Episode 6 | Sustainability

Yo yo yo yo yo and welcome to Sticks and Stones, the podcast where we bring serious cigar smokers together with serious dealmakers. This is episode 6 and today tonight we're talking about sustainability. So tonight I have well first of all tonight is a Buffalo Trace type of night. So I've got the Buffalo Trace cigar. I've got the Buffalo Trace bottle. We're gonna we're gonna hit that a little bit later. So, I have my friends here from Texas Solar. >> True. >> And we're we're talking about sustainability. >> So, that that's guys, that's the that's the newest buzzword, sustainability. Everybody's throwing it around. Everybody's using it. But I truly believe that solar, geothermal, you know, all of this stuff really is sustainable energy and it's a sustainable source. So, I want you guys to to, you know, fill us in. Talk about this a little bit. >> Sure. Hey, I'm David Kiss with True Texas Solar, and you'll hear from my partner in crime, Rob, real soon. Uh, I'm just going to do a little quick history intro of the company. And Rob is an engineers engineer and architects a lot of our systems for homes. and again looks at basically the concept and that we like to do is it's it's just something for the customer uh and just particularly for their property. But anyway, so more about True Texas Solar started out as a roofing company, small family company. The proprietor uh Josh really believed in sustainability as well and the solar model. And with roofing, a lot of times you're you're tearing a roof off, you might as well, you know, if somebody wants it, it's the perfect time to uh to look at a solar uh solar plan. and solar hardware. Exactly. So, we started doing solar some years ago. I think the thing I am definitely the new guy, but I dove right in because I really love the concept when I met Rob and we talked about it. So, I am the new person on the sales team. And I think the key for me and that we're finding with a lot of people is we kind of have a saying, put a energy backup plan in place to keep your family safe. We believe in solar but we also do work with uh the natural gas connected generators like Generrack and other companies. We uh have service plans for those and we do install them. We we believe in that. But we also think solar is is really great because even when the power totally goes down in some sort of natural event, you're not just feeding your backup batteries. You're you are not losing any sustainability at all. Whether it's the winter, the summer, you're going to have the sun out there feeding your system. We can get into it a little bit later. There's these amazing apps that are right on smartphones uh for all the different uh solutions and people can map out what what exactly did they want to keep running when it's just normal time. They can set up a a preset plan and save it for when there's some sort of power outage and and they can just set that plan and it'll turn off certain appliances at certain times. >> That's cool. >> And a lot of people don't know about that part of it. There is if you're a let's just say if you're a bit of a geek there is there is you can just and literally using your smartphone which is it's just amazing the apps that are out there for for for everything finance. >> That's awesome. >> Yeah. So there's things like that that can be done and everything is for either Android or Apple. >> So that that part got me excited kind of the tech geeky part of it. Um, and again for the backup part of it, some people like a plan where it's just, again, this is where Rob comes in. We take a look at the home. We take a look at the roof line. We take a look at the angle of the roof. We take a look at their southern exposure. We call it a radiance. And that's where I'm going to jump into the team a little bit. We we really don't use any subs. We really uh our owner Josh wanted to have uh just a a pure company with full employees. So, we have a master Yeah. So, we have a we have a master certified electrician fully and we have another guy who's about to have their their certification. We have the roof guys who also know how to do all the installation and construction. >> Mhm. >> And then we also we have a meteorologist on staff who actually can look Yeah. They actually and Rob wanted that and Rob loves it and Josh wanted it as the owner. And so we actually have that meteorologist who can look at the home as well and basically figure out again your your goal is to get obviously the sun hitting 100% if you can of those panels at all time. >> Right. >> So we and the cool thing is there's there's the the Google Earth app in like that. So we can actually just shoot down look at the whole property on the roof line and then we this is where Rob comes in. He he can map out a whole plan meet with the homeowner and talk about the different solutions we have. One other quick thing that is real exciting is that Houston has the deregulation when it comes to retailers for energy plants. So we have competition and so we can actually look at the best companies who have people call it the buyback, but I always like to say it's the sellback. You know, you're the homeowner, you get to sell back your energy, right, >> to the grid and to to you know to the, you know, Centerpoint and and you know and the the main providers. So that's another cool thing is that Rob's really good at that. He knows the top companies when it comes to, you know, rates, kilowatt hour rates and stuff like that. So >> you guys are not only sustainable, but you're literally freaking vertically integrated. You guys got everything in one under one roof. >> Yes. >> No