When it comes to home energy repair, installation or maintenance services, we’ve all heard horror stories about people getting ripped off by inexperienced contractors who don’t care about their customers. Fortunately, there are a lot of great certified and educated professionals out there that can handle any home energy project to the complete satisfaction of their customers. Often times, it’s up to the consumer to figure out which type of work they will be getting when they contract out for these types of services. If you find yourself in this position, it’s extremely important to become as educated and informed as possible before interviewing a potential contractor. If you do, you’ll know exactly what questions to ask and what answers to expect from true professionals.
When starting the interview process, it’s important to first make sure the contractor you are interviewing is courteous and clearly cares about what it important to you during your home energy upgrades or installations. Be sure that the contractor you choose immediately gives you a sense that they understand things necessary to a successful project, including comfort, health, safety, energy costs and sustainability or energy savings.
A good starting point in terms of questions that should be asked is regarding home energy assessments and audits. If the contractor does not offer this service, it may be a good idea to look elsewhere. Have the contractor give a detailed rundown of the types of tests they will do and their process behind these tests to determine how your home can maximize its efficiency. In the world of home energy assessment and contract work, there’s also a good chance today that there are certain credits, rebates or tax incentives. Good home energy contractors will always be knowledgeable about applicable points of savings for you as a customer.
When interviewing your potential home energy contractor, it’s a good idea to be prepared to talk about a wide range of projects and energy efficiency areas. Do your best to educate yourself on common home energy problems such as air leaks, inadequate insulation issues, mold or mildew problems or inefficient heating and cooling systems. You don’t have to be an expert in these areas before talking to the contractor, but the more you know, the more you’ll be able to guard yourself against poor contracting work. If you want to be extremely prepared, here is a great source of specific questions you can work from in many different areas of home energy, including air leakage, ducts, windows, water heating, heating and cooling equipment and insulation.
As we mentioned above, be sure to do some research on each individual contractor or company prior to the interview. Finding out details about certifications, licensing, and customer references is a great starting point. If a company is certified, experienced and educated, you should feel more comfortable hiring them for your home energy needs. Fortunately for our customers, we pride ourselves on hiring only the most professional and courteous staff for all of our home energy installation and assessment teams. If you’re interested in interviewing us for your next project, please contact us today. We’d be more than happy to answer any of the questions from the list above or from your own.
