grid, of course, for this show, that's relevant.

Martin Giro:

You know, national parks, state parks, local parks, business parks, things like that.

Martin Giro:

You know, we aren't trying to say that we're the right thing for everybody, but we're the right thing for a lot of people.

Erica Thompson:

That's true.

Erica Thompson:

That's true.

Erica Thompson:

All right, we're going to take a short break.

Erica Thompson:

is going to take off here in:

Erica Thompson:

And it's going to grow because I know you guys are going to take it to the top.

Erica Thompson:

So everybody hang tight.

Erica Thompson:

We'll be right back.

Erica Thompson:

You're listening to Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

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Erica Thompson:

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Erica Thompson:

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Erica Thompson:

-:

Sean:

Hi, I'm Sean with Mr.

Sean:

Electric and I have a tip to help make your life better.

Sean:

One important reminder is to call a qualified electrician when you have frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers.

Sean:

When a circuit breaker trips or a fuse blows it indicating that you have a problem with some other part of the circuit.

Sean:

If your breaker trips more than once, you should have a qualified electrician come out and take a look at it.

Sean:

Contrary to what may be acceptable, you really shouldn't try to continuously try to reset the breaker because there may be a problem somewhere else down the circuit and you could be causing a fire hazard.

Sean:

There could be a loose connection or some other form of problem on the circuit.

Sean:

And every time you reset the circuit breaker, it could be causing a spark at the other end.

Sean:

We recommend having a qualified electrician come out and check on the condition of the circuit and make sure that the circuit does not have any problems.

Sean:

And it could just be a bad breaker also.

Sean:

But you definitely want to have a qualified electrician check that out.

Sean:

To have someone come out from our team may only take a portion of a day, but it could potentially save you a lot of money for your life.

Sean:

And that's just another way Mr.

Sean:

Electric has the power to make your life better.

Erica Thompson:

All right, we are back and you're listening to Boxcar Universe and we are here with Chris Lang.

Erica Thompson:

Almost got it.

Erica Thompson:

Why can't I see how you off air?

Erica Thompson:

I could see it.

Erica Thompson:

Langi Athanos.

Erica Thompson:

That's close.

Erica Thompson:

Okay.

Erica Thompson:

And closer.

Erica Thompson:

And Martin Garo and I'm sorry, Chris.

Erica Thompson:

You know, it's, it's, it's.

Erica Thompson:

That's tough.

Erica Thompson:

I gotta work on that.

Erica Thompson:

But we're talking about their great new product, talking about their portable e solar EV charging stations.

Erica Thompson:

And it's something that is really, really, I think is going to take the the country by storm.

Erica Thompson:

But guys, why don't we get into a little bit more about some of the differentiators as well as some of the investment opportunities.

Erica Thompson:

Cool.

Martin Giro:

Well, I can talk A little bit about those.

Martin Giro:

And then when we get into the actual product itself, Marty's the expert.

Martin Giro:

But you know, as far as key differentiators for us, you know, it's rapid deployment, you know, it's delivered on a flatbed truck.

Martin Giro:

There's no permitting, there's no site work.

Martin Giro:

You know, when it comes to permitting site work and all of that stuff, you know, a charger can cost you well, well over one hundred and one hundred thousand dollars.

Martin Giro:

So we're significantly, significantly less than that.

Martin Giro:

So there's the cost savings element of it.

Martin Giro:

And then with our utility patented sun tracking turret, where we're more efficient than any other solar solutions on the market currently.

Martin Giro:

So we have a lot of great things going for us and you know, least of which is not that we're American made.

Martin Giro:

You know, we're, we're focused on manufacturing in New Mexico using American components whenever possible.

Martin Giro:

And I think that that's mostly possible.

Martin Giro:

You know, and I think one of the things that over the years as we've worked on this, we hate the politicization of solar renewable.

Martin Giro:

Like, not everybody has to love it, not everybody has to want wind or solar power.

Martin Giro:

But you know, it's a solution that works for a lot of people.

Martin Giro:

So, you know, we're focused on delivering solutions.

Martin Giro:

We're focused on doing it in America.

Martin Giro:

We're focused on creating American jobs and we're focused on delivering something that really works.

Martin Giro:

So, you know, there's a lot, there's the functional things we do well and then there's also those emotional things about, you know, let's keep this local and put our American ingenuity to work for us.

Erica Thompson:

You know, I think that's, I think the technology of the actual product being able to move as the sun moves so that you can have the turret at maximum sunlight to operate and store energy is so important.

Erica Thompson:

And some people may turn around and think, well, that's pretty incredible.

Erica Thompson:

It sounds like almost science fiction, but when you think about that, that's the same thing they said about Elon Musk's.

Erica Thompson:

Well, how could they possibly catch a booster that we just sent into space and catch it right back at the Gantry tower?

Erica Thompson:

I mean, if that's not out of science fiction, I don't know what is.

Erica Thompson:

I watched that thing the first time they did it with Starship 5 and I saw that booster come down and that tower caught it.

Erica Thompson:

I was, I was cheering with the people that were in, in the, at the station where they saw it.