pun no pun intended, >> right? >> Wow. That's really cool. >> Rob, you want to jump in there? Pardon me, Angelo. Yeah. >> No, no. So, so my history with the uh solar industry was I actually for a long time wanted solar on my house and things didn't fall in line until about uh four or five years ago kind of around COVID was happening. >> Okay. >> And I went ahead >> a lot of people got into projects during co >> and I made the investment of doing solar. So, I am a I was a solar user before I got into the industry and I was a believer from first and I just wanted solar power. I just wanted to be able to uh um live off my own power plant on my home >> and uh my timing was pretty good. Um I was able to make in just less than five years I was able to make back my investment. >> Wow. >> Yeah. I was I had some luck in getting very good buyback plans and there's a little bit the the market's a little bit tougher because we have more solar users, but I'm seeing a lot of people still coming back with zero on their electric bill. And >> so a couple years ago, I got the opportunity to join this firm that was I I was impressed by the way they did business. They were impressed by the way I did engineering work, did business. >> You are pretty smart. I'm not going to lie. Yeah. And it was a match, a perfect match for us. And uh it really is an effective team. You know, we we teamwork just every project that gets put into it. And one thing that uh I kind of brought to the industry in the last year was the idea that uh it doesn't solar does not have to be on your roof. We could construct a pergola, a picnic area, a carport, a back cover that uh it will be made of solar panels and provide the power you need for your home. >> We pair that with batteries. The thing about batteries is that they were not they were not affordable when I got solar just a few years ago. >> Yeah. So, let's talk let's talk about that a little bit like >> Yes. So just explain this for anyone listening. What are the batteries? What are they used for? Because I I don't think a lot of people understand like how the whole solar thing works. So break that down for us, Rob. >> Okay. So basically, uh a basic solar system like I got when I first got into it is just solar panels on the house and you generate electricity. It goes that electricity goes through an inverter and from the inverter it goes directly into the grid. What you use in your house comes directly out of the grid. And so your meter now that we're in the 21st century we have smart meters >> and those digital meters. It measures what goes in and what goes out. Sends that to the electric company. And the electric company based on that pays you what they owe you. Now, a battery acts as a way point between the grid and your solar panels and your in. >> So, let's let's just say in the beginning when all this all this [ __ ] was created, right? Yeah. >> People put panels on the roof because at the time that was the only place they knew, you know, where to put them and you got some you got some solar rays on there. You got some sun rays hitting those panels and they were generating electricity. >> Yes. >> So, then the electricity was going down into your Was it going into the meter? Was it going directly into your sub panel or was it going directly into like >> heater and then into the grid? >> Okay. Yeah. >> Into the electric the power grid. >> Yes, the power grid. >> Okay. Okay. Got it. >> Yeah. And uh so it did not go directly to your homes. For instance, I got hit with this before I was in the solar industry. I got hit in the winter storm and wow they shut off the grid and I couldn't even put electricity into the grid and that would they shut off that the connection between my home and the grid was shut down because they didn't people were working on power lines they couldn't have that electricity from my house and the grid. So if you put a battery, the battery is the way point and the electricity stops at the battery first and it goes from the battery directly into the home. And if it >> okay >> doesn't go into the home, it goes into the battery for storage. And if the battery is full and you're you still use have extra power, then that gets sold back to the grid >> into the grid. Got it. >> But then from the battery, you can also power your home from the energy out of that battery. Right. Correct. Absolutely. And so that's your backup power. The uh you know, in a power outage, if you have a battery, you're not lost. You're you're you're still working. And it's uh you know, and if we size it correctly, it's as good as having a generator. We only need it to sustain your house for a few hours because once the sun comes back out, you're getting power again from the sunlight. >> Right. That's a good point. Now, let me let me ask you this. Real talk. How many panels do you need to like let's just let's just say that I wanted to go completely off the grid. >> Okay. >> Right. How many panels would I need to run a let's just say a three-bedroom house. >> Okay. So, the process that we do is we take a look we talk you know we could we we really the best way to do it is to look at your phone bill and see how much usage you have. >> Okay. to, you know, an adult living by theirself doesn't use as much power as a family with three teenagers. >> Yeah. So, let let's just say my my normal utility bill, the normal electric bill, it's like 2,200 kilowatt hours. >> Okay. 2200 kilowatt hours. That's a pretty good size bill there, my friend. >> Believe me, I know. >> And so, what we >> I want to kill my kids. >> Yeah. But the uh yeah the power used to you know to burn the bodies