Bisendra Melaram: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Keys to the Castle Podcast. I'm your host, Bisendra Melaram, joined by my two co hosts, Mr. Jason Marcus of Mr. Marcus Neighborhood. Hi, I'm Mr. Jason Klieger, attorney at law. How are you today, everyone? Uh, today, the three of us are joined by Ms.

Kayla Ceballos, the solar queen. Hi, Kayla. 

Kayla Ceballos: Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. What's up guys. What's up. 

Bisendra Melaram: What's up. So let's get down to the nitty nitty gritty. So you're the self proclaimed solar queen. Tell us what that is, how you came about that 

Kayla Ceballos: name. Actually, someone gave me that name by accident, and um, it just fit.

It fit with what I was doing. I kind of went into the solar industry by accident. Um, before that I was figuring out how I could get into the sports industry, but that was pretty difficult. Um, I met an old friend of mine, and um, he spent a lot of time golfing and traveling. [00:01:00] And he was running a basketball camp.

And I was like, there's no way you make this much money just running a basketball clinic. Like, what else do you do? And he told me he's in solar. So, once he told me about that It made sense. I'm able to help people save money on their electric bill. They don't have to pay anything up front. It's a no brainer.

I've done life insurance before where people have to, you know, pay monthly premiums. That's a harder sale. Um, but this just made sense to me. And the more I learned about it, the more passionate I grew about it. Um, The solar queen just, just stuck and it made sense. So, that's, that's how it all came about.

It was a complete accident, but I fell in love with the industry. Alright, alright. 

Bisendra Melaram: Glad to have you here. So, tell us about the solar industry. So, the reason you're here is to help us understand solar. As far as home ownership goes, whether you're buying, you're selling, you're an active homeowner, and you're thinking about solar.

Right? So, [00:02:00] Mr. Marcus and Mr. Kleiger are going to help us basically dissect the pros and the cons. And you as a solar queen are going to help us differentiate what's good, what's bad, and what's up. Okay. So, Mr. Marcus, so usually I find in, especially in recent times, a lot of, Home sellers have solar setups and that are included in the sale.

How does that translate to financing? Because that's the number one question I get from purchasers that are looking at or genuinely interested in property that have a solar setup. Fortunately, I know a little bit. More than the average agent, so I'm able to guide them. Yeah, yeah, that's okay. That's okay.

But that's why I head over to Mr. Marcus and, dude, like, give us the skinny on his math. Oh, actually, no. [00:03:00] Wait, wait, wait. I gotta cut you off. He's looking at me. Yeah, I'm Cliger, because At the end of the day, you're the one that has to finish this. You have to be the one responsible for the transition of solar ownership.

Jason Kleiger: Or the payoff completely by the seller. Yeah. And if I'm the buyer, I'd like that. I'm 

Bisendra Melaram: sure a lot of people would like that. But 

Jason Kleiger: Mr. Marcus, let's get 

Bisendra Melaram: the financing part. Yeah, let's try to understand. The financing portion. So a seller, let me lay it out a little clearly. A seller puts a house for sale. They have a current solar system in place.

Purchaser comes along, I want to buy this house. Has no idea about the solar. Where do we go? 

Jason Marcus: First question first will wind up being are the solar panels owned by the seller or if they're leased by the seller. So um, there's going to be language inside the contract to address either which way. So [00:04:00] if they're owned then part of the transaction will be just literally selling the house with the solar panel and then inevitably what will wind up happening is that client.

Well, set up with a solar company and, you know, no harm, no foul with that most of the time, though, it's, uh, people are leasing those panels from a solar company, which then winds up being, I wouldn't say problematic on our side. It's just an additional layer to what is going to need to occur during the transaction.

The one thing that I always like to We'll tell people is make sure that your Legal counsel is very well versed in this is the situation. Sometimes that kind of gets left out and then that'll rear its head. We get the appraisal report and then all of a sudden it's like there are solar panels on this house.

We saw nothing inside the language of the contract addressing this. So that'll wind up being [00:05:00] something that I'm looking for. But I'm only as good as my agent telling me that this exists. So that's a whole other thing. I might be as surprised as you guys are. When I get an appraisal report and it's like, oh, this wasn't addressed at all, but let's just assume that the players involved from beginning to end from real estate to solar company to, uh, council all know that this is the case, um, will wind up getting in touch inevitably with the solar company, usually on the legal side, and they'll start the process on the transfer.

Uh, of the lease from the seller to buyer. 

Kayla Ceballos: You mentioned that there was an additional layer. Required when a homeowner is leasing the system. What is that additional 

Jason Marcus: layer? Um, that's basically what comes down to the legal side that I'm talking about where they're going to have to get in touch with the solar company itself and start to shift the, [00:06:00] uh, leasing agreement.

With the solar company, as opposed to if you were just buying the house, you don't actually need to talk to a solar company about like the fact that that's getting sold with it, the leasing like that has to be addressed, where the solar company has to get an agreement now with the new buyer, um, and take it, transfer it out of the seller's name.

Jason Kleiger: So I've said it better myself. 

Bisendra Melaram: So I got a question now, just to piggyback that does that change the purchasers financials, as far as it It's concerning their mortgage financing now like the 

Jason Marcus: light certain things when it comes down to qualifying for mortgages are all assumed in that debt to income ratio that we've talked about before.

So it's all kind of built in. And this particular situation is actually going to, in most cases, lessen a financial burden for somebody not increase it. So inside of it. As you guys know, if we're talking about [00:07:00] using 45 to 50 percent of somebody's income for debt and, um, their debt to income ratio, then this has all kind of been factored into it.

So, no, to answer your question, it won't have any sort of bearing on the financing if solar panels exist or not, but in most cases, in my opinion, it's helpful. Nice. 

Bisendra Melaram: That's good to hear. So 

Jason Marcus: Green, baby. 

Bisendra Melaram: There you go. So, Mr. Clagger, let's get down to the nitty gritty about the paperwork transfer for the purchaser.

Well, 

Jason Kleiger: paperwork, you know, let's say for the seller and the purchaser, because obviously, you know, there are items that cloud title. Um, so, for example, you know, the UCC 1 is a financing statement, which for those who aren't, you know, quite versed in it, is basically like a, it's a lien, but so it's kind of like a mortgage.

And unless you, and until you pay off that lien or the [00:08:00] loan that you took out, they will not, that UCC 1 will remain on the premises and you will not be able to sell subject to the UCC 1. Unless some guy wants to take it, but, you know, that doesn't happen, I wouldn't let it happen as an attorney. That's because you won't let it happen.

That's right. So, what needs to be, what needs to happen, and this happens a lot, everyone transfers loans, okay? Including financing a or, you know, financing a solar panels. Okay. So you have one lender who sets it up and then they sell, they transfer it, and then they transfer it and they transfer it. So tracking down who actually is the, you know, is the, essentially the holder of that u UCC one is incredibly difficult.

Um, what needs to happen in that case is we always, uh, make sure that the seller will pay off. Uh, that loan. They'll pay off that UCC1. And the problem is getting a UCC3. UCC3 is to terminate the UCC1. [00:09:00] And without a UCC3, we're not going to have clear title. I'm not going to let my client close. Seller can't sell the house.

So, um, you know, these are the logistical issues that happen that shouldn't happen. And many times when you do pay off something, The companies don't file UCC3s. They don't care. Yeah, they don't care. They don't care. And sometimes they're even out of business. And you gotta hunt them down. Right, because they got absorbed 

Bisendra Melaram: by a larger entity.

Jason Kleiger: Exactly. So, you know, you have to find who, you know, who is the, you know, holds the debt and, um, And basically come up with a UCC3 to file with the county clerk and clear title. Now that's, you know, when you finance. When you're financing and you don't own it outright yet, um, or if you're not leasing. But with leasing I find that it's incredibly easy to transfer it.

Um, You know, the leasing company, obviously they want to know more about like and help up, help out with the new [00:10:00] purchaser to make sure that they get their money. Exactly. Okay. And yes, going solar incredibly helps the purchaser, but they still have to pay the lease agreement. And, you know, obviously what they save is going to outweigh.

