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

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

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

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

Are you ready to embark on a more sustainable lifestyle?

Look no further.

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Reach Solar.

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

Along with us is Chris Langothes from Suno.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Brandon, welcome to Boxcar Universe.

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

Thank you so much.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And I think that's what's.

What's important.

And it's.

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.

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.

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

Yeah, thank you so much for that, Steve.

So a little bit about me.

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

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

My beautiful wife.

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

and then we went from the U.S.

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.

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

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.

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.

To my electric bill.

Let's get real.

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

No, you're Absolutely right.

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

And here's the thing.

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.

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?

Okay, how much you in arrears buy?

Those are the kind of things that.

Are putting the big bold font on the red.

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

When's the due date?

And they just go and pay it.

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

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

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

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

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

This.

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

So I can live comfortably in my home.

So that's what people are usually focusing on.

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.

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.

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

And we got to understand that.

And when we make the decision that.

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

We're not going to pursue anything.

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

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.

That they need to know.

So they have all the information.

We can answer the questions they have.

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

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

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

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.

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

Put some money back in their pocket.

Yeah, I mean, it's.

It's so important that people just.

You're right.

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.

It's just like it's acceptable.

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

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

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

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?

No, man, I'm telling you.

I mean, here's two guys that can.

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

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.

The last two Julys have been brutal.

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.

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

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

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

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

And it's going to happen.

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

What happens then, Tax day?

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.

And I want all our listeners to understand that.

But we're going to take a short break.

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.

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.

So I want everybody to hang tight.

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.

Your home improvement thrift store.

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

Save money, be green and support the community.

Shop and donate at Star Building Supplies Valley locations.

For more info, visit stardustbuilding.org.

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

And our special guest today is Brandon V.

From Reach Solar.

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

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

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

We alleviate stress, right?

I think we should put that into the daily dose.

What do you think?

100%.

I think you're 100% correct there.

I think so.

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

Okay, yeah, for sure.

All right, great.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Okay.

Beautiful.

Fantastic.

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

Okay.

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

I don't like people knocking on my door.

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

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

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

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

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

However it is.

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?

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?

And it has the energy company name.

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

Because we don't.

We can't cookie cutter this, okay?

Everybody uses a house.

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.

So we have to find out how you utilize it.

So we customize this for you.

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

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.

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.

If there is no Saving for you.

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.

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

So let's maintain the relationship.

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

We contact him, we say, hey, Mr.

Homeowner, Mrs.

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

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

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.

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

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?

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

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

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

So here's what solar is.

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

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

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

What about this?

What about that?

How does that work?

What are this?

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

And then once you get to that point that you.

Beautiful.

I love this.

This makes total sense.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Okay?

But we just need your buy in.

And when we get the paperwork electronically signed.

It means you're serious.

It means we're serious.

We convert it to a project.

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

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.

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

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

Hey, Mr.

And Mrs.

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

Number one.

Number two, hey, Mr.

And Mrs.

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

We can get those things taken care of.

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

And Mrs.

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

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

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

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

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

The increase is a little bit too much.

Great, fantastic.

Not a problem.

We'll cancel everything.

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

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.

Okay?

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

Again, we don't want to sell anything.

You have to see the value in it for yourself.

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

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

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.

We're more of a solar brokerage.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

I mean, my God.

Yeah.

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.

Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

And he was okay with that?

He was fine.

Hey, let's do this.

Because it's a safety house.

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

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

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.

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

How old is your roof?

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.

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

Then how many people are going to be doing that?

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

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

Yeah.

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

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

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

Absolutely.

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

Yeah.

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.

Okay.

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

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

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

Okay, what is the cost per kilowatt hour?

Okay.

What are they paying for that?

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

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

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

Kilowatt hour.

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

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

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

This is what you need to look at.

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?

How much am I paying on my electric bill?

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

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.

Okay, yes.

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

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.

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

Which one are you going to go to?

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

Just makes sense.

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

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

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

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.

You pay the same amount every single month.

And there is an end game to paying that off.

It's like leasing a vehicle.

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

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

Savings, savings, savings, right.

I mean, and that's so important.

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

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

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

And it's just like flew by.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

It could cost you less.

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.

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

It's so important.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But now they can't stop you anymore.

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.

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

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

Oh my God, that was just unbelievable.

I was like, and he loves it.

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

You know something?

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.

Things have changed.

A lot of things have changed.

Information is free, okay?

We cannot make you do anything.

Information is free.

Just take a look.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Information is free.

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

There you go.

You gotta.

Oh no, they're gonna delete me.

No, please, no.

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.

Thank you so much, Steve.

I appreciate being on your wonderful show.

All right, thank you so much.

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

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

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

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.

So I want everybody to stay tuned.

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

And we were talking all things solar today.

And you want to thank our friend Brandon V.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chris Langeafos and also Martin Giro from sunu.

Did I get all that right?

Sunu.

Sunu.

Sunu.

Thank you, Sunu.

And Chris Langyathos.

No, Chris Lang.

That's better.

I'll get it right.

I said it right during the break.

What happened?

You nailed it during the break and I never.

I know, Okay.

I get it right.

Anyway, all right then, enough with the names.

But Chris and Martin have come up with this.

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?

Where are you going to plug your car into?

Well, these guys have solved that problem.

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

Marty, you go ahead first.

Oh, all right.

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

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

Couldn't get anybody to bring out power.

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

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

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.

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

We're on our fourth prototype.

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.

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

Sure.

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

Marty's been at this for seven plus.

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

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.

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

But anyway, I got involved several years ago.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Wow, that's really great.

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.

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

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

One in Phoenix we put together with her contacts.

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

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

You could actually come and see it.

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

And we've got model of that out there.

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.

I think it would be really good.

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.

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

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Yeah.

I mean, where do you see.

Where do you see this technology going?

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.

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

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.

Absolutely.

I would.

I would agree with that 100%.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

That's true.

That's true.

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

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

So everybody hang tight.

We'll be right back.

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

Almost got it.

Why can't I see how you off air?

I could see it.

Langi Athanos.

That's close.

Okay.

And closer.

And Martin Garo and I'm sorry, Chris.

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

That's tough.

I gotta work on that.

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

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

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.

Cool.

Well, I can talk A little bit about those.

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

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.

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

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.

So we're significantly, significantly less than that.

So there's the cost savings element of it.

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

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

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

And I think that that's mostly possible.

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.

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

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

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

We're focused on doing it in America.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

I mean it was unbelievable.

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.

See, it's not like your product.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

So it uses less energy.

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.

No, I agree with you.

I would be proud of it as well.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Basically, it's 16 parts.

I mean, these are tractor trailer quality parts.

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

It can handle, you know, quite extreme environments.

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

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

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

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

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

So that was the whole premise behind it.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

And I think that's so important.

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.

I think that's just so very important.

For sure.

Yeah.

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.

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.

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?

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

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

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

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

Well, I'm sure, yeah.

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.

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.

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

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

They don't get it.

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

And we believe in this.

We've worked hard at it.

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

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.

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

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

You know, it's that.

And that's.

And that's important.

That's what they call dedication.

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

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

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?

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

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.

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.

So it helps startups raise capital.

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

We are now in a manufacturing facility in New Mexico.

So to help us defray costs as we scale.

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

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.

That's really great, guys.

Thank you so much for spending time with us today.

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.

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.

And that will show will be posted here shortly.

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.

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.

Thanks for having us, Steve.

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

Well, there you go.

I appreciate that.

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.

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

You'll be fine.

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

Why can we do it again?

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

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

Thanks so much.

Thanks, Steve.

All right.

All right.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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