is atrocious. You're gonna have a very high electric bill after that. >> So um no the know what we do is we use our software to kind of get an idea of how many panels you really need. >> We model it over the year. David mentioned a radiance. We take a look at the sun track over your home throughout the year >> and see when what angle gives the best angle, which roof face gives the best angle. If we build a pergola or you know a bed, which way do we best? >> That's a good point. Let's just say that somebody in America is looking for solar panels, right? And they go to a contractor, they go to a provider >> Mhm. that doesn't have a meteorologist on staff, that doesn't have engineers on staff, right? What is the probability that somebody, I'm not going to say doesn't know what they're doing, but they're not as astute. >> What are the chances that they're going to put some panels up on a roof somewhere and they are not, let's just say they're not going to get optimal output. What are the chances? >> That's pretty high because a lot of people get the, you know, the knock on the door by solar. Buy solar. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> By solar. So, why I'm asking you that question. >> Those folks, they do have some software that they use to plan things out and they do know the basic. South is good, west is not as good, east is not as good, north is bad. They know that, >> but and so they'll they'll they'll do their best, but they're not going to get the level of service that they're going to get out of a place like True Texas Solar where you have someone like myself, someone like David, you know, meteorologist to plan out the best system possible, right? >> And we are experts with in using the software and in real life what it's really like when you go beyond the software. Okay, so let let's let's just say for a 2200 kW house, right? Roughly, just a rough idea, how many panels do you need on the roof? And then like how big of a battery system do you need? >> Okay. And that's still a very hard uh um it's still >> roughly not say roughly you're going to need an 18 kilowatt. So between 30 and 35 panels and then you're going >> That doesn't sound like a lot. No, but with a battery, you know, we we le use the battery storage to le leverage power usage. With the battery, you don't need as many panels to get a full 100% because >> the battery is storing that energy for whenever the house needs it. >> Correct. >> And then when the sun is not blaring on the panels, it's using the batteries stored energy. And then when the sun does come out, we're we're going back to using the the panel source. >> Yes. Absolutely. >> That's really cool. >> Yeah. And there's a lot of people that are uh um what they're doing now is they're using their battery in conjunction with the nights and weekends plan from their power. And what they do is the uh um >> they'll they'll live off their battery and their panels during the day and they'll they'll they'll keep that. And then in the evening between 6:00 and 9, between when the sun goes down and the free nights and weekends pops up, they're just living off their battery for a couple hours. Then 900 p.m. that nights and weekends plan pops up. Boom. They use that free power to charge their batteries. And >> that's pretty smart. >> Yes. And so we've been we've got a lot of customers who've been doing this just to >> they feel they they feel more comfortable with this than trying to aim for the right buyback plan and they feel much more comfortable with this and for a long time I thought that the power companies were going to wise up to it and cut it off. We've been going on two years that we've been doing this type of system. >> Really? >> Just a few months later, months ago, I realized those power companies are fine with it because what they're doing is they're taking the excess power from >> our during the day and they're selling it. They get it for zero and they're selling it. Yeah. at a huge >> I was just about to say that's free marketable energy that they're reselling to other people. >> Yeah. So they are making money too and they're not having to do anything about it. >> And the more people that get solar, they're making a they're making a lot of money. >> Yes. >> Yeah. The uh I wanted to jump just a little bit about the pergola. Some people out out in your audience might not know that terminology quite as well. It's basically an it's basically a covered porch. I mean, we we we can we do some real construction and so it's not just dead space, you know, we you know, if somebody we realize it might be where they don't want to cut down. Let's just say there's a lot of great trees and such, they might want to just trim the trees back and then our our meteorologists will will look at all that um to make sure they're getting the irradiance. But if they want to keep a certain look for the backyard and or or you know the house, the pergola is great because you basically build this nice looking covered porch where you're having social time underneath it and stay >> and then the the panels are on top and then and they you know they can be run you're setting up your inverters, you're setting up the flow and so and and so it's also and it also aesthetically looks pretty good with that for the home, >> right? And it's just based if it's just based on what per a person needs. Yeah. >> And they're not going on your roof, right? They're going on this this external structure. Now, let me ask you this. Can you like let's just say you have let's say you're big ball in and you got a big ass house, right? >> Can you do the panels on the house and a