They're lease payments, but they still have to do so. And I find that when you have to transfer that lease agreement, it's, it's actually very easy compared to when someone is financing solar panels. 

Bisendra Melaram: When someone's financing solar panels. Alright, so let's get into that part. So, Ms. Solar Queen, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Talk about financing solar panels. Walk us through the process with you. As a standard, what's the process? I call you up as a homeowner, I said, hey, Ms. Solar Queen, I want to go solar, or Sign right here. Just kidding. Yeah, so what do I get for signing right 

Kayla Ceballos: here? Um, no, but it's a simple, seamless process. So, obviously we have a consultation.

Um, I always need the electric bill, [00:11:00] uh, because I need to see how much energy the homeowner used in the past 13 months. That's going to help me determine how many panels you're going to need. Um How much, uh, roof space you have to even accommodate all of your needs. The goal is always to get you 100%.

Sometimes, sometimes that's not the case. It just depends on what type of roof you have. Um, after that, all we do is just compare what you're currently doing with what the numbers look like if you were to move forward with solar. With financing, And also leasing. There is never any upfront cost. There's no money down to actually have the system installed.

A lot of people have that misconception that there's an upfront cost associated with having the system installed when there's not. If a company is charging you a dollar to have the system installed, then you need to run the other way. Because that's not how the program works. Um, So, with financing the system, every homeowner is entitled to what's called the federal tax credit, which is always 30 percent of the value of the [00:12:00] system.

Um, as long as they are a taxpayer, okay, if you're not a taxpayer, you probably will not get the federal tax credit. And then, um, with the financial institutions, they give you this 18 month window to take that federal tax credit and help pay down the system. That's the purpose of it, to maintain the monthly that I originally presented to the homeowner.

Um, there's different state incentives. It varies state by state. In the state of New York, since we're here, um, homeowners can qualify for a state tax credit of up to 5, 000. If you're in the boroughs, you can also receive a property tax abatement, uh, which is about typically 20 percent off of your property taxes.

Well, I'm sorry, 20 percent of the value of the system discounted on your property taxes. Um, and then they also have state and local incentives, but here in Long Island, it's just the federal tax credit and the state tax credit. So again, in order for homeowners to receive those credits, it's a [00:13:00] dollar for dollar credit.

So they have to be paying that amount in taxes in order to receive it when, um, they do the taxes next 

Bisendra Melaram: year. Wow, 

Jason Kleiger: that's a dollar for dollar tax credit. That's 

Bisendra Melaram: It's 

Kayla Ceballos: huge. Yeah. Because you'll have some consultants come in and say, yeah, you're going to get this money. Some people are retired. You're not going to get this money.

And then at month 19, when your loan re amortizes, it goes up by 50, 60, 70 dollars, that customer is not going to be happy. So it's very important that, you know, energy consultants are explaining how the federal tax credit works. And honest, too. Exactly. Just being transparent and honest about it. Um. If they apply both credits, let's say the federal and the state, then their monthly will decrease within that 18 months.

Um, but yeah, it's something that is missed. I've had a situation recently where I sat down with a homeowner, and they didn't really pay federal income [00:14:00] taxes, but they were sold on the ownership. But they weren't going to get the federal tax credit. So in month 19, they would have been paying almost double what they were presented.

And I explained it to them, you know, you're going to be in this situation, but if you lease it, you know, this will be the case and I'm all for ownership because you receive all of these incentives, but it's not for everybody. Everybody's needs are different. 

Bisendra Melaram: Everyone's math is different too. No, 

Jason Kleiger: it's great that you explain that, you know, you just explained that to me so well because, uh, you know, it's important because, you know, for people to see all the options in front of them.

And, you know, know that they're getting such a great product. And, you know, know that there's no upfront cost that they have to put down. But then they can also see, hey, I'm going to get tax benefits during tax time. And, you know, oh, I'm in the city, so I get this too. And, oh, but I'm not working. I'm not paying taxes.

Uh, so maybe that's not the best thing for me. So maybe I should, you know, so that, the way you just explained it, and I'm sure that the way you explain it to [00:15:00] consumers the same exact way is, is just crucial and, and. Admirable. 

Kayla Ceballos: I appreciate that. Thank you. 

Bisendra Melaram: So, I have a question on the financing end. Let's say I wanted to finance it myself through a HELOC.

Can I do that? Yeah. And buy my system out? Yeah. Because I, not, I'm not comparing interest 

Jason Kleiger: rates. You could buy a Lamborghini with a 

Bisendra Melaram: HELOC. But I'm, but I'm, I am, my, Okay. My training has taught me, there's no cheaper money than mortgage money. Oh, I heard, I 

Jason Kleiger: heard this spiel the other 

Bisendra Melaram: day. Right? There's no cheaper money than mortgage.

You can't take out a credit card with a lower interest rate than you could probably get on a loan. But HELOCs are different, I understand. So I'm not going to get into the whole interest rate debate because I'm not, that's not my thing. That's Mr. Marcus thing. So, would there anything that you can think of, Mr.

Marcus, that it would not be a good [00:16:00] reason to do it? rather than go with the financing of the solar company? 

Jason Marcus: Yeah, I mean, naturally what you would wind up doing is you would see what type of financing the solar companies are offering to compare to a home equity line. I don't think you're going to talk about, especially when you start to get into these numbers, you're not going to see drastic differences in payments probably from one to the other.

It's just on how aggressively you're going to be able to pay off that loan. And it's just how you're going to strategize with it. I think either way. There is undoubtedly a benefit to solar. I'm a technology geek, so like, for me, I'm getting more and more amped up, especially when with the Roof tiles themselves like where it's gonna serve that dual purpose and I'm watching like the technology Continue to grow in that industry and I'm getting more and more amped up on like how clean and cool It's starting to look on some of these roofs like on like instead of just having your traditional You [00:17:00] guys know what your 

Bisendra Melaram: soul.

They look like the terracotta Yeah, I saw it, I 

Jason Marcus: saw it, I saw it. That type of technology is getting to the point where I'm really starting to geek out about it, where like I really find it cool. It's your boy Elon. Cause it looks cool too, it's like, it's serving both those purposes. Right, it's aesthetically pleasing.

Bisendra Melaram: It is, cause sometimes those panels are just like Right, 

Jason Marcus: it could be gaudy 

Bisendra Melaram: looking. They've 

Kayla Ceballos: come 

Bisendra Melaram: a long way. Huh? They've come a long way. They've come a long way, but it's just like, we have so much technology now, like, how do we move from a flat plate on a roof faster to the very aesthetically pleasing because cars are coming out with solar panels built into the roofs.

So, you know, 

Jason Kleiger: and let's just face it. I don't like life. So, um, this is great. This is, you know, and, you know, I'm not the most environmentally friendly guy, but I understand, you know, what solar panels and, and solar power does. And, and like I said, you don't have to be the most environmentally friendly person, but if you don't like LIPA and you don't like paying high 

Bisendra Melaram: [00:18:00] bills.

Right. So let's talk about that. That, that's another sticking point for me. So a big draw. From consumers is Okay. Well, I want to create so much energy I want to put money back on the grid because my aunt uncle's best friend's cousin said they get a check back from their energy company right now, that's the thing right so How does that work?

Like Kayla break that down for us? How did that work? How many? Um, what do we need to send back on the grid to actually get 

Kayla Ceballos: a check? So every utility company is different. Um, they all have their own rules and regulations. Um, and each state also has a max, meaning you can only create a system to overproduce a certain amount.

In the state of New York, I believe it's 110 percent of what you're currently using. You can't exceed that. In California, there's a different story. You can create a system for 150%. Well, 

Jason Marcus: they literally make you pull tiles off the top of, like, if I'm at 115%. [00:19:00] Yeah, how does that work? So they're taking the extra energy either way.

So you overload the grid. But they just don't pay you 

Kayla Ceballos: for it. So, no, they credit you for it. So So I'm not getting a check. You can get a check. Again, every utility company is different. So, for example, let's use Con Ed. If I am producing more energy than what my, than what I'm using, it's gonna go right back to the grid.