Erica Thompson:

I mean it was unbelievable.

Erica Thompson:

But this is the kind of things that it just seems that Americans have when there's a need for something, they find something to fill that need and then they make it even better.

Erica Thompson:

See, it's not like your product.

Erica Thompson:

I could say, well, it'd be great if it was just put it out in the sun and the sun moved across the sky and.

Erica Thompson:

But you couldn't capture the same amount of energy as the sun moved across the sky during the day.

Erica Thompson:

But you've even taken that one step further, which I think is an exceptional, you know, versatility and makes your product really stand out.

Martin Giro:

Yeah, one of the things that, as I mentioned, that makes it stand out is, you know, taking a technology and improving upon it.

Martin Giro:

You know, being first isn't always best because, you know, you're able to learn from other people's mistakes.

Martin Giro:

So, you know, when Marty developed this, he, he developed this dual axis single motor sun tracking turret.

Martin Giro:

So it uses less energy.

Martin Giro:

You know, I'll let Marty sort of explain what that is, but that's the reason we were able to utility patent this is because we took something, we made it better and you know, frankly, we're really proud of it.

Erica Thompson:

No, I agree with you.

Erica Thompson:

I would be proud of it as well.

Erica Thompson:

But Marty, tell our listeners a little bit about the product and how a little bit more how it's made and how it works.

Speaker I:

Well, I mean, if anybody who's done solar or knows just the issues that come along with tracking the sun, you get a lot of naysayers because there's a lot of time, probably 50, 60% of the time, tracking systems just don't work.

Speaker I:

They're either, you know, stuck in one position or just, you know, not working at all.

Speaker I:

There's a lot of parts, actuators, hinges, all that stuff.

Speaker I:

We've really made something super simple where we track both the X and Y axes with one single motor.

Speaker I:

Basically, it's 16 parts.

Speaker I:

I mean, these are tractor trailer quality parts.

Speaker I:

Where our uptime on our tracking system is just, it's phenomenal.

Speaker I:

It can handle, you know, quite extreme environments.

Speaker I:

And we've had some great testing, especially out here between the universities.

Speaker I:

We ran a capstone challenge between all three universities out here.

Speaker I:

It was kind of judged with Sandy National Labs and we got some really great numbers to kind of prove our technology.

Speaker I:

But basically we were trying to develop something that was reliable, beyond reliable.

Speaker I:

I mean, something as reliable as the sun, you know, in the morning and then setting at night.

Speaker I:

So that was the whole premise behind it.

Speaker I:

The simplicity of the unit where you can park it anywhere and it just automatically finds the sun.

Speaker I:

You don't have to point it in a certain direction or anything.

Speaker I:

Like that has really been our key to efficiency and reliability which in the EV charging market is, is definitely kind of a hang up at this point with reliability.

Speaker I:

So, so we wanted to really, you know, be way above the curve on reliability.

Erica Thompson:

Oh, that's so important this way, you know, as long as you have that reliability, you know, like, like, like we learned that at the blocks you could either have, you know, when you get to the point where you do customer service is one thing, but if you do all your preliminary work, okay, you won't have to do any damage control later on when something goes wrong, which not saying something won't happen because that's life, things do happen.

Erica Thompson:

But you know, when you're people gauge you how good your company is and how good you are as person in the company is how you take care when problems do arise.

Erica Thompson:

And I think that's so important.

Erica Thompson:

So when you start with a good credibility base like you guys have and with a great product, it's going to lead to success.

Erica Thompson:

I think that's just so very important.

Martin Giro:

For sure.

Martin Giro:

Yeah.

Martin Giro:

If you've driven an EV before staying in that vehicle charging mode, one of the biggest frustrations is that you pull into these charging units and they're non operational, you know, they're down for some reason.

Martin Giro:

So you know, Marty, over the course of these years of development has been very hyper focused on reliability and low part count to reduce the opportunities for failure.

Erica Thompson:

So yeah, I mean it's, it's and I'm sure how many years of we'll call research did it take you guys to develop this?

Speaker I:

I think we're going into year eight since I started to kind of develop this product.

Speaker I:

We've been through three generations of the EV charger and of eight generations of the tracking system.

Speaker I:

So we've got, I think our last count, we've got about 20,000 hours of testing roughly on our tracking system.

Speaker I:

The testing we've done with Sandy National Labs, it has been definitely a marathon, certainly not a sprint.

Erica Thompson:

Well, I'm sure, yeah.

Erica Thompson:

And these things do take time, but I think it's all worth it when you make it your passion, which I'm sure that had a lot to do with what you guys wanted to accomplish.

Martin Giro:

I think beyond because people often question, yeah, it doesn't matter if you're developing a solar off grid EV charger or any other sort of business, but when you are an entrepreneur and you're coming up with a new concept.

Martin Giro:

People always look at you with the side eye, like they don't believe what you're doing.

Martin Giro:

They don't necessarily think it's a great idea.

Martin Giro:

They don't get it.

Martin Giro:

But I mean, the thing about our team, which is small, is the passion.