pergola? >> Absolutely. >> Okay. Okay. Now, you guys know that I'm a commercial real estate broker, right? and I I do commercial real estate exclusively and I've actually I have represented properties that industrial properties that had panels lots of panels on the roofs. Tell us about that like tell us about the commercial application for solar. >> Yeah and we do a lot of commercial work with a lot of commercial customers and one thing we found is we've uh been trying to work with some of the local corner marks that power outage happens. We don't think about it, but we do it. Where's the first place people go? They go to the corner market to go get ice. >> True. >> Those people, the corner market that has power in a major power outage after a hurricane or after a winter storm, we've gotten the numbers back. 30 times the daily sales that they normally take in if they have power during a power outage. So, >> they've done the math. It's in their best interest to be sustainable. Plus the fact that we can provide them cheaper electricity than what they're paying cuz they're paying a lot. They are paying a lot. >> And let's remember those those corner stores are gas stations nine times out of 10. So they're also able to keep that going because there are going to be a lot of people who have the smaller generators. God bless them. You know, that's anything that can help get get some air conditioning in the house. And so yeah, it's it helps that part of the business as well if they can if they can provide the gas pumps. >> Now, let me ask you this. What commercial applications do you guys see for solar? I mean, the convenience stores. Yep, I get that. The service uh stations, I get that. What about manufacturing? What about warehousing? >> Manufacturing is definitely manufacturing. And I was going to bring up auto body shops, auto shop. >> Those use a lot of power. They have to. There's no way around it. what you're paying to those auto shops is paying their electric bill. >> Yeah. The frame machine and Yeah. All that stuff. >> Absolutely. So, if they can use solar on their facility to cut back on those bills, >> they're making a bit more money to, you know, and they they can either put it in their own pocket or pass it on to their customers. And I don't blame them for whichever choice they choose. >> Right. Exactly. So, that that brings me to the next question. Real talk. Doesn't have to be precise numbers. Give me a percentage. What can you save if done right going with a solar system? >> Usually the payback period is about 12 years. Now, if you're like me and you get lucky and you have a great confluence events, it may be as low as four or five years. That's the first answer. The you usually get your return starting at 12 years. The lifetime of the batteries are are stated at 15 years. It's going to be longer. The first batteries to hit the market, they hit 15 years ago. They're still running strong, right? >> Panels go 25 to 25 years. >> So, I'm going to say you're going to save at least 20 to 30% up to 50% over time and you will make a you will wow >> more than break even. >> So, not only are you saving 20 to 30% on your bill, >> Yes. But you're also using a sustainable energy. >> Correct. >> And you're storing energy. >> You have backup power >> in the event backup power, right? So like, let's just let's just say, you know, [ __ ] goes sideways really bad and there's no natural gas or something happens to the natural gas, the you know, the LG plant or whatever you got running, you're you're you're you're up what you know what creek without a paddle, right? So, but if you got one of these systems now, you're feeding off of the batteries. And then when the sun comes out again, which inevitably it's going to, and if and if not, then we all got bigger problems than >> Yeah. >> our energy bill. >> Let's say you find ourselves in the Walking Dead universe. >> Perfect. Perfect example. Okay. >> You've got a year before all that gasoline goes bad. I don't know how they always manage to find a car with gasoline in it that's been >> Yeah. Yeah. Five years. And >> Yeah. Yeah. drive to Georgia. >> There's nobody in existence, but yet there's cars that run. >> Yes, absolutely. But one thing they did show us at several places is they did get solar and they did get batteries to power those homes. So the electricity, you know, solar and local windmills in the zombie apocalypse, that's how they're going to power their >> Yeah. Yeah. So that's that's the way to go. That's the way to go. >> And let's think about EVs now. a lot more common and there are many a person who loves having the charger at their home and and they also have some solar going on and that that can be a big help. Yeah. I ask people if they want to drive for free and if you know if you got an EV charger >> in your home, you you're driving an electric vehicle, why not put panels and uh >> get yourself some free driving. >> Now, what would you guys recommend? Let's just say let's take it from elementary, right? I know nothing about solar. >> Fair enough. >> What is the recommended system to go with? Panels, batteries. Are there are there a recommendation? Are there multiple manufacturers? >> I have to be an engineer about it. >> That's one thing I tell my customers is one advantage for them of dealing with an engineer is I have trouble lying about technical stuff. I just can't do it. I have to give them the best. So it one of these deals it matters. So if you have a smaller system um well first of all most of what we've been selling is the rec panels made here in America 450 watts per panel. We also have mission panels made