And Con Ed now has to credit me because I'm sending my energy into the grid. Um, They are not going to credit you what they charge you, but they will give you a credit. Uh, you have to accumulate a certain dollar amount in credits in order to request a check maybe after a year. Cause you're not, it's not like you're accumulating 50 a month.

It's not that much. It's, it's just chump change. It can help offset maybe like your connection fee. So that's called net metering. Anytime your system produces more energy than what you're consuming. You get credits, and that helps offset, [00:20:00] um, the winter season as well. When we have less sunlight hours, and your system may not produce as much as what you're using, you can use your credits to offset those charges.

Very 

Bisendra Melaram: interesting. That is interesting. So I'm not going to get a check. That's what I heard. That's what I heard. That's what I heard. Don't look at me now. That's what I heard. Look at the lawyer. Look at my lawyer. Like, we gotta write somebody a nasty letter or something. But you cashed that check and then you, you know, you accepted it.

No, I'm not cashing that check. 

Jason Marcus: Is there ever a point in time where, like, just the angle of things just doesn't work on a specific roof? Do they ever get to the point where it's like, this, like, as the solar company will be like, this just doesn't make sense for you. We can't ever get this to be. Efficient enough for you?

Kayla Ceballos: Yeah, I mean, homeowners are disqualified for many different reasons. The first one is credit, that's the big one. Um, sometimes their roof is just not large enough to accommodate the minimum requirement of panels to even do a job. [00:21:00] Um, sometimes we're not able to get a hundred percent. Sometimes we're only able to get 50%, but that 50% can still be financially beneficial even though they're gonna have two bills.

Those two bills can be less than what they're currently paying with the utility company. So that just comes down to the homeowner if they want to do it or not. Um, but yeah, sometimes homeowners don't qualify if their roof is in terrible condition. Yeah, 

Jason Marcus: that was my next question. The age of the roof that plays 

Kayla Ceballos: into this?

Yes, but now with solar, you can get a brand new roof at no upfront cost. I mean, that's It's included into the solar project. Wow. 

Bisendra Melaram: Uh No, no, no, no. Let me ask, let me, let me ask that question again. Wait, what? I can get a new roof to put You can get a 

Kayla Ceballos: brand new roof. Wait, but do I have to pay for it? Although, of course you're paying for it.

Jason Kleiger: Come on, 

man. 

Bisendra Melaram: You guys. 

Kayla Ceballos: You guys 

Bisendra Melaram: don't please. Just let me live a little, man. 

Jason Kleiger: You mean the four layers of asphalt shingles? 

Bisendra Melaram: That nobody wants to talk about. [00:22:00] 

Kayla Ceballos: But yeah, you can get a brand new roof. And what we're doing is we're hoping homeowners save capital, you know, now they don't have to dish out 10, 15 or whatever the cost is to get their roof done.

Now they can incorporate it into their solar project. If they're financing the system, the benefit is that if the value of the system is going up, going up. Automatically, the federal tax credit is going up, because it's always 30 percent of the value. So if we include the roof cost, now you're getting a higher federal tax credit.

Jason Kleiger: Wow. So the roof is included as part of the percentage when, you know, computing the federal tax credit? 

Kayla Ceballos: It's included into the total cost. Oh, 

Jason Kleiger: wow. Wait, what? I know. My brain just started off. I live in an apartment building. I'm gonna do this to my apartment building. I'm just gonna, I'm a terrorist. I'm just gonna.

Bisendra Melaram: So the construction cost for the roof is tied into the solar [00:23:00] installation. So it's all one installation process. So it's no longer a roof. It's straight solar projects. 

Kayla Ceballos: On paper, yes. Yeah, that's all that matters. It's a solar project. You don't, unless the homeowner is very, um. They want to see a roofing contract, which is fine because we are partnered with roofers so they can send that to them.

That's not a problem, right? But typically, everything is just included in your your solar agreement. I 

Bisendra Melaram: think no, everyone's in agreement that that's the best case scenario is to have it all roped into one big lump. Um, if you need when it comes to Uncle Sam, right? Yeah, you need a roof and you want to go solar.

Why not? Because you're going to finance the 

Jason Kleiger: whole thing now. And like we were talking the lump sum and having that that percentage count towards the credit, you know, so instead of 30 percent of, you know, I'm just coming up with numbers here, like 20, 000, 30 percent of 35, 000, you know, it's, it's, that's huge.

[00:24:00] But I do have one tricky question. Snow. I never knew, I never know, like, the effect snow has on solar 

Kayla Ceballos: panels. So this winter season, just make sure you pay attention to a house with solar versus a house without solar, and you'll see that the snow has melted off of the panels. Really? And you'll see that the shingles are still covered in snow, but on the panels it just melts off.

Bisendra Melaram: Is there any 

Jason Kleiger: kind of like, Like, current or, well, current, I'm sure, but like any kind of like warming thing or is it just because it's like, it's smooth 

Kayla Ceballos: and It is warm, because the panels typically, you're, you're absorbing the energy from the sun, so they're always pretty much heated. So it just will melt it off.

Jason Marcus: You cannot replace your car windshield with solar panels. 

Bisendra Melaram: That would be cool, right? Oh yeah. That would be cool. A whole car. Yeah, self driving everything, self driving everything. Don't drive yourself, it's fine. Just jump in. No windows needed. No, it's fine. So the tax incentives are [00:25:00] great. So now let's talk about the warranty.

So typical life expectancy that a consumer should look for when they do a new installation. Right. So let's just say we lumped it all together. We did a new roof. We did a new solar system. Um, so what's the longevity and life expectancy of that system, inclusive of the roof? 

Kayla Ceballos: Uh, 40 years for the system. Um, the roof, it depends on what roofer you're partnered with.

You have 50 year shingles, you have 25 year shingles, just depends. Um, and the warranty is 25 years. Majority of so On the solar? 

Bisendra Melaram: Yes. Right, because the warranty for the shingles is strictly manufacturer? Correct. 

Kayla Ceballos: Okay. But, the solar company does warranty, um, the roof against any leaks. It depends on what company.

Um, I think the minimum I've seen is five years. Uh, the company I work with is 12 [00:26:00] years against any, you know, leaks that you may encounter with your roof that's covered. Um, some other companies, if you get the roof done with their partners, they'll warranty for 25 years for the leaks if you give them the roof job and the solar job.

So, It varies. Um, 25 years on a roof is pretty good. Yeah, it's great. 

Bisendra Melaram: Like, if I got in a 10 year roof on all the roofs that I've done, I was happy. But now you're saying 25 years on a roof? Like, I've never, I'm trying to contemplate that right now. Like, I've never, I've never had someone say, yeah, but I'll give you 25 years warranty on your roof against 

Jason Kleiger: leaks.

Not even new construction gives you that. And the value added to it, just, you know. Oh, that's what I'm calculating right now. Yeah, like purchasers, they go up and say, Okay, you know, when was the roof done? Oh, three years ago? Oh, okay, well, you know, it's a 25. Oh, okay. 

Bisendra Melaram: Right, so I'm trying to calculate the adjustment that I would make when doing a [00:27:00] valuation.

Jason Marcus: Oh yeah, 100%. I'm strapping a solar panel to my son as soon as we get home. I'll guarantee him for 25 years. I'm great. 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, I don't think your wife is gonna like 

Jason Marcus: that. We'll have to talk about it. 

Bisendra Melaram: Like, Jay, um, why is he Connected to, uh, the grid. 

Jason Marcus: Now you don't have to worry about him running off.

Consistently 

Bisendra Melaram: plugged in. Okay, so that's the solar panels and the roof. What about the There's a lot of other intricate pieces of equipment that run the system, right? So what about those switches and boxes and all that other stuff that integrates into the home 

Kayla Ceballos: system? I think the other component that's probably the most important is just the inverter.

That's what actually converts the sunlight's energy into electricity for your home. Um, I personally always recommend micro inverters to my clients, and what that means is every single [00:28:00] panel has its own, Basically engine underneath it. So if something happens to one panel, it's not going to affect the performance of the rest of the panels until we just come and repair that one panel.

