 |
|
Often a solution to an energy efficiency problem will result in
improved comfort and indoor air quality.
|
|
|
Advanced Insulation's Utility Reduction Guarantee Program Overview
Advanced Insulation knows from firsthand experience and independent
research that the majority of houses in Arizona could relatively
inexpensively reduce their total utility bill by twenty percent by
implementing basic energy efficiency and conservation strategies. Most
homes in Arizona were not constructed to maximize energy efficiency and
comfort. Odds are your home suffers from one of the following problems:
missing or poorly installed insulation, leaky duct work, air
infiltration issues, and windows lacking solar control. This is why we
are confident that, with our guidance, we can guarantee utility bill
reduction in your home while increasing your comfort level.
Advanced Insulation’s focus is on solving the problems that have the
biggest impact on your utility bills. To identify the biggest issues, we
must measure them – using diagnostic tools such as the blower door, duct
blaster and infrared cameras. A measureable problem equals a solution
that we can stand behind with a guarantee.
Once a problem is diagnosed, Advanced Insulation customizes an energy
efficiency plan based on your home, your budget and your goals. We offer
a three tier approach in which we guarantee reduction of your utility
bills by 10%, 15% or 20% or more. Why three tiers? Because every house
is different, just as every customer’s budget is different. We want to
create a plan that delivers the best home performance at the best
possible price.
 To
determine an appropriate utility bill reduction target, our
comprehensive energy audit includes an analysis of two years worth of
utility bills. Additionally, the insights gained by diagnostic testing
and completing a customer home energy survey allow us to commit to a
plan of action to reduce your utility bills.
The same problems that increase energy consumption often work to
undermine the comfort and the indoor air quality of a home. An example
would be missing insulation in an attic above a room, which will elevate
the surface temperatures of sheet rock to uncomfortable levels in
cooling dominated climates. Another example would be leaky return ducts
that can suck dust, insulation, radon, pollen, etc. into a house. Often
a solution to an energy efficiency problem will result in improved
comfort and indoor air quality.
At Advanced Insulation, we understand that customers want energy
savings, not just insulation. We also know that insulation is not the
key to all energy related issues. Therefore, under our guarantee
program, Advanced Insulation offers air sealing, duct sealing, shade
screens, jump ducts, as well as other energy saving strategies and
services for a balanced solution. These are some of the most cost
effective and least disruptive measures to increase energy efficiency.
When we make these energy upgrades, we reduce the building’s cooling and
heating demand. In other words, less heat gain in the summer and less
heat loss in the winter. This in turn reduces the overall run time of
air conditioners and furnaces and thus reduces the amount of energy
required to cool or heat a home.
We are confident that our work provides value. The return on investment
on our energy upgrades is attractive because shade screens, insulation
repairs and duct sealing are not that expensive and can save a lot of
energy. If utility bill rebates and tax credits are applied to the cost
of the work, the return on investment only improves. Finally, our work
will most likely improve the resale value of your home as home buyers
begin to become more energy conscious.
Advanced Insulation’s Guarantee Program is not only a winning
proposition for the homeowner, but also for the environment. According
to the January 12, 2009 cover story of Time Magazine titled Why We Need
to See the Light about Energy Efficiency, “groups as diverse as the
Natural Resource Defense Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and even
the National Petroleum Council have identified efficiency as the way to
start addressing our energy and climate crises.” Our customers not only
help the environment and our country’s energy security, but they also
save money in the process.
What is unique about Advanced Insulation’s offer is that we bring
together the ability to test, analyze, and make the repairs. There is no
middleman marking up our improvements. We are a one stop energy
conservation shop that rigorously stands behind the quality of our work. Three
Paths to Efficiency
Advanced Insulation offers three approaches to reducing energy bills.
These three packages reflect our customer’s realities. It has been our
experience over the years that some homeowners are busy and don’t want
to go through an audit process, they know what they want, be it
insulation or
shade screens. Others simply
want to invest in solutions and not complex diagnoses. Yet others want
an in-depth analysis and a guarantee that we will deliver the promised
results. We offer three approaches that satisfy these different levels
of interest and commitment.