in San Antonio and those you know also 450 watts. So I'm going to tell you to go with the 450 watt panel no matter what. That's pretty much the largest on the market. I think we got 480s coming out soon though. >> Okay. >> And then as far as the battery, if you have a smaller system, I would pair it with the uh Tesla Power Wall 3, which we do sell >> and that includes the inverter inside the battery so that a small it has enough power for a smaller system. So you get that stand alone. Now, for what you're talking about, a 35 panel home, I would get what are we call micro inverters, which are small boxes that are each panel has its own inverter box. And so, if one panel goes out, the rest are still working on if you use a Tesla Power Wall inverter where it's a we call it single string. It's like like a set of Christmas lights. One panel goes out, you lose the whole thing. lose the whole thing. So we use Nphase inverters, micro inverters. Those are made in Arlington, Texas. They moved their factory from India to Arlington, Texas. >> Love that. >> All their professionals moved here from India >> and uh they hired locals to work the assembly line. I've toured the assembly line. It's amazing. It's fantastic work. So, I would take that and then I would pair it with a EcoFlow or a Franklin battery suite. And Franklin, yeah, Frank Franklin batteries pair very well with that setup. >> So, let's just say you prefer to go with Tesla, we'll give you a Tesla. It's >> sure because a lot of people, they love the the Tesla name. They love it. Absolutely. >> So, like let's just say that I have a commercial building, right? Let's just say I have a 100,000 square foot warehouse, right? I want to put as many panels as I can up on the roof, right? Because it's not going to hurt anything, right? And the and the clear height from the inside is like 25 ft. So, you know, the outside of the eve is probably 30 35 ft in the air, right? Depending on what's under the roof. What panels would you go with for something like that? And can you daisy chain batteries? Like, can you connect the batteries to where they can all feed each other? And like how many can you like >> I don't like the term daisy chain but you can you can set up a >> I'm a layman so like that's you know like you know what I mean you're gonna connect the batteries so that they feed into each other. >> Yeah we could we could set up multiple batteries and all over the place. Um I you know I would actually kind of something like that I would set up two two separate systems independent of each other in case one side goes down. >> In case one goes down. >> Yeah. >> Huh. But that's the way I would. Yeah. >> Uh warehouse is a controlled climate. See, these are the questions we have to ask you. So, it needs controlled climate. You need the HVAC. That means you're going to need more battery space. So, that uh we can we'll size out how much battery space you need to get you through the night. And uh um you might have to give up some of your lighting in order to do it for HVAC. But, uh >> Right. Right. >> Um also employee safeties. these things, >> right? Right. Yeah. Life safety and stuff. >> Your overnight needs are as far as >> So, that's a good question. So, a company because this is this is a business and it's a commercial application. It's not a residential application. So, it's not a home. I guess they would have to tell you how long they need to run if everything goes out. Okay. So, it let's just say worst case scenario, this this is a company that runs three shifts, right? And they cannot lose power throughout the night, right? They have to last until the sun comes out. >> Is that is that possible? >> Absolutely. >> Okay. >> And we'd have the particulars of the building. We'd have to look at how much power, how big is the AC unit, any refrigeration needs, things like that. And we do this at True Texas Solar. A lot of door knockers by Solar are afraid to have these conversations because they don't have the knowhow, >> right? That's why we're having this conversation because I I know you know how to do this stuff, right? So So let's just say that it's a let's say it's a commercial application again >> because it's it's what I know, right? Let's just say they have threephase power. How do these things work in three you you so they can? >> Yeah. Well, we'd have to make some uh tweaks to the system, but we've done three phase before. >> Really? >> Yeah. See, that brings it to a whole different ballgame because now factories, assembly plants, fabrication facilities, this is going to like this is going to turn the the switch, right? This is going to the light bulb's going to go off because they're going to say, "Wait a second. Not only do we get backup power, but we can also save on our bill, >> which some of these bills are huge." Yeah. >> Because I do turnkey real estate, right? So I I'll if somebody hires me on a turnkey basis, I will literally build a building from the ground up. If they if they bought a piece of land with me, I would do the whole thing, right? So I see >> easy for us to design it in. >> So right into the build. We've done it several houses. We've done it with a few businesses. >> Yeah. Some guys, some of these industrial electric bills would choke you. Like it's ridicul. Like everyone thinks that their house electric bill is crazy. Oh my god. Doesn't even shine a light. I mean, some of these some of these people pay like thousands and thousands of dollars. Like 10,000 plus. So that's that's pretty crazy. And and I bet you a lot of people don't know that. >> Yeah. I'm going to add to this a little bit. So we Rob's already