BE CAREFUL WHEN BUYING BRIDGES!
IF YOU DON'T KEEP TRACK, HOW WILL YOU KNOW? Guess what, in a world where NOBODY tracks results, don't expect the promises to have any relationship to reality. Where there is no accountability, don't expect to get the truth. The lie may not be intentional, but if you don't know what the truth is how can you tell it?
Energy Audit reports promise a certain $ savings for various improvements. If they can't give you a promised to delivered ratio - what are you buying? Hopes and dreams? Is this really as good as it gets?!?
Conversations about projected to actual savings may get mind numbingly complicated, as discussions of individual v/s package savings, energy prices, and inflation, and the "argument" about lifestyle changes come into play (as if your driving a Prius 20,000 miles and my driving it 20,000 miles will net a statistically different number of gallons used. Look folks, a house is a house!).
So let's cut to the chase. If they promise you will save $400, how much do you save? Do you even keep track!?
What you REALLY need to know isn't the COST, it's the CONSUMPTION! The cost of fuel goes up and down, which will skew "savings" results. What we really need to know is how much less E N E R G Y is used because of your investment in home improvements.
While I can't always pry energy use from my clients, that's what I would like to get because it helps improve my confidence in the work we do. (Many times I get "Oh gosh, the house is a lot more comfortable and our worst bill is down something like $150 - which is nice to hear but not statistically useful).
Do you want to keep track? I want to help.
I would really like to hear from people on this. Anyone interested in a website that would track use, provide comparison figures, and track before and after ACTUAL results against promised?
Also, future blog topics anyone want to see? How about performing financial analysis to see how much of your improvements are paid for by energy savings?