- The standard quote
- The basic audit – Infrared scan and inspection of home
- The comprehensive audit and guarantee
1. The Standard Quote
This is the way we conduct business for many individuals who know what
they want. If a home owner needs more insulation, we come out, inspect the
attic at no charge and provide a quote. The same holds true for our other
services. If the homeowner is interested in shade screens, duct sealing,
jump ducts, or air barrier work to reduce their energy bill and increase
their comfort, we are glad to provide additional information and a free
estimate.
2. The Basic Audit
The basic audit package costs $90. This offer is for the consumer who
wants an audit, but who does not want to invest the time or money in our
comprehensive audit. One of our technicians will perform an infrared scan
and thorough visual inspection of your home. We identify what opportunities
exist to increase energy efficiency. We also provide the costs to implement
our recommendations.
Based on our findings, if this customer decides to enter our Guarantee
Program and have the comprehensive audit performed, the $90 fee is applied
against the cost of the comprehensive audit. 3. Comprehensive Audit &
Guaranteed Savings
With this package Advanced Insulation guarantees that we can reduce
utility bills 10%, 15%, 20% or more. The determination of the level of
savings is based on what problems we find in the home during the
comprehensive audit as well as the customer’s budget and goals.
Our BPI (Building Performance Institute) certified auditors use
sophisticated diagnostic equipment such as a blower door, duct blaster, and
infrared camera to evaluate the thermal / pressure envelope. We also
complete a thorough home survey with the customer. We supply a detailed
report that identifies opportunities for efficiency upgrades, as well as an
itemized list of improvements and their associated costs. The cost of this
comprehensive audit and guarantee is $500, plus $150 per additional HVAC
system that we have to test.
Advanced Insulation enters into an agreement with our customers. Our
guarantee is based on the energy consumed during the previous two years. The
agreement spells out what energy efficiency strategies are going to be
incorporated and what level of utility bill reduction the customer can
expect for the coming two years. This agreement takes into account seasonal
weather variations, energy cost fluctuations, occupant behavior as well
other issues that may impact energy consumption.
If the energy efficiency strategies we implement fail to achieve the agreed
upon energy reductions over the course of two years, Advanced Insulation
will pay the difference between the projected savings and actual utility
bill at the end of each year. At the end of the two year period, Advanced
Insulation will completely refund the cost of the comprehensive audit if the
customer is not satisfied with the energy savings and our service.
Our utility bill reduction guarantee is tailored to fit our customer’s goals
and budgets. For instance, some of our customers are focused on savings,
comfort, and return on investment. For these customers we break down the
repairs and the associated costs in order of potential savings. The customer
may accept only two recommended items and settle on a target reduction of
10%.
Another customer’s priority may be the environment and indoor air quality.
This customer may invest in more expensive solutions that will save more
energy, but have a much lower return on investment. For example, the
customer and Advanced Insulation may select a goal of 20% reduction and
invest in an
unvented attic with cathedralized foam insulation.
Our program does have limitations. Presently our program excludes unmetered
sources of home heating such as propane, wood and pellet stoves.
For someone who just moved into a home and doesn’t have two years of
utility bills, we can perform a comprehensive audit and make projections of
savings, but cannot provide the guarantee.
Our guarantee program will probably not be a fit for customers who already
live in energy efficient homes. We have many new construction customers who
are building state-of-the-art energy efficient homes. We admittedly may not
be able to provide meaningful energy savings for these homes with the energy
conservation solutions we provide because they were built with efficiency
and comfort in mind.
Our Pledge
We commit to providing our customers with unbiased information,
so they can make informed decisions. We use independent research
from the Department of Energy, EPA, APS and SRP as a basis for our
recommendations. If you examine the position papers we have
authored, you will see we have done our research. These papers can
be found on this website.
Advanced Insulation has no interest in selling products and services
that will not benefit our customer. If an attic has adequate
insulation, this is what our customer will be told. We also don’t
promote products and services that that we lack confidence in, like
radiant barrier and attic fans.
Advanced Insulation will provide customers with all applicable
rebate programs and tax credits. We can also assist with financing.
-- Michael Uniacke, owner of Advanced Insulation, © January 2009
|