said we do commercial. And yeah, our proprietor Josh, you know, knows the residential and commercial inside and out. And we do a decent number of of commercial projects. So we understand that scale and you're talking about those fun electric bills for sure. >> Uhhuh. >> We've tal a big thing that we talk about with people is you know having that that backup power plan as well along with having it as part of your normal energy equation. And so the one thing I wanted to mention is that the panels are doesn't really matter which company you buy from the panels now are really strong. And so there have been we've had hail storms and there and we've reached back out to whether it's a homeowner or a business. We've reached out and there's literally been no almost almost no degradation of the efficiency that they're getting. And we're talking about hail hitting them and then and then you've got the high winds with hurricanes. So that's a big thing with people. Okay, I believe in this but we're having 125 mph winds or maybe there's hail one day. How are things going to be? And we can confidently say that you are going to have a system that will work. >> So, these things are a lot stronger than they used to be. >> Yeah. All right. Real talk. >> Yeah. Real talk. >> I'm trying to get my roof replaced because I've got a small bit of I've got a bit of storm damage over time. >> My insurance company is dragging their feet on it because the solar panels have protected half the roof and half, >> man. The steam. panels. >> That's 22. >> Okay, that's that's uh I see I see what you're saying. Wow. Okay, so that the the insurance company locked out because you got strong solar panels on your roof. Got it. That's always that's always lovely to hear. So, real talk, let's let's just say somebody calls you guys out for a consultation to to put a system together. >> Absolutely. >> What's the what's the turnaround? How long before they make that initial call until the time you got a switch with sustainable energy power in your place? >> Well, right now it's going to be a little bit longer because people are trying to get their systems in by the end of the year >> because there's tax incentives that are >> tax incentives. Yeah. Um typically it takes us about a month to six weeks to get in and it matters on the permitting from the local municipal >> the municipality. Yeah. The the authorities. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> So, we handle that. That's on us. >> Okay. So, you guys do that, too? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> We handle all the the permitting. >> So, it's literally a one-stop shop. >> Yes. It takes us It takes us time to get through that. And some municipalities are better than others. So, >> I know that. >> Yeah. >> Four to six weeks typically, not under certain, you know, special situations >> circumstances. Yes. >> That's actually That's actually really sur. I thought you were going to say a lot longer than that. I thought you were going to say like two, three months. >> No. No. >> So you can you can engineer the system, plan it out, like design it and get it installed relatively quickly. Wow. That's >> And we and we have we have people who say, "Hey, find me a retailer. Find me a buyback program." We hand we It's in a way it's almost turnkey. We'll do. >> We do that, too. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. >> No [ __ ] >> We We sit down with our customers. We're the only company that does this because uh we sit down with their customers and show them the list of options that they have and go with their their system and say help them decide what works best. It is their decision. >> Right. Right. Right. >> Yeah. And we just we just had a customer come back to us. He's had his had his system about 3 weeks. he didn't like his buyback plan and we sat down with them and he ultimately chose to get out of the one he had and go to the nights and weekends uh plan and it's working out better for them. >> So that's a good question. You have to sign a buyback plan with with somebody that's on the grid, right? Yes. >> Somebody who sells to the grid. >> Yeah. >> Can you get out of that? Obviously, you can. >> Yes. It's just as just like getting out of any other plan that you your power buying plan just like >> I'm sure some of these people are going to have like some sort of a buy a nominal buyout fee plan. >> Yeah. >> Wow. That's that's interesting because I didn't I didn't know cuz the one of the particular buildings that I repped they couldn't it was in a different state but they couldn't get out of the buyback plan. So that's that's that's good to know. So, if if you're in at least in Texas and you and you put a solar system in and you sign up with uh one of these companies that sell your your energy back to the grid, you can get yourself out of that. That's good to know. >> Now, for industrial and commercial buildings, we may be able to set up with an independent power purchase agreement, >> something that's a little more enticing to the solar provider. >> Is that because of the amount of energy it produces? >> Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, that makes sense. >> Yeah, because it's it's sizable. It's it's not a it's not a small amount of energy. So those those power companies are like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bring it over here because that's that's money we're making off of energy we didn't make." >> Yeah. >> Correct. >> And I've been in a lot of these plants and I know how it's made and it ain't cheap. >> Yeah. And they're having to they're basically buying from a plant, reselling