Um, there's also something called string inverters. So that's where you have one box, and that one box controls the whole system. If something happens to that one box, the whole system comes, the whole system goes down. But, just in the industry in itself, there's, you know, of course, a lot of improvements that have been made.

So now they have something called optimizers, which work kind of like a microinverter. Um, so you're not really Having those types of issues anymore. Um, when it comes to, to the inverters, that's like the other major component of the solar system. 

Bisendra Melaram: So how, let's just talk home inspection. You're enjoying this.

Let's talk home inspection, right? Oh, we should have had Bridget on call for this. This is funny. So we [00:29:00] should have had our home inspector, but I'm assuming that now that that's because of it's part of the electrical system that would be looked at during a home inspection. 

Jason Kleiger: You know, it's, it's interesting 'cause you know, they're, they're usually warrantied at, at the time.

Right. Um, but you know, it is a system and all electrical systems and outlets and, you know, uh, water systems and plumbing, they all have to be in working order. So, right. It's gotta be in working order. This is included in the contract as an electrical system that has to be in working order. 

Bisendra Melaram: Hmm. So, Kayla, lemme ask you so less, right?

Theoretically, I. You install a system for a customer five years later. They call you back. Hey Kayla. I'm selling my property The agent's Cassandra and he's and we're gonna have a home inspection done. Is there you know, they're five years in now, right? The purchaser cannot find someone who's qualified or think that they're qualified enough to test the solar [00:30:00] system It sounds funny when I say test the solar system, but I'm not going to 

Kayla Ceballos: just look at the monitoring app for that, right?

So there's a, 

Bisendra Melaram: so how, so let's get into that. There's a 

Kayla Ceballos: monitoring app. Yes. So with the monitoring app, um, you can literally track how much energy you're using, how much energy you're producing on a weekly, daily, monthly, annual basis. If you have a battery, you can track that whole thing as well. So everything is right at your fingertips with the monitoring app.

Right. 

Bisendra Melaram: So how far back can I go in the monitoring app as far as performance, right? Because at the end of the day, that's what consumers are going to be looking for. Mm hmm. As the efficiency of the system, right, from the day that it started, right? Because that's the only baseline is from the day that the system turned on to the day that they're going to take it.

Correct. Right. So what, what do you, is there going to be a drop off? There's not going to be a drop off. Should there be an increase in production or decrease? Like, [00:31:00] what do you think? Over the years? Yeah. So what, what should be looking, what should we as consumers be looking for in the app as far as system performance?

Kayla Ceballos: So, if you're asking what happens to the system over time, of course the system gradually loses efficiency. Um, so it just depends on the type of panels that you're using. Um, some panels have a degradation rate, that's what it's called, of 0. 55%. That's like the standard, conventional, more affordable panel that most people go with.

But now we're coming across more premium panels that are also affordable and they have a degradation rate of like 0. 25 percent annually. So by, within those 25 years, let's say you have a system that I created for you and it's producing 100 percent of your energy needs, by year 25 you're looking at about, 92 to 96%.

Which is great. And if you're looking at the lower end of [00:32:00] the more, more conventional panel, you're looking at the lowest 86 percent at year 25. But you also have to account for spring and summer seasons because we have more sunlight hours. The system is going to produce more than what you see on paper, 

Bisendra Melaram: right?

So what you recommend is looking at the performance history based on a 12 month span at 

Jason Marcus: a time. Mm hmm. And what you're also saying is Apple needs to talk to the solar companies to figure out how to keep my phone from dying over the next two and a half years, right? Now 

Bisendra Melaram: they're gonna, now they're gonna strap a solar panel to your son.

Yeah, right. Like, charge your dad's phone. Charge your 

Jason Kleiger: dad's phone. Just, just walk around behind your son with your, uh, iPhone. Just stand 

Jason Marcus: in the sun. Stand in the sun, son. 

Bisendra Melaram: Um, 

Jason Marcus: summer versus winter. Obviously, more sunlight hours, less sunlight hours. Sun closer to the earth, further than the earth. Um Factored into all this fun stuff, like, but does the consumer even, like, get to think about these types of things, or am I just overly geeking out right 

Kayla Ceballos: now?

No, these are, these are definitely valid questions [00:33:00] customers have, like, you know, what happens when it snows? What happens if the sun doesn't come out? I've had that question before. I'm like, well, if that happens, then we have big 

Jason Kleiger: problems. 

Kayla Ceballos: But when we're creating a system, um, we're already accounting for all weather patterns within the location that your home is in.

Um, and again, right now is the perfect time to go solar. A lot of people think summer is the best time to go solar because it's sunny out. But you have to keep in mind that it takes time for this system to actually be installed and turned on. Some townships, some states move a lot faster than others. I mean, the fastest installation I've seen is like 26 days.

The longest, over 180 days. Was that the town 

Bisendra Melaram: of Hampstead? Yeah, I was just gonna say, does every township have different permitting timelines and 

Kayla Ceballos: requirements? Yep. Some townships are extremely difficult. [00:34:00] Some townships are very, they work very quickly, very efficiently. Sometimes because of the technology that they have in their office.

I don't know, but, um, some townships are just not, they don't probably don't care about solar as much as others. So it just varies. But if you go to California, you're going to have installations done and 16 to 24 days. They're just so quick out there. But what if I want to know? You're gonna have to go to California, man.

I don't know. 

Bisendra Melaram: You're gonna 

Jason Kleiger: get a violation. You're gonna get a violation and I'm gonna 

Bisendra Melaram: have to deal with it. Yeah, you're gonna have to deal with it. I'm trying to put some solar panels on my shipping container right now. Your shipping container? 

Jason Kleiger: That has a bathroom in the basement? 

Bisendra Melaram: Yes. No, no, no. It has a cutout in the floor.

It's completely off grid. 

Kayla Ceballos: But yeah, now is the best time to go solar because if it takes 90 to 120 days which is what I always tell customers By the time you're installed and turned on, we're already back in spring season, and you're capitalizing on [00:35:00] all the sunlight hours we're going to be getting, and that's going to set you up for the next winter season when you've accumulated all those credits with the utility company.

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, and then you can get those federal tax credits on your tax return if you do it the year before. 

Jason Kleiger: You know, I'm shocked. I did not know that. And, uh You know, coming from a family of CPAs and everything, that's crucial. So, thanks for sharing that, because I had no idea. Yeah, 

Bisendra Melaram: so what about maintenance? Do I have to do anything?

Do I have to get under my roof with like a shovel 

Kayla Ceballos: or something? Don't do that. Avoid the warranty if you do that. What about a mop? 

Bisendra Melaram: What about a mop or something? I've seen, my neighbor literally was on his roof yesterday. Mopping. Like, power washing, and I'm like, dude, you're supposed to soft wash your roof.

It's like, oh no, but there's green stuff on it. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. They have a solution for that. You just spray it on there, you leave it there, and then you hose it off. Yep. And he's like, no, no, no, I see a guy down the block with the and he's out there full blast 1300 1800 psi like there's like particles of asphalt I'm like, [00:36:00] dude, are you really trying to like write graffiti on your roof right 

Jason Marcus: now?

You should tell him about his neighbor who jumped off the top of his roof into a 

Bisendra Melaram: And like that worked out for that guy. That actually would be pretty funny. I wonder if he would do 

Jason Kleiger: it. I 

Bisendra Melaram: do not answer questions. 

Kayla Ceballos: Um, to answer your question Systems are self maintained. There are some companies who do offer, um, you know, cleaning services of the panels, but you as the homeowner don't touch the panels.

Right. 

Bisendra Melaram: So, the cleaning, right? Because there's a glass surface cover on the solar panel, right? Mm hmm. So, does that increase the , the efficiency of the panel if you have it professionally cleaned? Like, let's just talk five years, 

Kayla Ceballos: ten years. I mean, if you think about it, here on the East Coast, The weather clean, if it rains, it's gonna clean it.

