The Gulf of Mexico is covered in oil. Gas prices remain high. Electric bills continue to rise. Huge amounts of money in the Stimulus Package are earmarked for advancement in energy technology to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil. Many of these funds are earmarked for research right here in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Real estate buyers in Ann Arbor has begun to demand energy efficiency in their homes. The trend has been growing and will only become more popular. If you are investing in upgrading and updating your home to sell, consider investing in the energy efficient improvements that are attracting a new generation of home buyers.
In Ann Arbor there are home inspectors who specialize in helping you save money on your bills and make your home more comfortable and better functioning overall. Pro Energy Consultants is a local franchise owned by Doug King who made himself available to discuss his home inspection business in Ann Arbor with me.
I asked a series of questions about their home inspection business.
1. How long have you been in business?
The business has been operating in Cleveland, Ohio since 1995 and began franchising the concept in September 2008. Pro Energy Consultants now has more than 60 franchises in 30 states nationwide.
2. What are your qualifications-licenses-certifications?
To successfully diagnose home performance issues, the company’s energy auditors first undergo extensive training from its building performance and business experts, followed by eight weeks of continuing education training.
3. What do you take the most pride in about your work?
I take pride in knowing that I am helping homeowners make the best decisions for their home that can help them lower their energy consumption and increase their overall comfort level.
4. What makes your company different than the rest?
Pro Energy Consultants is the nation’s first home energy auditing franchise. As an unbiased, third party, the company is focused on diagnosing building performance issues — namely comfort, excessive energy usage and poor indoor air quality issues — for homes and light commercial buildings. The company, backed by more than 11,000 energy audits and 15 years of experience, also offers a guarantee. If, at the end of the test, customers don’t feel they’ve received valuable information about their home or business office, then the energy audit is free.
The energy audit starts with the homeowner explaining the specific home performance issues he or she has been experiencing. Next, an electronic blower door is installed in an exterior door. Once activated, the blower door allows our energy auditor to in essence take an “X-ray” of the home by using infrared thermal imaging to identify all the hidden building leakage areas. The entire process takes approximately one to three hours.
5. What are the trends you are seeing in the greater ann arbor area?
I am seeing a trend towards more energy efficient homes being built in the area, with several new homes acquiring LEED certification. Ann Arbor is a very progressive city and its residents want to make the most informed decisions that they can regarding their home and the environment. I am also seeing a lot of people wanting to know how to make their existing home more energy efficient as well.
6. Do you have a special story you could share with us from your experiences at work?
I have several stories regarding my work, but there have been a few times that I have helped the home owner uncover and correct some very significant issues with their home that they have struggled with for years. With my testing equipment and expertise I can help find issues in homes that are not always readily apparent. I have one home that I found an interior wall in the master bedroom that was open and connected to the attic and making the room very cold. The homeowner had always thought it was the exterior door in the room that was making the room cold and had taken several corrective actions with the door in an effort to make the room more comfortable . They were very surprised when my testing uncovered the real reason that their bedroom was cold.
Pro Energy Consultants is like a “house” doctor by “prescribing” home energy audits that are customized, diagnostic and educational. By installing an electronic blower door in an exterior door, a professional energy auditor can in essence take an “X-ray” of the home by using infrared thermal imaging to identify all the hidden building energy “leakage” areas. Such an energy audit will not only pinpoint the source of the homeowner’s “pain” but also prioritize recommended home improvements to maximize the return on investment.
The example of an energy rater or auditor recommending a homeowner replaces their appliances with Energy Star-rated appliances while not necessarily a bad thing, is not likely to solve the problem of a child’s room on the second floor being too hot or too cold.
“Other energy auditors are definitely identifying the problems—however, I’m just not sure if they’re solving the problems,” Pro Energy Consultants states. “ ‘Problem solving’ is the key phase we always use to define what we do.”
Watch the Pro Energy Consultants informative videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ProEnergyConsultants
Always remember to get a really comprehensive inspection of a home prior to purchasing, and as a homeowner, consult with professionals for investment opportunities that make your home more sellable, like energy efficient home improvements. Ann Arbor real estate agent Steve Wickland also suggests that you keep an accurate list of these improvements and costs not only for your tax records for the energy efficient tax credits you will be able to take, but also for your realtor listing your home for sale. These improvements may be invisible to the prosepective buyer but accurate records of these improvements will show the buyer that they are investing in a home that is well cared for and has had major improvements that will save them money.
