Focus On Energy

12/17 called FOE & discussed 10x10 sunroom that we have had trouble keeping warm.We have spent a lot of money to rebuild the room & insulate it but have not been able to get the room warmer than 57-59 F on days below freezing.FOE said they could resolve this problem-all we had to do was have them perform a home energy assessment to get started.They put me in touch with Brian K an agent of theirs with many titles (HomePerfect,Building Analyst-BPI)who did the assessment.Upon the first contact with Brian I gave him a detailed history of the sunroom and the problem we have had & all efforts to date.He charged $350 & put together a detailed report (every page has the FOE logo)& it detailed that we needed to do:air sealing, attic insulation, sill box insulation, additional crawl space insulation under the sunroom and ventilation.The report states that they want to make sure they address ALL my concerns & I was told to pick the top 3 which they summarized them as being "uncomfortable home, energy efficiency/bill, & FOE incentives".The sill box "why it matters" portion of the report said "insulating your basement walls will increase the overall comfort & temperature of your basement".The Insulate Attic & Kneewalls "why it matters" section says "attic knee walls are the cause of many comfort problems, especially in bonus rooms. Air sealing key junctures plus insulating kneewalls can improve comfort and reduce utility costs". This is stated 2x. FOE refers to the sunroom as a "bonus room".Under the insulate crawlspace "why it matters" section it says "insulating your crawlspace walls will increase the overall comfort and temperature of the crawlspace & areas directly above"(the sunroom/bonus room is directly above the crawlspace).This is stated 3x.Under the seal air leaks "why it matters" section it reads "air sealing will dramatically increase the comfort of your home and help you save significant energy".It says this 3x in the report.Brian recommended S&E to do the work & we hired them.Brian stated that we needed to have a large hole put in our block basement wall to allow air flow from the basement into the crawlspace.He said that would allow warm air from the basement to flow into the crawlspace(he said air flows from hot to cold)& that would warm up the floor of the sunroom.Brian & S&E determined that a specialist was needed to make the hole & they recommended a mason who we hired.Masonry work alone was $950.Brian & S&E told me that I would qualify for a $2K incentive from FOE if I had all the work done.I was told if I had all the work done, the problem in the sunroom would be fixed. he work by S&E came to $7,530.00 and S&E did apply the credit immediately.The mason completed his work in 1/17 and I started recording the temperature in the sunroom,outdoors (house thermostat is always set to 68). I noticed there was no improvement in the temperature or comfort of the sunroom & reported this to Brian immediately.Brian was unresponsive by phone but did reply once via email & asked if the other work had been done,& once it's done we should not have the problem anymore.The S&E work was then completed Feb. 22. I kept track of the temps.There was no improvement in temperature or comfort in the sunroom even though all the work that FOE prescribed to us to fix the problem was completed & paid for.I sent emails & called Brian & they were ignored.I finally contacted FOE & asked for a refund.Instead they sent Keith W. over to look at the house.Keith told me I could buy a wireless thermostat to improve comfort in the room,install thermal blinds on the North facing windows(this is after we did all we were told to do by FOE to improve the problem & everyone was paid)& he told me to contact our HVAC contractor about the wireless thermostat.Our HVAC person said a wireless thermostat would not be a good choice-by the time that room got to 68 F, the rest of the house would be unbearably hot. Before I even began this process I had asked Steve P. with FOE what to do if this didn't work as he was leaving FOE in Jan.He told me that would be unlikely, but if I really needed a plan B to ease my mind, he said a heat pump would be expensive but would work.Again, he reminded me that it would not be necessary.I then spoke with Karl H. at FOE. He was upset that I had purchased the thermal blinds(what his agent TOLD ME TO DO). He agreed that a wireless thermostat was not the way to go.Keith had said that heat pumps do not work well in cold climates like we have here in Wisconsin, and that they were better suited in milder climates. KEITH W. OF FOE SAID IN MY HOME THAT ALL OF THE WORK DONE BY S&E MADE THE PROBLEM IN THE SUNROOM WORSE/EXACERBATED IT.I asked him to explain that(he is a thermodynamics expert).Keith said that all of the work done by S&E(which again was prescribed by FOE)made our home even more energy efficient and therefore the thermostat would call upon the furnace less often so the interval between the furnace coming on each time would be longer and