Like, that's why I'm saying it. They're self maintained. You don't [00:37:00] have to literally go up there and, and clean the panels. I've never cleaned a panel. Oh, I'm not trying to 

Bisendra Melaram: clean anything. I'm just, I'm not trying to clean anything. I'm not trying to clean anything. 

Jason Marcus: Yeah, I don't need any more items for my wife to give me to do.

Bisendra Melaram: No, I have enough yard work. I'm good. I don't want to be like, oh, I'm going up on the roof. Oh boy. All you're going to hear is da dum dum. That's it. That's going to be it. Um, da dum dum. Oh. I got a good question for you. So let's just say, like you said earlier, in New York you're only able to do 110 percent energy production from solar, right?

So what if I want to expand my system in 3, whatever amount of time? Say I add a garage, I add an in law suite, I just, I increase the interior square footage of my property. And now I have more surface area on my roof. [00:38:00] How do I do that? 

Kayla Ceballos: Give me a call and we add more panels. 

Bisendra Melaram: Right, so what, what's the cutoff?

Like, because I'm already at the cap of 110. of energy production. So, would that not send me over 110? 

Jason Kleiger: Well, you're gonna also, like, forget about the roof space, but, uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're gonna have more electric usage now. Right. Oh. Yeah. There 

Bisendra Melaram: you go. Yeah. You guys are funny. 

Jason Marcus: And I'm 

Jason Kleiger: terrible at math, so.

Oh my 

Bisendra Melaram: god. This is why, this is why we sit at this table, you know, because apparently common sense ain't that common.

Jason Kleiger: In law suite, yeah, with no electricity. 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, you got the point. In law suite. It's literally the in law suite. They don't need anything. We don't want you to stay. 

Jason Kleiger: Shut it off. Yeah. Six o'clock, shut up. Yeah, have a nap. 

Bisendra Melaram: Get up and go. Get on your way. So that's a lot of great information, [00:39:00] Kayla. So now let's get into what happens to the panels after.

Cause we have a lot of environmentally friendly friends that we like. Um, so after the life of the panels has expired, right? RIP to the solar panels. What happens to them? Like how environmentally friendly? Cause I've read some information. I don't know how accurate it is over the course of the years that once the panels that it's.

It winds up being trash that's unrecyclable. 

Kayla Ceballos: I can only speak for one company that actually recycles the panel and they actually have, um, they were awarded for this. It's called the Cradle to Cradle certification or award of some type. But SunPower Every time the panels are just, you know, they've reached their max, they are recycled and reused.

I can't speak for every company, but I can just speak on the, on behalf of SunPower, and that's, you know, something that they've been accredited for. 

Bisendra Melaram: Okay. Well, that's good. That's good to know. Yeah, [00:40:00] because 

Jason Kleiger: like, you know, the batteries in, in, you know, the, uh, electric cars, it's like once they're done, it's like, what do you do with them?

And, you know, they, they ship them to China and put them on some 

Bisendra Melaram: Right, right, they ship, they, they ship, ship them somewhere, but recently I've actually read that they can reconstitute the material to where it's now become viable again. But, the caveat is, it takes immense amounts of energy to actually facilitate 

Jason Kleiger: it.

So, they're using all this coal burning energy. 

Bisendra Melaram: Yes. Right. To me, it's just counterintuitive. You're using all this fossil fuel to create energy that's portable. But then once that's done, like, where's the real green savings, right? Like, we're all environmentally conscious. We're still creating the greenhouse gas, but we're not going to get into that because, um, I just have to stop.

You're creating another episode? No, I'm creating a lot of carbon dioxide. Cassandra's got a lot of greenhouse gas. Yeah, exactly.

So, Kayla, what's the number one question you get asked about solar? 

Kayla Ceballos: How much do I have to pay to go solar? How much [00:41:00] does it cost? What about so how much is it? 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, I 

Jason Kleiger: mean that's a goal like typical like 2, 000 square 2, 000. Yeah, two story 

Bisendra Melaram: Maybe a cape. Yeah, okay. Okay. Everyone knows what a cape. Yeah, everyone is in a cave 1450 square feet doggy dormer 

Kayla Ceballos: I would say anywhere from like 25, 000 to 50, 000, not including incentives.

That's good, yeah. Not including incentives. Um, obviously a lease can be less expensive because with a lease you're giving up the federal tax credit to the solar company. You're not claiming that. Oh, so 

Jason Marcus: they get to claim that. That's very interesting 

Jason Kleiger: too. So, would it provide more incentive for the solar power companies to push leases?

Yeah. Okay. 

Bisendra Melaram: I didn't hear. 

Kayla Ceballos: I didn't hear an answer. A very interesting point. We can edit that out. That's fine. No, no. That's actually something I want to talk about. Um, because you mentioned it earlier. You said [00:42:00] that you've come across a lot of, uh, leases or you've seen maybe more leases as a transaction versus ownership.

Definitely. Um, when I first started in the solar career. Ownership was a no brainer, especially in the state of New York and New Jersey, because of the state incentives that you're getting in addition to the federal incentive. It was just like, why would you lease the system unless you literally pay no federal income taxes?

It doesn't make sense. Now, I mean, the APR rates are still pretty, fairly low, but they used to be 1. 99, we had 99, now the lowest I've seen is 3. 99. Which is still pretty good. It's still low, it's still great. Um, some companies the lowest is 4. 49, so they're still very low, but the dealer fees are higher. So, You made a face.

No, 

Bisendra Melaram: no. I want to hear more about this. That's Kayla's fault. That's Kayla's fault. That's his attentive look. He's paying attention. 

Jason Kleiger: That's my, like, get into this, please. More. Yeah, yeah. He likes 

Bisendra Melaram: finite [00:43:00] details. Yes. 

Kayla Ceballos: So, with the ownership, um, If you, again, it depends on the homeowner's needs. If they're looking for the lowest monthly payment, um, but they still want to own the system, I'm probably going to offer them the lowest APR rate because that's going to give them the lowest monthly, but it will give the highest dealer fee.

So the total value of the system will be higher. Okay. Now, if you technically want to eliminate the dealer fee, I have to offer them the highest APR. Which in some cases is 10. 49. So they're not paying a dealer fee. But the monthly is higher. So instead of paying 64, 000 for a system, now it's 45, 000 because we've eliminated the dealer fee.

This homeowner is probably going to pay the system off in the next five years. So they don't really care about the interest rates. So it varies. Everybody's different. Um, if they're looking for a lower monthly, The lowest APR will be best for you. You have all these [00:44:00] incentives to help you pay down the system sooner.

Relative to what you're doing with the utility company, numbers still always work out. 

Jason Kleiger: I didn't know there were so many options and, you know, Yeah. I 

Bisendra Melaram: cater to We like options. I always 

Kayla Ceballos: like options. There's different options. But majority of people are gonna go with the longest term and the lowest APR.

Cause that's what's gonna give you the lowest monthly. Now, leasing is something that has been pushed in the industry for a very long time. Reason being is because, one, the solar company gets the federal tax credit. Um, two, sales reps make a ton of commissions on leasing the system. Um, and leasing also comes with something called the escalator.

So, , if you're paying , why you left? Mm-Hmm. just left . Am I complicating this? 

Bisendra Melaram: No, no, no. You're not. Escalators and money don't work for me, but go ahead. I don't like escalators. Period. But go ahead. 

Kayla Ceballos: So, let's say, Basenja, you're paying 200 [00:45:00] for electricity on average, and I get you into a lease, and I offer you 150 fixed with a 0 percent escalator.

It's not going to increase, it's not going to fluctuate. You're good for the next 25 years. The other option is, um, 110 with a 2. 9 percent escalator, meaning every single year, that 110 will increase by 2. 9%, nothing greater. So today with utility companies, your rates are going up every year, you have no control of that.

But with solar, at least you know, it's only gonna go up by 2. 9%, and nothing more than that. So sometimes it makes sense for people if they're trying to lower their monthly as much as possible. I personally like fixed rates, so I offer that because they know how much they're gonna be paying. For the course of the term, but you still know how much you're gonna be paying even with an escalator like, you know, next year, it's gonna go up by 2.