to the customer at a higher rate. They could buy from one customer, sell to a another customer at a higher rate, right? >> Or to another company at a higher rate. >> Total total sidebar. Have you guys ever been in um like any one of these generation stations? >> I have. Yes. >> Yeah. I have not. >> How cool is it? How cool is it? >> I've been in the space industry. Everything's cool. >> Right. So, I I went to um I can't I can't name any names, NDAs and stuff like that, but I went to a station that they sent energy over water underwater. >> Yes. >> So, they would they would get the power in from the manufacturing plant, the nuke the nuke plant, right? >> Yeah. and it would come in AC >> and then they would convert it to DC, >> send it under the water, and then they would get it on the other side and convert it back into AC. And the first time you see all that equipment and you hear it running >> Yeah. It's quite something, isn't it? >> That'll make you [ __ ] your pants. >> Yeah. >> So, >> and they probably run a DC over under the water, but I just had to say that. So >> yeah, >> you probably I think you got it reversed. But anyway, um >> uh it's it's some conversion whatever conversion it is DC to AC. You're probably right. >> Yeah. >> Um >> but uh >> they only brought me in to sell the equipment. So I like >> Yeah. And that there's just power provide, you know, we feel a kinship with each other and you know >> when I talk to potential customers who happen to be in the oil and gas industry, believe it or not, yeah, a lot of them are like, "Oh, I'm oil and gas. I don't want to I don't want to stray away from oil and gas, >> right? >> There is a kinship between us. >> Well, you know, like now Shell and all these big guys, they have all of these sustainability, you know, >> has a power buyback plant. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> You can sell your electricity to Shell off your solar panels >> and you know and you know their check is good. >> All right. So, let me let me ask you guys the $64 million question. Okay. Everything what you said sounds great, right? It sounds awesome. You have a sustainable energy source. I mean, the sun's never going out of business, right? So, you have sustainable energy source. You can use it as a backup power source. You're going to save money on your bill. Why isn't every home in America set up with solar panels? >> Well, the answer is because either you pay the upfront cost and it is not the cheapest thing. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars just for a home system or you finance it. >> And when we finance, what we do is we try to offset the your current power bill with the cost of the panels while zeroing out your current electric bill. You still have to have an electric bill because state law dictates you have to be connected to the grid. >> Right. Right. And I'm not going to argue against that law by any means, but that means you also have to pay at least a nominal fee to your provider. There is there first of all, you have to own the home. >> Mhm. >> There's a limited >> lot a lot of people that don't. A lot of people that don't. >> Second of all, you have to have good credit in order to get financing or you have to pay for it upfront. Mhm. >> So there there's there are gates you have to go through to make this work for yourself and it's a good investment, but there's just some levels of credit that not everybody qualifies for. >> So that makes sense. Now, >> we've had special loans for people who were lower income to get a smaller system. We do have those available, but that's, you know, limited availability. So I think that's basically it. It's that the upfront cost of it and the fact that you have to finance it is what's >> if you don't have the money to pay for it outright. >> Yeah. Correct. >> So, do you guys have financing channels to to finance? >> Absolutely. We do. We have several to choose from. Yeah. And one thing, if you're watching this and you've gotten a bid for solar before from the buy solar door knockers >> and they're selling you good panels, they're actually selling you good equipment. But what they aren't telling you is when they finance it, they're going to give you a a value system value of 30,000, but the lender is adding on another 30% as dealer fees. >> Okay? >> So, they're going to give you a low monthly payment, but they're selling you $30,000 worth of equipment for $36,000. So they're they're giving they're giving the door knocker some juice >> and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that they're hiding these extra fees from their customers. >> So some of our may Yeah. So they'll they'll come out they'll say, "Oh, it's a very low APR, but they're not going to tell you that it's a ridiculous fee >> to get these to get that APR." Whereas we will be upfront and say, "Okay, you can you can pay have a lower APR, but you're going to have this, you know, this amount of fees, or you can have a little bit higher APR with zero fees." Almost always comes out. Pay the higher APR, >> right? >> But just be honest about it. >> Absolutely. Yeah. >> Right. Yeah. >> Because, you know, we we have Texas integrity is what what we like to say. >> No, that's a good point. So really and truthfully, True Texas Solar covers it all. >> Yes. >> It literally takes every freaking headache off of your plate. >> And let's not forget, we're a established roofing company. >> Right. Right. Right. >> It's a big part of our business. And that's that's important because if solar slows down, if things happen, we're not walking away from customers. They're not going to get a phone that