State Energy Conservation

The intial consultation and installation of solar water heater and attic fan was good. The headache came with obtaining proper city permits to comply with the FPL rebate. The company gave us the run around on numerous occassions. If it was not for our proactiveness, we may not have made our deadline to submit our documentation to FPL.

Salesman was courteous and assured us that we would see a substantial decrease in our energy bill. We have seen about $30 worth so far, maybe more later--we'll see. The work was done promptly and done in pretty good fashion.

I just think that their price is a little on the high side for what was done.

Very high pressure sales pitch. After the initial visit, I had several questions which were answered promptly. The office manager was very nice and seemed to know what she was doing. I still have a few issues but they will be resolved quickly.

I wound up buying the insulation, a solar attic fan, an additive to my A/C and a solar hot water heater. There was a lot of negotiation on the price. I had not priced most of this in advance, which you should do, but I was still able to cut the total to about half of what we started with. I was given some false info, partly because they were new to Dade County (that the tank could go outside) and about the loan that immediately pays them for the job (that I could repay it with my credit card.) Installation was almost immediate--forget about the 3 days to cancel! Then supervise the workers yourself. If you are having several things done, get help. Check the Corning website and know how many bags of insulation are needed for you job. Count the bags they use. (I needed 25, they came with 15. But when I complained they returned with more.) Workers broke a minor part on our boat while moving it without asking us before or telling us after. They did not reset all the circuit breakers when they finished and left my outdoor second refrigerator without power. Be sure they attach the solar panel to the rafters, not just the roof deck, and patch any holes they make. They were neat about cleaning up._x000D_|Any thing I complained about the salesman responded to promptly. I delayed filing this report because the permits had not been issued and the 90 day window for my FPL rebate was almost up. The company responded to my concern and got the issues resolved just in time and everything passed on the first inspection._x000D_|A note on solar water heaters: If you can not schedule your main usage (laundry, dish washing, showers) to daytime hours (10-2 on cloudy days) you will be heating the replacement water with electricity. There is no indicator that tells you if the solar or electric is "on"._x000D_|I cannot say how effective all this stuff will be in reducing my utility bills. The A/C additive and insulation did lower the temp of the air coming out of the ducts but by only about 3 degrees (not 5). There is no way to tell if the solar fan is working without climbing onto the roof. My water had been heated by gas, so my electric bill went up a little. I will need to see at least a year's utility bills to see any savings.

Roof insulation with blown in insulation and shield. Solar panel fan.

The following is my letter written to State Energy Conservation. Every word contained in it is my own and I stand by every one of them.
"I am writing to give you some
feedback about my experiences with the installation of my Solar Hot Water
Heater, Solar Attic Fans and the Radiant Barrier by State Energy Conservation.

First of all, your assessment of

our house and description of the energy savings that State Energy Conservation
might provide was professional and insightful.
As I mentioned to you at that time, I could not believe the claim that
we would likely save 50% on our electric bills.
Although I have only had two full months to compare, our usage for the
month of February was down 36% and, to my astonishment, our March usage was
down by 50% as compared to last year.
These reductions occurred without any of the changes to our daily habits
that you suggested would further reduce our energy consumption. I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed
with the performance of all of the installed equipment.
The installers showed up right on
time and were very courteous from start to finish. Gary and Dante did a terrific job on the
Radiant Barrier. The area they covered
was greater than I thought possible, given the tightness of the space where
much of the barrier was installed. Alex
did an excellent job of installing the Solar Hot Water Heater and the Solar
Attic Fans. I have to admit I was a
little concerned about someone cutting into my roof, but it was quite clear
that Alex knew exactly what he was doing and how to do it properly. When finished, they all cleaned up and left
their work areas spotless. Chris came
and did the final walk through to insure the job was ready for the city
inspectors. When it was time for the
inspections, Chris was here early, had everything set up for the inspectors
who, when they arrived had nothing but good things to say about the
installation and quality of work that was performed. To top it off, Denise was very helpful in
making sure that I had all I needed to apply for and receive the FPL Solar
Water Heating Rebate.
In total, I am very impressed with the
service provided by State Energy Conservation and the equipment you have
suggested to install in our home. I
would highly recommend State Energy Conservation to anyone interested in
reducing their energy usage."