9. So this is what my monthly will be for [00:46:00] the next 12 months. So everybody is different. It just depends on what they're looking for, what they're most comfortable with. But when I came into the industry, I always pushed ownership. Now, it's shifting because dealer fees are just higher. So sometimes the numbers don't work out.

And leasing is, is a better option. And now, with leasing, you still have the option to purchase the system after year 5. So, 

Bisendra Melaram: so, the lease is 5 year 

Kayla Ceballos: terms? It's a 25 year term. It's a 25 year term. Yes, but at year, after year 5, you can decide if you want to purchase the system or not. It's just like a car kind of thing 

Jason Marcus: where you could buy that lease out.

Or write a fresh refusal or 

Bisendra Melaram: something like that. Yeah, 

Jason Kleiger: yeah, that's what I'm saying. But wait, now excuse my ignorance. What is a dealer 

Bisendra Melaram: fee? 

Kayla Ceballos: So basically a fee the financial institution 

Bisendra Melaram: charges. 

Jason Kleiger: Oh, okay. So like an origination, you know 

Bisendra Melaram: Then why call it a 

Jason Kleiger: dealer fee? Cause like, no [00:47:00] no, like a dealer, like I thought I thought the dealer 

Bisendra Melaram: was the rep that sat at the table and told me how great Zola was.

No, I think 

Jason Marcus: we're talking about the manufacturer. Is that who the dealer 

Kayla Ceballos: represents? No, dealer fees are, that's already like pre Pre created by the financial institution. It's 

Bisendra Melaram: coming from 

Jason Kleiger: the financing company. 

Bisendra Melaram: So it's like an original. They tried to get you with that one, that you were the dealer. No. And charging the fee.

Not me. 

Kayla Ceballos: Not I. That 

Bisendra Melaram: was a good question. I did not. I was like, I was saying to myself, I was like 

Jason Kleiger: Is that a weird question? I don't, I was like, you know, the whole time, I was like, yeah, yeah, the dealer 

Kayla Ceballos: fee, yeah, yeah. Um, that's my, but I assumed you guys knew because of, you know. No, no, no, well, no, 

Bisendra Melaram: you gotta. 

Jason Kleiger: I thought I was like a car dealer?

Bisendra Melaram: I'm just, I'm thinking it's the person who warehouses all the panels. They're like, okay, well, now you gotta buy this stuff for me. I'm wholesaling it to you. Like, you gotta pay me my dealer fee. 

Jason Kleiger: I'm glad I asked that 

Kayla Ceballos: question. No, that's the whole financial institutions. When they're [00:48:00] partnered with an installer.

Uh, they'll provide you with a list of their financial options and the fees associated with each 

Jason Marcus: option. Yeah, so it's almost like a mortgage buy down. So it's like I can do a no points loan at a higher rate with zero points or zero dealer fee, or I can pay a higher dealer fee with a lower interest rate.

Bisendra Melaram: Mmm, this is definitely points. That's exactly what 

Kayla Ceballos: it is, yep. 

Jason Kleiger: Let me get my CD out, hold on one second. 

Bisendra Melaram: You guys have any questions for Kayla? I think she 

Jason Marcus: answered pretty much all of mine. I feel like she did a phenomenal job explaining everything. I feel ready to get out there and just go start slapping solar panels on everything.

I think 

Bisendra Melaram: I'm down for that too. I live 

Jason Kleiger: on the 7th floor of an apartment building, but I'm getting solar panels. Yeah, why not? 

Jason Marcus: It used to have 10 floors, it's gonna have 7 in about 2 3 weeks. 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, that'll be funny. Drive by your building and it's got a whole solo race. I'm 

Jason Kleiger: just gonna hang it from like, you know, out the window.

Everywhere. [00:49:00] 

Bisendra Melaram: Everything. I'm gonna hang it on my Christmas tree. I'd love to be at that 

Kayla Ceballos: board meeting. I have a question for you guys. Um, I know we was talking about this a little bit before, Basandra, but When it comes to appraising the value of the property

with, with solar, but even without solar, I just want to have an understanding of what that looks like if someone put in a new pool. Well, what does that process look like if they were selling the house five years later after installing a new pool? 

Jason Marcus: A lot of times like where it's, there's a lot of metrics behind that.

Yeah, exactly. Cause like you're talking about. There's different approaches, and in our world, with how it's done here, most of it is just based on comps and the cost approach. So, like, the things that are going to give value to your house most of the time is like kitchens and baths. Like those accessory things, like solar or like a pool, [00:50:00] you may see a little bit.

Of a variation? It's 

Bisendra Melaram: very minimal. But the part about our conversation that actually made sense to me, even though I would never warranty someone's roof, or give representation of someone's roof, ever, I would never do it, is, like, if I was a home seller, and I legitimately just put the system on 2D, Today, and today is the only day that I will ever say, I put this roof on today because everyone can visibly see from the street that it got put on today, but I would never warranty it.

So for me to use that as the age as a metric to calculate appreciated value, it just, I can't do it because like, like Mr. Marcus said, I have to use the cost savings approach or cost metric and look at it like, okay, well, the system is saving you this much money. And, and then. Kind of negate it by the cost of it and then compare it to other [00:51:00] Properties of similar size with a system and see how they did it which is not really A one-to-one, because everything's different.

The property's condition's gonna differ. Yeah. No matter what. But it's a very hard metric to calculate because I, I don't really know how anybody else would do it, because that's how I've always done it. I 

Jason Marcus: guess we're gonna have to find that when we bring the appraiser in on one of our 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's future, which, which will hopefully be soon. We'll, oh, I'll add that to the question list. 

Kayla Ceballos: Yeah, that's a good question. That's a great question. And it's something that, I mean, you guys have been in the industry for a while. How long have you been coming across solar transactions? 

Jason Kleiger: Like a, a house with solar panels or like, um, I mean, it's been more and more frequent.

Um, I would say, you know, and yeah, the last five years, it's like almost like every other house or maybe every like third house has solar panels. Um, and then, you know, there's, like you explained, uh, very [00:52:00] detailed. Thank you very much. Uh, you know, they have the lease, they have the finance, they have the, Owning it outright.

So each time, you know, you have to approach it in, in a, you know, a different fashion, uh, but frequently, um, frequency, I would say, you know, every third house on Long Island, um, has solar panels and, or, you know, transactions. One out of every four. I feel maybe it's, I say, you know, 33 percent simply because, uh, there's sometimes a 

Bisendra Melaram: pain.

Yeah, yeah, well 

Jason Kleiger: the paperwork. Not the solar panels, the paperwork. That's probably why it sticks in my mind more, but. Yeah, 

Bisendra Melaram: I've only done cost evaluations. Nothing, just basically pure what's left on the lease agreement. I've never done anything else, because I can't see anything else. 

Jason Kleiger: Well, I mean, also it's, I mean, you know, I don't know the, the appraisal process, uh, in detail, but it, it can be a, you know, a, like a negative where [00:53:00] you owe, the person owes money and is, and it's going to be coming with the house and you're going to take over the financing.

Um, so right then and there it's, you know, your, your, the house is worth X and now you're going to 

Bisendra Melaram: owe. So if I were acting as a buyer's agent. I would definitely go right at that. Yeah, and just say, Wait, my buyer has to assume now this responsibility. How do we know that your seller did the best negotiating and has the best price, and now my, my, my buyer now has to eat that cost.

Yep. Yep. So they're like, wait, what? Because it makes sense. 

Kayla Ceballos: Well, a lot of Well, that's easy to break down. Let's go. From a solar 

Bisendra Melaram: perspective. Right, but you're not privy to that conversation after the fact. Well, I guess you could be, right? We could bring her in. 

Kayla Ceballos: I don't see why not, as a resource. I mean, all you need is the contract.

That's it. And I can show you the numbers. In comparison to what it would be if the customer stayed with the [00:54:00] utility company over the course of time. It's a huge cost difference. Significant. 