therefore the sunroom would go longer before it got a blast of heat from the furnace & the room would be colder.THE WORK FOE PRESCRIBED ACTUALLY MADE THE PROBLEM IN THE SUNROOM WORSE, NOT BETTER. At this point I again asked for a full refund from Karl H. at FOE.We had spent a LOT of money doing ALL the things FOE asked in their report & even additional things after all the FOE directives failed.Karl offered a partial refund of $2250 & when asked to explain how he came up with that figure he said it was for work directly to the sunroom (thermal blinds, caulk,masonry work,small amount of supplemental insulation added to the sill boxes there).He also asked for me to allow Keith W. to come back and do the post audit & I agreed.Keith did the audit & discovered that there was a fire hazard left by the trade ally which had to be fixed. Keith came back to make sure they fixed it correctly.Keith's main purpose was to make sure that the trade ally S&E did the work that they outlined in their contract & that it was done correctly.Meanwhile I had thanked Karl H. for his offer and added that the report states that all of the work mattered & was tied to the goal of improving the comfort and temperature of the sunroom & again asked for a full refund.Karl sent me a letter & rescinded the offer & stated Keith's post audit showed that the work outlined by S&E was completed & the quality of the work was ok.I reminded him that we did not have an issue with the "quality" of the work.Our issue is that the work prescribed by FOE did not improve the temperature OR the comfort of the sunroom. Examples: 3/14 it was 15 F outside & the sunroom was 57.3/15 it was 7 outside & sunroom was 57.3/16 it was 15 outside & the sunroom was 57.3/17 it was 33 outside & it was 59 in the sunroom.THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.We have spent a total of $9,465.56 minus the $2K incentive = $$7,465.56 to have FOE associates work and have no results.Karl H. then advised me to hire a HVAC contractor to fix the problem in the sunroom.I told Karl we had already hired HVAC people in the past and that FOE was our last hope & we never expected to be ripped off by FOE.Karl said he would not suggest any more improvement ideas because he didn't want to be responsible for paying for them or if they didn’t work.He also stated that in the future FOE may refrain from evaluating bonus rooms.Since then communication has broken down with FOE.Gov. Walker's Constituent's Services Office then had Maria R. with the WI State Energy Office(oversight committee of the Public Service Commission)contact me. She talked to CBI who she explained is Chicago Bridge and Iron & are the "Program Administrator" for FOE.She said CBI is responsible for FOE;CBI feels that work was done & paid for & the quality of the work was satisfactory.Again I reminded her that the issue is not with the "quality" of the work,but that we & the trade ally were directed to do specific work that was very expensive & would resolve the comfort & temperature issue in the sunroom & that we got no results.She said that she has NO authority to direct CBI to reimburse anyone & she only deals with policy.She did acknowledge that in the future she will be directing CBI & FOE to put a DISCLAIMER in their reports. NOTE: THERE WAS NO DISCLAIMER IN MY REPORT.She also said it may not be theoretically possible to improve the comfort and temperature in the sunroom, or it may.She also said this could be beyond the scope of FOE.She also said we can hire a HVAC company to fix this.She did agree that the results were not met for the sunroom.I had asked about FOE paying for a HVAC company to determine what needs to be done and do it.Her response was that what happens if it doesn't work?then CBI & FOE are out that money & you still have a problem.THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE FEEL NOW.WE ARE OUT A LOT OF MONEY THAT WE PAID TO FOE'S TRADE ALLIES TO RESOLVE THE SUNROOM PROBLEM & OUR SUNROOM IS STILL 57-59.That is ok for Wisconsin consumers like me to be cheated like this by CBI & FOE but they don't want this to happen to them?She said she would discuss it with them and would discuss the rescinded offer of $2250 & I reminded her that we need a full refund.We did not get what was promised & paid for.We still have a problem & need to hire someone else to fix what FOE failed to fix.I have not heard back from Maria in more than a week and have not been able to reach her.FOE & CBI have dismissed me & this problem.Please hold these organizations accountable.I never would have spent this much money for simply energy efficiency.We had a specific problem that was communicated well to everyone involved & were promised that if we did everything they asked us to(which was very expensive)we would not have this problem anymore.That was a lie.We did everything asked of us, paid everyone, and even went further & purchased the thermal blinds & we still have the same problem.Don't let them get away with this or do this to anyone else.