Martin Giro:

And we believe in this.

Martin Giro:

We've worked hard at it.

Martin Giro:

20,000 hours of testing, thousands and thousands and thousands of man hours, people, hours of us working on this.

Martin Giro:

And, you know, it's worth noting that, you know, over $400,000 of founder and advisory board member capital has gone into developing this.

Martin Giro:

So we haven't just sort of, you know, scraped it together and hoped for the best.

Martin Giro:

We've been really committed and put our money where our mouth is to get here.

Erica Thompson:

You know, it's that.

Erica Thompson:

And that's.

Erica Thompson:

And that's important.

Erica Thompson:

That's what they call dedication.

Erica Thompson:

It's a tribute to what you guys have created.

Erica Thompson:

Now, before we wrap up the show, I want to give a chance to have you.

Erica Thompson:

If some of your listeners out there would like to get involved in what Marty and Chris are building and they're doing with their product, how could they become part of it and contact you?

Martin Giro:

So you could go to our website, SUNOO S U N N O O co and you can contact us through.

Martin Giro:

You could contact me, Chris, CHRIS co and then, you know, we've got a lot of information on our website, but we're also in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign.

Martin Giro:

So this is the first time it's really a friends and family campaign that we're opening it up a little bit broader to anybody that might hear about it through a platform called Net Capital.

Martin Giro:

So it helps startups raise capital.

Martin Giro:

So we're really looking to raise some money to help us scale, do a little bit further product development.

Martin Giro:

We are now in a manufacturing facility in New Mexico.

Martin Giro:

So to help us defray costs as we scale.

Martin Giro:

So you could go to Net Capital and just look up the brand name SUNOO S U N N O O.

Martin Giro:

And through that, if you see anything you have questions about, you can retread out and you're going to get myself, Marty or our third partner, Seth.

Erica Thompson:

That's really great, guys.

Erica Thompson:

Thank you so much for spending time with us today.

Erica Thompson:

And first time on Boxcar Universe, but I'm sure not going to be the last because we're going to make sure that we follow all your progress and bring it to all our listeners.

Erica Thompson:

And please make sure that if you are listening to this podcast for the first time, share it with your friends, drive people towards Boxcar Universe.

Erica Thompson:

And that will show will be posted here shortly.

Erica Thompson:

And reach out to Marty and Chris and see how you could be part of what they're building if that's something that you want to get interested in.

Erica Thompson:

It's a growing business and I think like you said, in the next five years, it's going to be really, you're going to be really part of the whole big solar industry and ev charging.

Martin Giro:

Thanks for having us, Steve.

Martin Giro:

This was our first podcast together, Marty and I, so I'm happy it could be with a Blocks alumni.

Erica Thompson:

Well, there you go.

Erica Thompson:

I appreciate that.

Erica Thompson:

You know what I always tell everybody that comes on the show, you know, if they're worried about they're listening to like thousands and thousands of people and they're a little apprehensive.

Erica Thompson:

I'm like, look, no one ever left the studio bleeding, so don't worry about it.

Erica Thompson:

You'll be fine.

Erica Thompson:

And every time I've said that and they've left, they said, oh, my God, Steve, it was awesome.

Erica Thompson:

Why can we do it again?

Erica Thompson:

So I'm just like, I'm a kind and gentle and entertaining and informative talk show host as well as doing tv.

Erica Thompson:

So you guys, I really appreciate the kudos and look forward to us having a great relationship in the future.

Speaker I:

Thanks so much.

Martin Giro:

Thanks, Steve.

Erica Thompson:

All right.

Erica Thompson:

All right.

Erica Thompson:

That was Marty and Chris from SunU and they are two great guys doing some great things for an area that is obviously up and coming.

Erica Thompson:

And we want to thank them for being on our our solar day today.

Erica Thompson:

And I want to remind everybody that Boxcar Universe is your source for cutting edge information on remodeling and renovating your homes, plus container homes and container pools.

Erica Thompson:

So let us build your dream container home or pool today.

Erica Thompson:

And if you have any questions at all about today's show or any of the things that Boxcar Universe is doing, please email us@boxcarlivingmail.com and steve@boxcaruniverse.com Boxcar Universe can be heard on any podcast player and on our website.

Erica Thompson:

And always remember, let us containerize your lifestyle.

Erica Thompson:

Have a great weekend.

Martin Giro:

You're a great American.

Chris Langothes:

I love.

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About the Podcast

Boxcar Universe
Boxcar Universe - brings the most comprehensive and up-to-date information about high-tech container home sustainable lifestyle living. For over 17 years, TV and radio personality Steve Deubel has been hosting the Image Home Improvement Show—always at the forefront of home improvement and home renovation projects now entering the new wave sweeping the country….Container Home Living in the “Boxcar Universe" Mel Alva joins Steve as his co-host. Mel is the owner of Alva Interiors AZ. & has over 22 years' experience in residential and commercial design. Together, they join forces and bring you the cutting edge information of Container Home & Sustainable Lifestyle Living.

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Stephen Deubel