[Summit] RISE / energy audits

Tue May 14 17:29:05 UTC 2013

We had a series of unimpressive visits (make that visits from RISE) in
which none of them thought to ask re: knob and tube (among other
work-stopping features they forgot about to ask about) so they recommended
thousands of dollars worth of insulation etc - we went with a small
fraction but when the sub-contracted firm showed up to do the work, they
basically said knob and tube in the walls = can't do any work.  Didn't they
ask you in your inspection?  No, our inspection was passed with flying
colors - twice!

So the two inspectors never picked up on it and the RISE supervisor that
showed up that day to remedy the situation tried to strike a bargain of
some additional work in it's place (which would also run the risk of
damaging our electrical system) which we promptly declined.

We got the financing through National Grid and had our oil-gas conversion
done by a separate contractor and that was great but the RISE end of it was
basically a complete waste of time.   And it took more than 6 months for
RISE to get back to me about how to deal with the check (that had been cut
back in the summer as part of the financing) - they basically wrote it off
and we returned the check to the bank 8 months later.

We had three of those blower tests - 2 before any work was done and 1 after
- we had some air sealing in the basement which took 1/2 the day as part of
the deal and our energy effieciency was exactly the same at the end of the
day so I'm not sure what the point was? At least it didn't cost us anything
(but time) when it was all over.

I would take everything they say with a grain of salt and talk to an
independent contractor before taking up any of their recommendations
particularly re insulation. We did and it turns out that 80% of what they
recommended would have done basically NOTHING for us energy wise.  Not sure
why NG keeps using these guys?

- b

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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 13 May 2013 15:57:26 -0400
From: Andrew Nosal <andy at mapcenter.com>
To: "summit at sna.providence.ri.us" <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: Re: [Summit] Energy Efficiency Inspection?
Message-ID: <3ACAFDF5-F648-45E2-8451-DF012DA21FC6 at mapcenter.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Attic insulation, snug windows and doors, careful sealing of other gaps in
exterior walls and enclosing the wall cavities so they do not act as
chimneys give a faster payoff than wall insulation, so if you already have
those improvements, there is not much left to improve.

More importantly, If cellulose in your wall gets wet, as it can from ice
dams, it stays wet and rots your sill.  Without the cellulose an
intermittent or undetected leak will take a long time to do serious damage.

RISE does seem to push the cellulose in the walls, but their other
information is useful and so are the lamps.

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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 13 May 2013 20:26:43 -0400
From: Anthony <anthony.f.arrigo at gmail.com>
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Subject: [Summit] Energy Efficiency Inspection
Message-ID: <760DE6E7-13C0-44F8-8BFD-2A2AE0B7A50F at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Welcome to the neighborhood Christopher!  We also had an energy audit
through RISE with the idea of getting insulation blown into our first
floor.  We have a 1930's bungalow and worked with RISE through National
Grid.  We had to get an electrician to come out to verify that we didn't
have any knob and tube, sign a form stating such, and then everything went
from there.  They did a blower door energy audit before and after the
insulation and showed us our ratings and a thermal scan before and after.
 We also got a significant rebate from National Grid.  I think it ended up
costing us $500 total for the entire first floor, all the way around the
house.

Anthony

Top St.

On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 11:41 AM, Christopher Buecheler <
cwbuecheler at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> First off, a quick greeting and introduction! My wife and I moved into our
> condo in January and I've been reading this email list since February, but
> haven't yet participated. We're on 4th St. by Seven Stars, and looking
> forward to spending the next several years here in Summit ... especially
> once they finish tearing up our street and we don't have to listen to
> construction all day!
>
> Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for who I could go to
> for an energy efficiency inspection ... preferably a company that's not
> going to try and sell me something at the end. I'd rather pay for the
> report and know that the guy doing it isn't thinking "how can I sell these
> people some insulation?" rather than getting a "free" report that I can't
> trust.
>
> If anyone knows any services of this type, I'd appreciate it!
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> -Christopher Buecheler - @cwbuecheler
> -http://cwbuecheler.com | About Me
> -http://writing.cwbuecheler.com | My Writing
> -http://work.cwbuecheler.com | My Work
>

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End of Summit Digest, Vol 98, Issue 12
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