keeps on ringing. There's not going to be an empty office. We we're >> right, >> you know, we're familyowned. You guys are you're legit. You guys aren't going anywhere. >> So that's that's actually a good point. So like let's just say that someone doesn't have panels. >> Mhm. >> But they've got a bad roof. >> Yeah. >> You guys do that, too. >> Absolutely. Or the >> And that's also a good opportunity. If you're replacing the roof, you might as well, you know, try and get some panels on. >> Yeah. The one thing I like about Josh, pardon me, no. The one thing I like about Josh's philosophy is that we know everybody is not going to choose solar. One thing that we're a bit flexible with and I I want to make sure we add is that if somebody wants a system where they have a gener, >> we'll do that. You know, it's what the customer wants. And we talk to people and they're like, you know, you know, I don't think I'm going to do solar and and we're like, you know, do you have a generator? Do you have a backup plan? They're like, yes. We're like, we love you. That's great. You know, it's not a hard sell from us. We just we I mean, we love doing the business. Sure. We want to make a note and keep the lights on, but just making sure that people know that we think it's great that they've just done something. Yeah. >> So, do you you guys don't install the generators like the Generracks, the the natural Oh, you do? >> You do? Yeah. >> Oh, you do? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, potentially if you had both, there's no way you lose in a storm. In a name storm that comes through, you have solar and you have some sort of a a generator source. You're not losing. >> Yeah. So the solar battery and generator we call that the trifecta and that is the best >> the holy trinity trinity in energy. >> Yeah. >> So I was here when barrel came through. >> Yes. >> Right. And I was actually in the process of moving here and I was in a a Marriott courtyard. >> Mhm. >> No shout out to Marriott. Those guys suck. Um Barrel comes through and you know we didn't know any different. They they had a generator, probably natural gas, right? And it ran the whole place. We didn't see any difference, right? We had TV, we had, you know, AC, we had everything. Then the next day, for whatever reason, probably because the generators were so damn old, they cacked out, right? So now we have no lights, we have no HVAC, we got no elevators, we have nothing, right? And we get down on the ground and Pand looked like a freaking river. I mean, there was just water everywhere there. I've never seen and I've I've lived in Miami. I've lived in South Florida. I've seen some hurricanes. >> Yeah. >> I've never seen a storm come through and snap power poles from the base. Yes. The entire damn pole was on the road. Right. So, I've never seen that before. These things can get pretty pretty tough. Right. So that that hotel was without power for like 2 and 1/2 days. >> Mhm. >> A lot of people around par because they were, you know, a big hotel, a big brand name hotel. Centerpoint got them up and running real quick. >> But I talked to some of the people around there. They didn't have power for like up to two weeks after that. So like you're out of power for a week and a half, two weeks. >> It's a good thing to have solar and a generator. >> Yeah. >> You're you're not you're not missing a you're not missing a beat. You've got AC, you've got lights, you've got everything. And depending on who your internet provider is, you might have internet, too. >> Wow. That I mean, that's that's pretty that's pretty awesome. >> Guys, if somebody wanted to get a system, like, how do they reach out to True Texas Solar? >> Um, you can call myself at 281-451-8577 or David give your number. Sure. They can call me at >> and what's the what's the web address if they're if they're interested? >> Okay. It's trueexasolar.com. >> Texasolar.com. >> Yeah. And you could also message our office directly. See? And >> it's all Yeah. Just one word, true Texas solar. >> That is awesome. I love it. >> Guys, this was like so enlightening. I learned so many things about solar and how this is all done. And we are definitely going to be playing in the field together. >> Absolutely. >> When it comes to my commercial applications. >> Mhm. >> Um, and if anybody wants to know out there, this Buffalo Trace cigar sucks ass. Don't Don't even This thing, this damn thing like died on me three times. So, bad review on the Buffalo Trace cigar because after all, this is a cigar podcast. Uh, but I really appreciate you gentlemen coming on and and taking your time and coming on the podcast. Um, we uh will we'll do this again. I mean, because this was this was a lot of fun. I'm sure there's there's some more stuff that we can learn. >> Yeah. And I would you said there's always a few other items to talk about. Uh there is there is a bourbon that uh that dips their bottle neck in red wax and also makes a cigar where they dip it in red wax. I think people could figure it out. I believe that cigar is quite good. So, next time uh next time we do this. >> I'm gonna look at So, I I can say a shout out to Makers Mark. >> Okay, there you go. >> All right. >> So, we're going to be checking that out next time. Let's get something on the uh schedule, guys. We'll we'll we'll get back at it because this was a lot of fun. >> This was great. We appreciate you having us on. >> Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much, Angela. We appreciate it. >> Yeah, that was a lot a lot of fun. All righty. >> I'll see you at the next event. >> You got it. >> All right. Byebye. Bye. Bye. Okay.