CDC Energy Consultants, LLC

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It went great, very helpful, gave a lot of information on the house.

I started with an energy audit from Consumers Energy. I was then referred to a list of companies to have a followup comprehensive energy audit and depending on the work that was done and the results proved by an additional comprehensive energy audit out to document improvements, I could earn rebates for the work I had done. I had the misfortune of picking "Company X" to have the comprehensive audit in (the one done before the work) Their prices were quite high and I felt extreme pressure to make a snap decision or they wouldn't give me their "best" price. I obtained better offers and went with one company for the furnace and another for the insulation. To qualify for the Consumers Energy rebates, I now needed an additional audit (audit out) to document the changes after the work was performed. "Company X" refused to perform the tests since I didn't use their company for the work. I was extremely fortunate to be referred to CDC Energy Consultants, Carl Clark, who performs independent energy analysis without being a salesman trying to sell you products. He was also on Consumers Energy list of participating contractors. From the start, I knew I had chosen the right man. He was courteous, professional, accomodating, and a great communicator.We corresponded several times prior to and after my appt. and every question I had was promptly answered and I was provided with information that was extremely valuable to me since I had no prior experience in these matters. He made me feel free to contact him at any time if I had questions or problems and he was very helpful. On the day of my appt., he was prompt and had me accompany him through the house as he explained what he was doing and the test results and their ramifications. This was particularly important since the insulation work had several problem areas. He wrote a thorough report, well documented with photographs and all I had to do was contact the insulation co. I used, email their service manager the report, and I was contacted by them and had the service manager out to my home and arrange for another appt. to have all the problem areas corrected at no charge to me. They even agreed to pay for repeat energy audit once the work was done. Had I not had CDC Energy Consultants here, I would have been blind to these problems and would not have known what to tell the insulation company. I am now anticipating $1450.00 in rebates that CDC Energy Consultants applied for to Consumers Energy in my behalf. I feel like Carl Clark will be a lifelong friend after this experience.

The two keys to CDC Energy's superior performance are their independence (they offer no other services except energy audit) and their expertise/experience. We had previously chosen an energy audit from a company that also does insulation work, and it was clear after the audit that their focus was on getting us to follow-up with an insulation package from them. Carl has nothing else to sell except his expertise. He gets no commissions from anyone for recommending contractors. Thus, he is the ideal person to provide an objective audit. Of course, you will end up paying more for his audit, but that's because he has no other source of income. That increase in price is well worth the objective, highly-competent information you will glean from him. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for the auditor to be independent like Carl. Carl, who is CDC's one person-show, was flexible about scheduling an audit, helping to work around our busy work schedules. He is extremely patient in answering our numerous questions, and very responsive by e-mail. The suggestions he provides range from the highly money saving (e.g. don't both upgrading windows - just weatherize them and provide plastic sheeting) to the practical (LEDs instead of CFLs for places where lights get turned on and off frequently) to the large (how to better insulate our slab flooring). He also provides a "check-back" service, where he will confirm how much improvements you make have contributed to a more tight envelope for the house. All in all, it is clear that Carl is THE person to go to if you are looking for objective expertise on how to improve your home's energy efficiency.

Fantastic! Carl discovered that all of the rim joists in my house were exposed to the elements. I have had a slate porch repaired 3 times due to leaks, and no one ever discovered what Carl did in the first 5 minutes. If I had had Carl out I would have saved 3 major repairs. Despite the fact that my house is entirely brick, it is still leaking a lot of air and needs to be sealed in areas that I never understood before. Carl also discovered that none of my lighting is sealed, 80+ pot lights, so, again a lot of air is leaking. The sliding glass door is leaking at the threshold, not the glass, as I would have guessed.

Owner Carl Clark arrived promptly with a car load of equipment. He proceeded to educate us in the science of how our home works. With this mini-science course under our belts we followed him as he did an infrared scan of our entire house pointing out where heat or cool are leaking and taking photos of the scans for later use. It was fascinating to see problems we would never have thought of and why they were there. Climbing into the attic he found uneven and improperly installed installation, and took pictures of each spot so we'd know exactly what he saw. He also found some light mold from a previous leak, which would likely have led to medical problems in the future. He did the blower door test which some companies leave out. I can see why - it takes some time and large equipment. That was just a part of what Carl checked. One week later we received a 30 page illustrated review of everything we had discussed, including pictures, charts, diagrams, references, and suggestions for improvements ranging from the cheapest to the more expensive. Some are DIY fixes using supplies from a building supply store and some require a larger investment. However, since Carl is a third party energy auditor, he is not connected in any way with home improvement companies and gets no kickbacks from them so he just gives you the info so you can make an informed decision on your own. He informed us of several possible energy rebates for improvements he suggested and handled all the paperwork for us . When we did put insulation in our attic Carl returned to test and approve the job for the rebate. All in all we were very impressed with Carl's knowledge, thoroughness, honesty and easy going manner. Although his charge initially seemed a little higher than some, we ended up getting way more than our money's worth plus a $650 rebate from Consumer's Energy. We would definitely recommend CDC Energy Consultants,LLC

Carl arrived promptly at our scheduled appointment time and thoroughly explained each step of the process he was performing. He showed me the various problem areas and shared recommended next steps. The audit took approximately 4 hours to complete. After having the recommended issues addressed, he came back for a re-test which took about 1-2 hours. He discovered a few issues that the insulation company missed. He also spoke directly with them to make sure that when they return to correct the missed items that they are addressed properly.

Carl was prompt and professional. He allowed me to walk the house with him and view the images on the thermal camera as he worked. We discussed each room as he worked. When he was finished he prepared a report which was emailed to me. His report certainly helped us to pinpoint the areas that we should focus our efforts on to reduce our energy use. We will likely do several projects and then have him back out to do a second blower door test to see if we can get a rebate from Consumers. Carl includes the follow up visit in the initial cost which is a real deal!!

I'm a member of a church that was built in 1960 with practically no insulation, single pane windows, leaky doors. I wanted to improve our energy efficiency. Carl, from CDC, came out and met with me and a couple of other parishioners. He described his services, what he could do, how long it would take, what kind of things might be practical for our facility. As I am a graduate mechanical engineer with a MS in heat transfer and thermodynamics, everything he said make sense. He was not pushy or insistent. He understood that our church has a "procedure" to go through to approve financial commitients, and he said he was willing to come back again if needed to meet with the finance committee.We did not hire CDC, nor any company. As a result of discussions with other church members, I realized that no one was going to help me do the work and make the decisions that would be needed after CDC would give us their report, they expected that I would just do it all myself. That was more work that I was willing to do, so I stopped the project. The stoppage was in NO WAY due to CDC. In fact, CDC was my preferred contractor among the ones we interviewed, based on his knowledge and professional attitude