Bisendra Melaram: Like almost like an amortization. We need to build an app for that. It just, 

Jason Kleiger: It's They have an app showing the efficiency and No, no, no.

No. 

Bisendra Melaram: I would add that to my consumer app. Calculate solar cost based on usage. You just pump in, You pump in your current utility bill. 

Jason Kleiger: Just be careful. Yeah. Don't make it, Just say like, oh this is 

Bisendra Melaram: for like, For entertainment purposes only. 

Kayla Ceballos: Well when I'm, When I'm sitting down with customers, I always go over a spreadsheet and it shows Twenty five years.

This is what happens, or this is what will happen if you don't go solar. This is how much you're gonna pay. Monthly, year after year, with your utility provider. And that's assuming, I'm, I'm being very conservative with these spreadsheets, I mean, Assuming the utility companies increase their rates only by 4.

9 percent each year. In most cases, it's way more than that. So it's extremely conservative, versus if you go [00:55:00] solar, this is what it looks like for the next 25 years. The difference is Significant. I'm talking about thousands of 

Jason Marcus: dollars. Is there a point when the technology, like, let's say I sit there, I decide, and it's 2013, I put solar panels on my house.

Now, I'm ten years later, technology is ten years down the road. Is there a point in time where customers will kinda contact you and be like, Hey. Can I upgrade these? Can I change these? Like, is there a, like, is there something that can be done here? Is there, does that exist, or is that just like, you get your panels, you got your panels, 

Kayla Ceballos: that's that?

Yeah, you can't upgrade, unless you're gonna Pay for it. Pay for it. But the thing is, with the evolution of these panels, it's not like it's a significant, drastic change. I'm talking about very small percentages of efficiency changes over the course of 10 years. So you're not going to see anything, you know, drastically different.

You were talking about the, uh, [00:56:00] the shingles, the, the solar roofs. That's something I know Elon Musk was working on and people got them. And there were some terrible experiences. I don't know if you guys looked into it, but one roof was just ripped off, another roof was on fire. Like, and it was three times the cost of solar, what solar is today.

So people are not going to really see a return on investment till. I don't know when. These are just like, Team Elon Musk people. Like, it's not very cost effective right now. I 

Bisendra Melaram: no longer own a Tesla, but I do have a blowtorch. No, seriously. You know what I'm talking about? You have no idea what I'm talking about.

Oh, where, like, they just burn, uh, Yeah, like, so, so he, he, he does like these little side projects, where he just builds stuff, like, random stuff. So he, you know, he's really into, like, Being weird. Star, yeah, that too. Star Wars and Spaceballs and all that other stuff. So he had a company, he formed a company to create flamethrowers.[00:57:00] 

So I was lucky enough to get one of like the 1, 000. Of 

Jason Kleiger: course. You could easily create a flamethrower at home. Not that I would know. But, uh, one question that, uh, you know, I see like, you know, just again, forgive my ignorance, but, um, batteries and storing, you know, solar power. Yeah. Just, I have no idea how that works.

Humor me, please. So, 

Kayla Ceballos: batteries. Um, the purpose of batteries is obviously to power your home in the event of an outage. Um, but it also benefits homeowners during peak time hours. So, peak time hours Ah, come 

Jason Kleiger: on. Enough with this, man. He's showing blowtorches. It looks like a potato 

Bisendra Melaram: gun. No, dude. So the company's called the Boring Company, because he supposedly, 

Jason Kleiger: yeah.

Like boring, like boring, like into rock and stuff? No, like. Oh, he likes boring. 

Bisendra Melaram: X. Look, this is really what it looks like. [00:58:00] It's 

Jason Kleiger: a potato gun, it looks 

Bisendra Melaram: like. I beg to differ. Dude, I can create that at home. So, I just gotta, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation. So, the most I've used it was to take, to burn the weeds off of my, Paved driveway?

Jason Kleiger: Yeah. Or what about, what about snow? Melting snow? Yeah. 

Bisendra Melaram: So I got from my neighbor for, because I got a little dusting a couple years ago, and so I just like let it rip and they're all out like, yeah, you can, you can. How much was that? I had paid 2,500 

Jason Kleiger: for it. He's a, I was alright. I was gonna curse, but Okay.

So, please, tell me about That's one solar panel. 

Bisendra Melaram: Tell me about storing 

Jason Kleiger: Storing solar energy. You were talking about the peak months and the peak times. 

Kayla Ceballos: Yeah, so, uh, batteries. Um, purpose is to help power your home during an outage. And also, uh, power during peak time hours. So peak time hours are typically when everybody's home after work, probably like 6 to [00:59:00] 9, 10.

And utility companies charge a higher rate during those hours because your consumption, the demand for electricity, is higher during those hours. So when you have a battery, you can offset those charges, um, during peak time, peak time hours. So it can kick in during the evening when there's outside light.

Air conditioning and, 

Jason Kleiger: you know, when there's more 

Kayla Ceballos: demand. So With batteries, depending on the size of your home, depending on how much energy you use, it might just be able to power your essential appliances, so what's most important. If you wanted to also power your AC unit, you might need two batteries. It just depends on the size of the home.

Um, they are costly, I will say. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. If you don't lose power often, it's not something I would recommend. Just get a generator. It's a little less expensive. Um, but I do think they, I mean, I hope they'll get a little cheaper. Um, because, you know, it, it's a [01:00:00] necessity.

You know, people do lose power, especially people in, like, Florida. 

Bisendra Melaram: Long Island. I mean, 

Jason Kleiger: we got, you know, we don't bury our wires, so, a tree falls, someone sneezes, and 

Bisendra Melaram: you lose power. A transformer blows out. 

Jason Kleiger: No, someone sneezes. I mean, I used to live, uh, North Shore of, uh, Nassau County, and someone would sneeze and the power would go out.

Bisendra Melaram: It's like we're living in a third world country over here. Oh, yeah. 

Kayla Ceballos: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I have a friend who, um, he also works in solar, and he has the solar system and the battery. And one time, the lights went out in the neighborhood, and he didn't even notice. Because it kicked in right away and kept the lights on.

That's great. It's good 

Bisendra Melaram: for showers, you know. I could save all the money on a generac by getting a solar system. You said what? On a Generac. 

Kayla Ceballos: A Generac costs about what, like? 

Bisendra Melaram: For my house I paid, with the installation, 25, 000. 

Jason Marcus: Sorry. Look at that face. 

Bisendra Melaram: I'll run the whole block though. No, you won't run the whole 

Jason Kleiger: block.

I'll run the whole block. But you're also counting on there, because there are [01:01:00] plenty of places on Long Island that don't have gas hookups. Right. They don't have gas in the streets. So I, 

Bisendra Melaram: I am fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood or in a township that has. 

Jason Kleiger: But, what if you're in a place that relies on, you know, oil, heat, you don't have gas in the street?

Right. No, no, no. Propane tank, 

Bisendra Melaram: maybe? Yeah, propane tank, cause they have that set up too. Yeah, but then you gotta like, you 

Jason Kleiger: know, you have a, what's it called? Well, I guess you'd have the propane tank, but I'm, I'm thinking of like a, just a generator that can, on wheels. Oh, 

Bisendra Melaram: no, this thing is, it's got, it's, it's there.

Yeah. It's, it's ready to go, anytime. The power cuts off, it goes, and if I, it's like, there's a blip, and, in the system, and that's it. 

Jason Marcus: Yeah, and I had a, uh, like I have just a regular Like portable generator, like you're talking about, where when we got hit with Sandy and we were down, and this was in Queens, uh, it was powerful enough just to run the two refrigerators in my house, and then just have a light on here or there, or at least charge in the battery packs, which, you know, got me through that thing, but it wasn't like [01:02:00] living the lack of luxury, or any 

Jason Kleiger: stash of the means.

I had a huge one, and all I could run was, uh, the one fridge, and, and, you know, Two outlets? No, it was the fridge, and then I I think I was able to get the AC on. Oh. Yeah. It was a big one. It was a big one. And then it died. Um. Because the carburetor was. But you know what? Like, you don't have to deal with this stuff if you have a battery, right?

