Customer Testimonial from Richard W. in Elbridge, NY

Hi, I want to let you know about an energy efficiency move I made this winter. Helps the energy situation and saves me a ton of money. I went to the Parade of Homes show in Syracuse last summer because Carol made me. At the entrance I met Hal Smith of Halco, a heating and plumbing company based in Phelps, NY. In return for agreeing to let his company do an energy audit for my house, he paid for my $10 entrance ticket. Pretty sweet! A month or so ago, Hal came with an assistant and did the energy audit. It a cost couple hundred bucks and was paid for by New York State, with your tax dollars. Thank you very much. Here is how it worked. They put a big fan in my front door opening, sealed the edges, and started blowing air out of the house. Then they went around with an infrared video camera that clearly showed the areas in the house where cold air was entering, in response to the fan. This thing simulated a 15 mph wind hitting the house. Then they looked at my furnace, which operated at 75% efficiency and my water heater, at 50%. They went through the whole house, noting old collapsed insulation, and cold, uninsulated spots. All these figures were plugged into a computer program mandated by NYS, not the heating company. The bottom line came out that NYS recommended a new, 95% efficient furnace, which included an on-demand hot water system. This would mean that I would no longer pay to keep 40 gallons of water hot, 24/7. I should also have the cold air leaks abated with sprayed in foam insulation. The savings were projected at over $900 per year, again, not by Halco, but by NYS. It gets better. If you decide to do the work the state suggests, the state will rebate you 10% of the costs. For the balance, they also will guarantee you a fixed, low interest loan (3.something%) that is not tied to your mortgage. I thought about it a lot, and ask several people for their opinions. In the end I decided to follow through on it. For my situation, it comes out this way. The cost for the plan was around $11,000. The rebate put it at $9,900. The low interest loan for a 10 year period, came out to $105 per month. But the projected energy savings were $70 per month. So the cost to me would be $35 a month over a 10 year period. I decided I could afford it. In my opinion, in era, where everyone is concerned about energy use, it also is a very potent capital improvement to this house, which I feel will be a cost effective move, should we decide to sell the place in the future. One final thing: Halco is the most prominent company in the New York State in administering this program. Also, the state mandated funds are running low and will be used up in the near future. The Halco crews descended on my house and with a minimum of intrusion and a maximum of professionalism; they accomplished this work in a way that draws my admiration. They are excellent in what they do and are extremely well trained. By the way, I am very psyched about this, as you can tell, but I am in no way connected with Halco. I just want to pass on info about this program that the state has put in place in an effort to improve our energy use. In my opinion I made the right choice.