Green Corner - Sue McRae

Like many folks in town, we recently participated in the MassSave energy
audit program. We had a visit from an auditor last spring. We were
surprised when she suggested we pay half of the suggested contract for
air sealing and insulation at the time of the visit.  Nothing in the
literature or in the phone contacts we'd had mentioned anything about
this. Jim was also uncomfortable with the fact that CET, the
organization managing the process, wouldn't tell us, in advance, who the
sealing and insulation contractors would be.  By August we'd decided to
give the process a try so we signed the contract and sent it to CET.  In
early December two very nice young guys came to the house and spent the
day air sealing throughout the house.  They were pleasant, polite and
worked very hard for hours.  I've never seen such a neat caulking job.
They used spray foam in lots of places and sealed sheets of some type of
insulation into other places.  When they were done the lack of draft was
already noticeable even without insulation.  Two weeks later the
insulators came.  They worked all day and into the evening on a Friday
night.  They ran out of insulation, having found that the job required
more than had been anticipated.  Jim approved a new job order and they
found more insulation locally and went back to work. They were very
pleasant, professional and hard working.  The difference in the third
floor and in our bedroom is amazing.  We are warmer and the insulators
reminded me that in the summer the third floor will be noticeably
cooler.  The utility company paid $1,800 of the job.  We were reluctant
to have folks we didn't know and didn't choose work on our house.  In
the end, the process went well, folks did great work and we paid a lot
less than if we'd had to contract the job ourselves.  I encourage other
Warwick residents who might be on the fence about the MassSave program
to check it out. Best of luck!