Yeah. You don't 

Kayla Ceballos: have to worry about it. Because, I mean, the system charges the battery. It's fully charged. Even when the battery is fully charged and the system, let's say, produces even more energy, you could still send that access to the grid. For credits. 

Jason Kleiger: But only 

Kayla Ceballos: 110%, right? In New York? Yes. New Jersey is like 105%.

Oh, but when I say 110%, meaning I can only build a system. Oh, I see that large at a of 110% of that homeowner's energy needs, I can't exceed that. The only workaround is if a homeowner just moves in, they don't have, um, usage history. Mm-Hmm. because they got a brand new bill. There's no [01:03:00] usage history. We can build the system.

We could put panels all over your roof because there's nothing to show how much energy you used in the past. And we would use something called a residential load calculator. So that just calculates 

Bisendra Melaram: the average in the neighborhood. Kind of thing. 

Kayla Ceballos: Not the neighborhood, that specific home. So just how many electrical appliances they have in their home, that will help us determine how much.

Just 

Bisendra Melaram: throw in extra fridges. You can do whatever you want. I got 

Jason Marcus: ten deep freezers. Yeah, I'm just running A. C. during the entire winter now, so that way I can put solar panels on my house. I agree. Jack it up. Every 

Bisendra Melaram: room's got a TV. A PlayStation. Fire stick. 

Jason Kleiger: Yeah, what's the biggest thing that draws energy in the house?

Computer. 

Bisendra Melaram: AC. Oh, electric heat. 15 

Jason Marcus: Oh, electric heat. Electric heat. I just buy 10 pool pumps. Yes. Yes. 

Bisendra Melaram: Pump 

Kayla Ceballos: away. You guys ever heard of, um, like, miners or something? Yeah. [01:04:00] Those pull a lot of energy, 

Bisendra Melaram: too. Oh, so I can help you. What are these miners? Crypto miners. The little standalone PC units that just sit there and calculate algorithms all day.

In Kos, those 

Kayla Ceballos: pull so much energy. This whole, that whole 

Bisendra Melaram: thing, that stuff is all. So side topic, the best place in Nassau County to, if you're gonna do mining for crypto, bury Freeport because free. Because they have their, Freeport has their own energy. Yep. 

Jason Kleiger: How about that? They generate that. They never lost power.

Uh, when there was the 2003 they did. No, the 2003 blackout. Uh, let's think back to the 2000s. You're welcome, 

Jason Marcus: listeners. I don't remember. 

Jason Kleiger: I don't think the listeners I don't remember. You don't remember? Where were 

Bisendra Melaram: you? I know where I was, and I'm trying to think, because we had to go from Nassau County to Jamaica Queens to Corona Queens.

Yep, and 

Jason Kleiger: then back and everything was up, but I didn't yeah, it was like 90 

Bisendra Melaram: degrees that and everybody was walking this way Everyone was walking the street. Mm 

Jason Kleiger: hmm. It was 90 degrees I was [01:05:00] sleeping on my basement floor. Oh, yeah 

Bisendra Melaram: tile floor was the best dude Yeah, 

Jason Marcus: kidding me this particular real estate office that you're associated with was having their Barbecue that day so I was leaving The barbecue and I was where 1 0 6 Met?

1 0 7. Seven mm-Hmm. . Nobody knew what to do. . I jumped outta my car and just started playing traffic cop because like it was just a dead stance. Never. Oh, why am I not surprised? 

Bisendra Melaram: He'd be the one. Alright, 

Jason Marcus: don't get it. I don't wanna 

Jason Kleiger: give away my age here, but I was on my Goed , 

Bisendra Melaram: dude. I still have mine, . I just, anyway, that's a side, that's another, that's another podcast.

Jason Kleiger: Were you really? But I was on my gulped. I, I duct taped a, like a scuba light. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was the only one that was getting anywhere. 'cause all the cars were stuck because, you know, with all the lights out. But I was, and 

Bisendra Melaram: I, yeah, you used to use the nine volt battery flashlight, the square one, know what that is.

Yep, yep. You don't even know where that is. No. Nine volt. No, 

Kayla Ceballos: I 

Jason Kleiger: don't know what a go ped is. So it's like, it's not [01:06:00] like today's electric scooters, because, you know, those are lame. Um, but it was, it was like an old school, like regular scooter that you just put a Had a two stroke motor on it. Yeah, you strapped a, like a leaf blower, not a leaf blower.

Nah, it was more of a weed whacker. It was a weed whacker engine that you put on it. And so, you know, you put two stroke or you have to maintain 

Bisendra Melaram: it and it was a gas engine and like you can hook it up. You can get exhaust for it. You can get intake for it. like a bang it out. Oh, yeah, brakes and tires. There was all you pimped yours out.

Oh, I already know that was like you already know. They hurt. You heard me coming from five blocks away. I was 

Jason Kleiger: going faster than cars. Yeah, yeah. I was a big boy 

Bisendra Melaram: back then, too. So I got, I ran into a, back then they had black cars, like the black Lincolns. I got clipped by his mirror and I went flying. I don't know how fast I was going.

I was just like, on my back, I was like, wait a second. And then I start laughing because it was just so funny. I was like, you grown ass man. And then did you [01:07:00] sue? Sue who? I was happy that I didn't have like a concussion. Nah, you gotta get that license plate, man. 

Jason Kleiger: But see. I wouldn't, I wouldn't have to resort to taking my go pet out at night.

You wouldn't have to, 

Bisendra Melaram: uh Strap solar panels to the sun. That's right. 

Jason Marcus: That probably would not happen. And Ryder will appreciate that. 

Kayla Ceballos: That should be his next Halloween costume, a solar panel. Yeah. 

Bisendra Melaram: Wait a second. The week before Halloween, Ryder had a costume picked out by Dad. And now we're here the week after Halloween where Dad is thinking about the next costume.

Okay, we gotta talk to mom because dad's having some bad ideas 

Jason Marcus: terrible ideas this poor kid. Sorry rides

Bisendra Melaram: Alright, cool. Do you guys have any other questions for her? 

Jason Marcus: Uh, this was phenomenal. Really, really useful and great information for our dedicated audience. 

Bisendra Melaram: Thanks, Kayla, for coming and joining us. Thank you, guys. Thank you for having me. How can people find [01:08:00] you online? 

Kayla Ceballos: Uh, Instagram, you can follow me at SolarQueenKay.

And that's K A Y at the end. Um I don't know, are you gonna put like an 

Bisendra Melaram: email? Yeah, we'll put all your contact information in the show description, so it'll make it easier for people to find you. 

Kayla Ceballos: Yeah, that's where I post most of, most of my content, um, on Instagram. Also on LinkedIn, just as my first and last name, Kayla Ceballos.

Um, and yeah, once you put up my information, if anybody has questions or wants to learn more, you know where to find me. If you even need me as a resource for transactions, I'll be more than happy to help. Yep, please be sure 

Bisendra Melaram: to add my dealer fee. The 

Jason Marcus: fee. 

Jason Kleiger: Then you gotta gimme money. You gotta loan me money if you want.

Deal a fee. Yeah. I'm not gonna pay 

Bisendra Melaram: you back. Alright, I'll, you want me to play bank? I'll 

Jason Kleiger: play bank. Yeah. If you play bank, I'll go, I'll play bankruptcy. 

Bisendra Melaram: That's that's fine. Bye. [01:09:00] Dealer fees. Plus I get all the federal tax credit incentives. 

Jason Marcus: These guys are so much fun to play Monopoly with. 

Bisendra Melaram: Oh yeah. I'm definitely gonna be the banker.

No, no. You could be the banker. Yeah. I'm 

Jason Marcus: not pocketing any of those five hundredths while you guys 

Bisendra Melaram: are watching. Alright guys, another great episode. See everyone next week on the next one. Hopefully we get the appraiser in. I'm just gonna start talking stuff until, you know, my outro gets produced and then I can cut this part out.

That's it. Thanks guys. Thanks Kayla. 

Kayla Ceballos: Thanks Kayla again. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.